Facial oil: gather here oracles!

[Wolfiefan]

Help me wise ones! I have a patch of dry skin on my face and I am starting to notice my skin is changing (ageing!) I was thinking of getting a facial oil. Clarins? Liz Earle? Something else?

I have clarins blue orchid oil (for dehydrated skin) which I love but decleor oils are supposed to be really good too. They last forever so I'm a big fan of oil!

I have just tried a sample of Liz Earle and it is nice but it smells too strong. I prefer Bio Oil.

I like Liz Earle Superskin concentrate - I use it a couple of times a week, at night, and my skin is very glowy in the morning.

I just use olive oil from the chemist or a nice massage oil (unscented).

Are these expensive oils better than bio oil?
What's in them to justify their price tags?

Superdrug vitamin e oil. Espa facial oils are gorgeous but v £££.

Neal's Yard Almond Oil. Very gentle. Very lovely.

I use extra virgin olive oil from the supermarket and put in a bit of caster oil from the chemist.

I love Decleor Iris or Neroli oil. You can usually get a 5ml sample bottle off eBay for about £4 (even this lasts a couple of weeks!), to see if it suits.

I have been using Bio Oil - seems OK. But are you supposed to use it all the time? I am using it in place of a moisturiser but also using an eye cream.

I had some Elemis stuff as a gift - loved it but can't afford to replace it.

I use this and cannot rate it highly enough, it is amazing, they do a travel size, if you just want to try and postage is free on your first order.

Isn't bio oil less "natural" than more expensive types?

Jamaican caster oil (Amazon). I add a few drops of orange flower essential oil to the whole bottle for scent. Strictly for bedtime regime only to let the oil absorb overnight.
I use a serum before applying. My skin is luffly!

PS orange flower aka Neroli

Trilogy rosehip oil has worked well for my dry patches. Considered cheaper versions but the amazon reviews put me off

Isn't bio oil less "natural" than more expensive types?

Yes. But natural doesn't have to be expensive. I'm using this at the moment it's 99p in home bargains and savers at the moment. I've also used this one in the past, which I really rate.

Bio oil is pretty much just mineral oil ie a petroleum derivative. It is OK at keeping moisture in the skin but doesn't really do anything else.
That is why I prefer plant oils. I have tried various oils (olive, avocado, rosehip) and always come back to Clarins lotus oil. It leaves my skin feeling moisturised but not greasy and lasts a v long time.

My favourite is Dior Capture Totale oil. Also this decleor one is excellent, www.lookfantastic.com/decleor-aromessence-excellence-youth-activator-body-serum-100ml/10594910.html
Expensive, but you can find offers

Don't use Bio Oil. As Spanishring says, it is primarily mineral oil and only seals the skin. Nut, seed and vegetable oils are absorbed by the skin and therefore properly nourish it.

If you feel like splashing out, Aromatheray Associates do some fabulous face oils. Otherwise, as others have recommended, make your own. Only use 4 drops of essential oil per 30mls of base oil. Essential oils can burn, damage or irritate the skin when used in too high a concentration :)

Thanks for the tips. I have a bottle of almond oil somewhere. Bio will be kept for the body from now on.

No oils are absorbed by the skin. That's a myth. They all form a thin layer on top of the skin which makes it feel smoother. (And moisturiser is an oil and water emulsion which also doesn't absorb: the water evaporates leaving, yes, a film of oil on the skin.)

It's really down to which you like most and which has the nicest smell. Personally I use a mixture of Boots version of bio-oil and Neals Yard Rose oil.

niminypiminy that's not true at all, your skin is extremely absorbent, happy to absorb oils and also the chemicals carried in them (if they are a chemical containing product).

A newborn babies skin is something like 80% absorbent which is why you should use nothing but plain water on their skin. An adults is less so.

Sorry, that is not true. Your skin is a very effective barrier against oils, chemicals, water and what not. That is what it is for. Babies' skin is not 80% absorbent. Otherwise they would start to absorb air, their clothes... everything around them. Which they don't.

Yes, the fact that babies do not absorb their own clothes is of course perfect proof that their skin is not absorbent.