CARRIER OILS ARE COLD-PRESSED VEGETABLE OILS
In the spirit of Love Day, I thought I would talk a little bit about skin love. There are so many natural ingredients that love your skin but like all lovers, some are better than others. Some leave you glowing while others make you breakout!
I’m going to focus on butters and carrier oils. Carrier oils are best described as cold-pressed vegetable oils, extracted from the nut or seeds of the plant. Butters are also extracted from the nut or bean, ground into a powder and then boiled and the butter is what rises to the top.
When working with carrier oils, I choose my oils based a few factors: comedogenic rating, percentage of fatty acid, absorption and of course overall benefits. Comedogenic ratings are rankings which run from 0 to 5, with 5 being the highest likelihood of clogging pores and 0 being the lowest. Skin needs to breathe and clogged pores will cause breakouts.
The essential fatty acids found in carrier oils have three main categories: linoleic, linolenic and oleic. I like working with oils high in linoleic acid as they are excellent hydration oils, strengthening your skin’s natural barrier so it keeps moisture in but keeps breakouts at bay.
Formulating with oils is a bit of an art form. You want to draw out the strengths and dilute the weaknesses. High potency, effectiveness and without risk of breakouts is the key. Some people ask if they can just use coconut oil on their skin and the answer is YES! But here’s the thing: Coconut oil has a comedogenic rating of 4, meaning for most of us (including me!) straight-up coconut oil will definitely cause skin reactions. It’s linoleic rating is only 1% and it’s texture is quite heavy so I prefer using coconut oil in body products.
One of my favourite oils is Hemp seed, high in linoleic acid (56%) with comedogenic rating of 0. Pumpkin seed, my other go-to carrier oil, has a rating of 2 for potentially clogging pores, but also high in linoleic acid (47%). These two oil have been my skin’s oily heroines! Softening, moisturizing and great for all skin types, these two oils are great building blocks to balanced, renewed and strengthened skin.
My other absolute favourite is squalane. Extracted from olives, squalane is considered a raw material rather than a carrier oil, this light, thin textured oil, is a moisturizing powerhouse and because it’s mimics the natural sebum of our skin, it’s the least offensive oil I have ever used. Because of its texture, it absorbs quickly, penetrates like water and never leaves skin feel greasy.
MANGO BUTTER ~ SHEA BUTTER ~ COCOA BUTTER
Butters are a bit more controversial. Often more pore clogging and are lower in linoleic acid but higher in oleic acid, their prime benefits are in moisturizing. Shea butter has a linoleic acid level of 5% and a low comedogenic rating of 2, but some skin types react badly to it. The beauty of Shea is a little goes a long way.
Cocoa butter is a much harder butter than Shea and has a high clogging rate of 4 and a linoleic acid is at 3%. You don’t see cocoa butter being used in face products for a reason. Mango butter is the third most common butter in skincare and has a rate of 2, is a great moisturizer but has a grainier texture than either Shea or cocoa butter, making it difficult to formulate with. It’s linoleic acid count is at 10% making it better choice than the other two for balancing and strengthening skin.
Is this it? God no! The list is long of precious oils that make your skin sing love songs! I must mention the luxurious Prickly Pear, with a whopping 60.5% of linoleic acid, high Vitamins C and E and a truly miraculous ingredient. Rosehip in skincare fave with a 44% linoleic acid level and comedogenic rating of 1. Argan and jojoba are great carrier oils too with a rating of 0 as far as clogging skin but slightly less potent on the linoleic scale.
When looking for face care products and reading through ingredients, look for oils that come from seeds. The same seed superfoods you eat are often the same seeds used in the best skincare products. The most potent part of the plant is the heart of the plant. You can never go wrong when things come from the heart! Happy Love Day!
Shannon Cleary is the creator of Audre, a streamlined, clean + green skincare company, based in Montreal. Find Audre and her whole face care line in the Luna Boutique.
www.iamaudre.com