May 8, 2022

In a previous post, we've addressed why not using a retail, conventional moisturizer is damaging to our skin health. Though shocking to many, but very much an essential element to skin restoration. 

Today, we further explore the aspect of facial oils. There are a ton of facial oils on the retail market that has positive marketing claims. Argan oil, rose hip seed oil, squalene oil, maracuja oil, CBD oil, castor oil ... and so so many others. Just open any beauty retail website ... as mentioned previously, most conventional moisturizers are loaded with oils to "live up" to their marketing claims, but clinically speaking, they provide skin damaging trickery for the skin in the long run. If you haven't read that blog post, that is an essential read. 

Outside of these oils being a large content ingredient in these conventional moisturizers, one will find these oils sold as a stand alone face treatment. "100% organ oil", claiming its amazing benefits. While we do not doubt that there are benefits in each of these oils, as scientists, we do know each of these ingredient concentrates are nutritional for the skin. Yet, sometimes when we look at medicine, and treating skin as as organ ... sometimes the cons do outweigh the benefits. 

There are many reasons why one should avoid oil containing products or these pure oils on their faces. We are listing a few of the many reasons:

Oils not only clog pores and cause texture irregularity. They didn't regulate the skin cells ability to naturally hydrate. Think basics - hydration means water. Working out at the gym, we don't fill our water bottles with oil to hydrate. We need water. H2O. So if facial oils or oil containing products are used on the face, the long term effects ... at best could be enlarged pores, black heads, white heads or sebaceous hyperplasia .... at worst ... triggering of possibly irreversible skin inflammatory conditions. (Our founder Mina, has seen her share of that in her clinic.)

Oils may make the skin feel good and look good, because it sits superficially on the skin. It may even instantly take away dry patches and plump lines. Again, think of oils filling in grooves and holes when applied superficially. Yet they don't penetrate the epidermis. Under the microscope however, skin cells become lazy, pores become clogged and sebaceous glands become hypertrophic or enlarged. This stretches out the pore size and also can lead to acne. The oils sitting superficially on the skin will also trick the skin's internal function into thinking there is already enough hydration or moisture on the skin, plenty of it because of the oiliness. Therefore the internal function of the skin will come to a halt as a balancing act. This is when the health of the skin will begin to become compromised and issues will slowly surface. 

Again, if you are suffering from dry patches, chronic dryness and wrinkling due to dry skin, the best bet is treating that as a condition. Instant gratifications are only temporary solutions. Using medical grade products where the biology of the skin will be changed is what will restore dermal health. In the world of optimal dermal health, when the skin is restored, no moisturizer or hydrator is needed. Think children's skin ... they are flawless, and no hydrator is needed even at the midst of a cold winter.

If you are looking to level up your skincare routine, with simple and effective medical products, begin with understanding the Vivre SkinLabs' 4-Step Mantra. Less is more, don't fall for providers that tries to sell you a 10-step skincare regimen. Make sure there are no facial oils or oil containing products. Begin by switching to a true biology changing hydrator such as the CBD Vita Hydratant. 

Side note, there are times you may see some "no-no" ingredients in medical grade products. Depending on the product, there are times a drop of oil in the formulation is accepted in the world of dermal restoration. Most times these are oils listed low on the ingredient list, meaning there are very little content of such. Reason why sometimes medical grade products will require that drop of oil in the batch is all chemistry. When formulating with certain ingredients that are essential to the product, it's not just child's play of mixing A + B. There is molecular size of the element, rate and depth of penetration, water solubility and so much more that come into play. Often times these droplets of added oils are used to bind or as a delivery vehicle to carry the essence of the formula to where those molecules need to be deep in the skin.