The use of oils, fats and lipids in skincare products is an important factor in the metabolic uptake of ingredients. Oils are liquid at room temperature, fats are solid, lipids are usually liquid and differ from fats and oils in having a greater metabolic effect and often a much more complex chemical structure.

Why should you care? Oils, fats and lipids (OF&L) have a much greater chance of positively affecting cell vitality than water based ingredients which often have only a negative contribution to make.

OF&L contain massive amounts of energy the skin can use.

However, the physical properties of OF&L are unpredictable in their effects on skin cells and skin overall. For one example, avocado oil is the most viscous (thickest) oil you can apply to your skin. Compared to safflower, coconut, olive, grapeseed, corn oils and so on, avocado oil is far and away much thicker. Unexpectedly it is also far and away the fastest and deepest absorbing of these oils. Avocado oil has a luxurious feel, is immediately skin softening but also clogs pores, and stimulates breakouts. If used at all it should be in a cleanser to be washed away.

Polyunsaturated oils, like grapeseed oil are very undesirable for skincare. They are unstable and generate free radicals in the skin, often causing inflammation.

Highly monounsaturated oils, like olive, canola, safflower (high oleic) are more stable but except for safflower, present a very greasy after feel and can easily dry the skin out. Avocado oil is also highly monounsaturated but behaves differently on the skin than other monos.

Saturated oils, like coconut oil, palm oil and other ‘tropical oils’ tend to clog the skin.

Coconut oil has so many different forms ranging from liquid to solid that no general statement can be made about physical properties and therefore even to agree chemically on what constitutes coconut oil. Generally speaking, the more liquid the coconut oil is the better skin tolerated, but there are exceptions. Coconut oil can be drying to the skin and again this is a function of what portion of the coconut oil is in play.

Cocoa butter is a solid fat that as it rises to warmer room temperatures goes liquid and has great lubricity. It has a greasy after feel and often leads to clogged pores.

Lanolin, derived from animal fat, is outstanding in lubricity, and protection, is usually well tolerated but is difficult to use without clogging pores. There are fractions of lanolin available to formulators that provide excellent skin protection and skin moisture balance. The oldest ingredient in skincare going back thousands of years, lanolin was used long before even the ancient Egyptian dynasties.

Petrolatum is a derived from petroleum and is the second oldest skincare ingredient known. Heavy feel, clogged pores, but outstanding in dry, cold weather.

Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT oil) is usually derived from palm or coconut oil or really from any oil or fat because the physical properties are very similar. This is a very desirable “cut” to take out of the oil to be used for skincare. MCT oils are stable, do not clog pores, tend not to be skin drying, have a great feel and work well in hot to cool environments. MCT oils penetrate deeply and so, are good carriers or vehicles for active lipids.

Jojoba oil (highly refined) is the best natural oil for skincare. The problem with jojoba is that quality varies widely. In other words, having jojoba on the skincare product label is no guarantee. Seasonal changes, refining techniques, harvest conditions all play a role. Jojoba of top quality will not clog pores, will not be drying, has very slight greasy after-feel and goes with about anything.

Lipids and lipid-like substances can be solid or liquid and are usually very expensive to isolate, almost all from plant sources. The fractions of oils and fats that are identified as “unsaponifiables” usually comprise from 1-2% of total weight. These unsaponfiable lipids are often comprised of sterols and vitamins (E and isomers and vitamin K) and polyphenols. None of these is very interesting in themselves, though. Sphingolipids and ceramides are, on the other hand, more interesting for skincare.

Lecithin is part of the unsaponifiable component of soybean oil. It is wholly undesirable in skincare because of its noticeable tendency to cause skin inflammation. The reasons for that are unclear because chemically it should be agreeable to the skin. Look for lecithin on the label, and then consider another product without it. Lecithin is used in microsomes or liposomes. Here an “active” ingredient or drug is enrobed in lecithin to be released over time or as was once thought, to penetrate deeper. The liposome craze waxed and waned over ten years in the 1990’s but so often was inflammatory and caused breakouts it is rarely seen any longer.

Synthetic oils, like silicone oil, dimethicone and other ‘…cones’ can range from quite viscous to extremely light in texture and feel. They share a common property of great spreadability and are used most often to distribute makeup powders like zinc oxide evenly. But, these oils also are excellent for maintaining skin moisture without the occlusive feel of natural oils and petrolatum. These are not an automatic negative for those who get blemishes whereas most natural oils are.

There are some bad actors on the silicone synthetic shelf, like cyclopentasiloxane and trimethicone that the Skin Dork is not a fan of – these are usually found in makeup (another reason to avoid makeup at all costs) and continued uptake can be a primary cause of flare-ups.

The skin itself contains natural oils in its sebum and throughout the dermis and some have noted that these closely resemble avocado, jojoba, coconut, MCT and other plant and animal derived oils and that this is a Very Important Quality to have exactly compatible chemistry. The Skin Dork has not observed any extra benefit in that attempt. Our compatibility with particular oils, fats and lipids will vary from person to person and change during the seasons.

The main takeaway is that oils, fats and lipids will have the greatest single effect in any skincare product that incorporates them. Being “oil free” by the way is no guarantee a skincare product does not clog pores.a