Understanding dry skin
The key to treating dry skin is understanding what causes it. Although dry skin and dehydrated skin are often seen as synonymous, they’re different concerns and need to be treated differently.
Dehydrated skin is lacking in water. That’s why ingredients like DNA HP, which can hold 10,000 times its weight in water, are most effective if skin is dehydrated. However, dry skin is lacking in the natural oils, or sebum, that keep water content within the skin, and ensure it stays moisturised.
Supporting dry skin with face oils
With dry skin, incorporating face oils into your skincare routine can help replenish and balance your skin barrier and sebum levels over time so it doesn’t just moisturise your skin in the moment, but helps support skin health long term.
While it’s a skin condition that some people suffer from throughout the year – experiencing tightness, irritation, roughness, flaking, itchiness and more – dry skin can be made worse in autumn and winter. That’s because colder temperatures, harsher winds, and lower humidity dry out the air, and with it your skin. Plus, when we seek solace indoors and turn on the heating, this dries the air inside too. If you’ve got dry skin, you may find it worsens over winter.
Using face oils for your dry skin year round will help keep it supported and nourished throughout the colder seasons ~ you might find that using a face oil consistently then gives your skin a boost when December rolls round.
Understanding which face oil is best for dry skin comes down to knowing what makes up each oil, and how they support the skin barrier as well as sebum and moisture levels. Ultimately, that’s why you would use the face oil ~ the dryness is simply a symptom of a compromised skin barrier, and lack of sebum and moisture.
So choosing the right face oil is about understanding which oils out there can do the most for your moisture levels.
Five oils to soothe and soften a dry face
1. Argan Oil
Argan Oil, abundant in Vitamin E and Omega-rich fatty acids, is a sublime oil for dry skin.
The Vitamin E within the oil serves as a protective shield, warding off environmental factors like cold weather, which induce skin dryness.
Argan Oil’s fatty acids can support a healthy skin barrier. When skin is dry, the skin barrier is often compromised, allowing moisture to escape. Fatty acids are like the glue that fortifies and strengthens the skin barrier, keeping moisture locked in.
The Linoleic Acid you’ll find in Argan Oil helps improve your skin’s ceramide levels too. Ceramides are the lipids and fats found in skin cells, another key feature of a healthy skin barrier that may be lacking in dry skin. Supporting your skin’s ceramides is crucial for moisture retention.
Comedogenic rating: 0 ~ does not clog pores
Where you’ll find Argan Oil
We love utilising the benefits of Argan Oil in our skincare. It’s one of the key ingredients that makes our hero silver face cream, la potion infinie, so rich and smooth, yet never greasy, and part of the reason it’s proven to balance the skin’s moisture levels.
Argan Oil is also one of the three nourishing oils in our all-natural, organic face oil, l’etoile infinie. Together with Abyssinian Oil and Kukui Nut Oil, it nourishes, restores and balances dry skin and is clinically proven to improve your skin’s moisture levels.
It’s also an integral part of la lune de velours, our oil to milk cleanser, which deeply nourishes and moisturises skin while cleansing, by using non-comedogenic oils rich in vitamins and fatty acids.
2. Sunflower Oil
Because of its high supply of Linoleic Acid and Vitamin E, nutrient-rich Sunflower Oil is extremely nourishing for dry skin.
It has one of the highest concentrations of vitamin E of any natural oil, as well as one of the best: Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate (ATA). ATA is the most stable and biologically active form of Vitamin E you’ll find in skincare, so your skin can get the most out of it.
This potent antioxidant, coupled with abundant Linoleic acid, strengthens the skin’s barrier, allowing it to better retain water within the skin cells, and so combats dryness and flakiness.
By reinforcing the skin's natural barrier, it also shields the skin from environmental stressors like low humidity that can exacerbate dryness.
Comedogenic rating: 0 ~ does not clog pores
Where you’ll find Sunflower Oil
For the face, la potion infinie is meticulously formulated using a ratio of ingredients that offers the most effective results. Sunflower Oil is found in a very small amount to complement all the active ingredients, creating the most perfectly hydrated and cushioned skin surface ~ many customers comment on how good their make-up looks on their skin and how well it stays put after using la potion infinie to prime and moisturise.
Sunflower Oil is also found in all of our natural fragrances. Designed to be kind to skin and hair, our collection of fragrances, les parfums infinis, uses a base of high-grade Sunflower and Olive Oils to enrich and nourish the skin while offering a beautifully long-lasting scent.
3. Abyssinian Oil
Dry, rough skin is often deficient in fatty acids. Well, Abyssinian Oil is bursting with them, including Erucic, Oleic, and Linoleic Acid.
By topping up your skin’s supply of fatty acids, you support the health of your skin barrier which helps keep water within the skin so it stays elastic, healthy, and well-moisturised.
Abyssinian Oil has an absorption rate of one out of five, the fastest rate of absorption. This means it gets into the skin fast, without leaving a greasy residue. It's actually classed as a ‘dry oil’ due to this fast absorption. It leaves the skin plump, glowing, and smooth, reducing the appearance of fine lines.
Comedogenic rating: 0 ~ does not clog pores
Where you’ll find Abyssinian Oil
We partner Abyssinian Oil with Argan Oil and Kukui Nut Oil in our potent face oil, l’etoile infinie. In clinical trials, 97% of people said their skin felt softer with less dryness, while 94% said their skin felt more moisturised.
4. Sweet Almond Oil
Sweet Almond Oil is a lightweight yet powerful solution for dry skin, brimming with Oleic and linoleic acids and vitamin E.
Because it’s lightweight, it penetrates the skin swiftly without leaving a greasy residue, delivering the essential fatty acids that support and replenish the skin's barrier. With a healthier skin barrier, your skin is better able to retain moisture and reduce dryness and roughness.
Like Sunflower Oil, Sweet Almond Oil has one of the highest Vitamin E contents out there. So if you find your skin is made drier by factors in the environment, this could be a worthy addition to your routine.
Comedogenic rating: 2 ~ low to moderate likelihood of clogging pores
Where you’ll find Sweet Almond Oil
This oil serves to restore the skin’s softness and resilience, ensuring it remains hydrated and nourished. That’s why we love using it in our skincare range ~ it’s the primary ingredient in our cleanser, la lune de velours, and you’ll also find it in our moisturiser, la potion infinie.
5. Kukui Nut Oil
Although lesser known than some of the other face oils on this list, Kukui Nut Oil is an elixir for dry skin.
It’s vitamin-potent, boasting Vitamins A, C, E, and F, which all act as soothing emollients for dry skin. Emollients offer a protective barrier around the skin, keeping moisture in and skin-drying pollutants out. Despite this effect, it absorbs well and quickly into the skin without feeling greasy.
The fatty acids in Kukui Nut Oil also play a pivotal role in supporting the skin’s production of ceramides, ensuring an optimal skin barrier function, locking in moisture, and keeping irritants out.
Comedogenic rating: 2 ~ low to moderate likelihood of clogging pores
Where you’ll find Kukui Nut Oil
You’ll find Kukui Nut Oil in our organic facial oil elixir, l’etoile infinie, combined with Argan Oil and Abyssinian Oil for a deeply moisturising yet super light effect. Discover the clinical results of l’etoile infinie that reported a 94% improvement in skin moisture levels.
How to add face oils to your dry skin routine
Integrating a face oil into your morning and evening skincare routines is easy ~ simply apply it before your moisturiser by warming a few drops in the palms of your hands and patting it onto your skin.
You can add a few drops into your favourite moisturiser too, and apply it that way - we love doing this by combining l’étoile infinie and la potion infinie for a youthful glow.
If you’d rather not apply the oil directly onto your skin, seek out skincare products that contain them, like cleansers or moisturisers.
Choosing the right oil for your dry skin
When it comes to choosing a face oil for your dry skin, try to think about what makes your skin dry and what other skin concerns you have so you can make the right decision for you.
For example, if you experience acne-prone skin, you may want to choose a face oil with a comedogenic rating of 0, like Argan Oil.
Or, if you find your skin is made dry by environmental conditions like cold weather, try using an oil with a high potency of Vitamin E, like Sunflower Oil. Vitamin E is great at protecting the skin from external forces like freezing temperatures and cold winds, offering both antioxidant and emollient properties.
Maintaining balanced skin involves rituals and skincare routines that are unique to everyone and comes with understanding your skin’s rhythms and its sensitivities. You may find that your skin and its concerns change over time too ~ tuning into your skin’s needs is a lifelong journey that’s interconnected with other aspects of the self.
Working with active, natural, and sustainable ingredients may help you manage your skincare concerns in alignment with nature. You’ll find that many of our products are over 95% from natural origins and we love harnessing the power of nature to cultivate nourished, balanced skin. We’re proud to be a Positive Luxury brand too ~ the Butterfly Mark is a symbol of the highest sustainability standards in luxury.
Discover our complete skincare collection.
