The Top Clean Facial Oils for Healthy, Radiant Skin.
Using a clean facial oil is the best thing you can do for your skin according to over a dozen dermatologists and aesthetician’s that we spoke with, and we agree! There are countless benefits to a great face oil, including: wrinkle reduction, pore reduction, calming rashes, treating acne, improving elasticity, and protecting skin to name a few. And as we age our skin naturally produces less oil so using a clean oil helps provide much needed nutrients for healthy, glowing skin.
Which face oil you choose to use matters. While many oils are cleaner than traditional creams and lotions, a lot are still loaded with harmful chemicals such as parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), synthetic colors & fragrances, and even formaldehyde. Many of these chemicals irritate skin and can cause allergic reactions and breakouts. So, if you're not already using a clean facial oil, it's time. But won't oil make me break out? Quite the contrary, but you have to use the right kind of oil. One of the biggest offenders? Beloved coconut oil. "Coconut oil will stay on the top of your skin for hours," says aesthetician Ling Chen. "When oils are too heavy, they don't allow your skin to breathe." Your best bets are oils with a smaller molecular size, like argan oil, rosehip seed oil, and jojoba oil. They sink into skin quicker and never get the chance to clog pores.
After speaking with the experts in skincare to get their recommendations we tested dozens of facial oils over the last few months to find our top picks. We were looking for oils that produced tangible results (super smooth + even skin tone + feels great!), are made from plants (not chemicals), and are a great value for the price. If you have dry skin, try putting on a clean water-based serum on before applying the oil.
Naked & Thriving’s Rejuvenate Restorative Facial Oil
By far and away, Naked & Thriving's REJUVENATE Restorative Facial Oil was the favorite among the group. Aside from the brand's cheeky name (which we love) this oil had the most visible results. We saw a reduction in facial lines, more even skin tone and we literally could not stopping touching our faces (so soft!) They say one bottle should last a 3-4 months, but we guess longer. Naked & Thriving plants a tree for every bottle sold and are made from 99% certified organic ingredients. REJUVENATE uses some of our favorite and most active oils such as Argan, Rosehip Seed, Sea Buckthorn, Chia Seed & Pomegranate. And they have a great body oil as well.
EDIT: Naked & Thriving's is currently offering free shipping, plus a free travel size. Use coupon code: TRAVEL.
Our second selection is the ever popular, and even more expensive, Vintner’s Daughter. Coming in at $185 we found this oil to be one of the most expensive we tried. The oil has a pleasant, earthy fragrance and is mainly comprised of Grape Seed Oil, Hazelnut and Bergamot. The oil applies nicely, however, it is just slightly greasy so it takes a minute or two longer to absorb than some of the others. We would recommend using this oil at night due to this. The main reason this came in second was that we did not find the price point to match the quality, if this bottle was a third of the price we would have loved it!
Our next pick is Beautycounter’s Brightening Facial Oil. This oil applies easily to the skin and consists of Avocado, Grape and Meadowfoam oils . These are heavier oils so if you are looking for a light oil we would not recommend this one. It made our skin softer with a pleasant orange scent. Full disclosure, this oil is very expensive at $69 for 0.67 oz. so it is not the best bang for your buck.
Next in line is Josie Maran’s Argan Oil. This oil has grown quite popular over the last few years and for good reason, it’s hydrating and not too heavy. This oil has an earthier scent than some of the others so it will depend on your taste. Our only con for this oil was that we did not find it absorbed as well or as quickly as some of the others.
Our next pick is SK-II's Facial Treatment Oil. This oil is heavier than the others consisting of olive and avocado oils that are fattier, heavier oils. We would only recommend this oil for those who have extremely dry skin. That said, it does quite a nice job at moisturizing the skin and smells delightful. A bottle will run approximately $150.
Odacite's An Autumn on The World, is a great albeit expensive oil. We loved the way it felt on our skin, however, it is half the size of the others and more than double the cost ($149). Our other qualm is that while this is touted as a "clean" oil, it does not have certified organic or natural ingredients.
It was only a matter of time before Gwyneth released her own facial oil and here it is. While we love the clean packaging and the oil is pretty great we did not love the scent. We did struggle to understand a price point of $110 when the first ingredient is sunflower oil (one of the cheaper oils out there).
While we love many products from Origins we were a bit disappointed by this one. The scent of the oil is great we will admit. However, this oil is greasier than others we tried and does not sink into the skin well, even after a good ten minutes. The greasy feeling continued well after use. Our other complaint about this oil is that the bottle is oddly shaped with a wide opening that makes it top heavy and easy to topple over. We would only recommend this oil for those with extremely dry skin and would say to use it at night to avoid looking greasy during the day.
Bringing up the rear of our top facial oils is ila's face oil for glowing radiance. This facial oil also touts Argan as a key ingredient and produced some great results. We noticed a more even skin tone, however, we did not see line reduction as with some of the others. Also, the dropper on this bottle was unlike most others and not as easy to use, which, at the end of the day if our beauty routine can be made easier, it's always a plus in our book.