Which form of moisturizer is more effective-a lotion or an oil? I’ve been getting this question a lot lately and have come to form a very strong opinion on the debate! Let me break this question down and shed some light on the inner workings of both products.
Lotions are OH SO creamy, cold and lovely, right?! I agree. I love me a lotion, especially when I make it myself. There’s just something about slathering a cream on your skin and literally seeing your skin drink it up. The thing is, in every lotion there is water and a lot of it. In the majority of lotions, there is about 80% water to 15 % oils and 5% emulsifiers, thickeners and preservatives. While lotion soak in quickly, does it really moisturize if it contains that much water? Well, in my opinion, lotions do moisturizer because our skin needs the water and oil but they are no where near as effective as a unadulterated facial oil. Plus, preservatives, emulsifiers and thickeners are worthless to the skin. In fact, if I had to guess, I would say they might actually take away from the skin.
A facial oil is made up of 100% nourishing oils. No preservative is ever needed in a product that does not contain water based ingredients. Essential oils and butters can be included which can be used to treat and nourish the skin. When using a facial oil, very little product is needed to cover the skin’s moisturizing needs. 1 ounce of facial oil will be used over the course of 6 mos. when used morning and night, where as 1 ounce of lotion will be used up in 2-3 weeks. This makes a facial oil highly economical and really makes you re think spending $30+ on water based facial lotions.
Lately I’ve been firming up what products I am selling in my Etsy shop. I’ve recently had a surge in local following and been able to correspond face to face with a few buyers who offered their honest opinion on my skin care. This is something that has been missing from my business and is so greatly appreciated. Basically the consensus was, facial oils deliver the best results and are more bang for your buck.
After a few lackluster reviews about my Creamy Shea Moisturizer, I have decided to no longer sell it. In it’s place are 2 new facial oils. One was formerly known as the Firming Skin Serum and has review after review singing it’s praises. I myself have used it on a consistent basis as my only facial moisturizer and loved how my skin ate it up! The second is a facial oil that contains a very high quality oil called Sea Buckthorn as well as coQ10 and rosehip seed oil among other goodies! I have used this facial oil for over a month now and am seeing fantastic results as well.
You see, I used bottle after bottle of my Creamy Shea Facial Moisturizer seeing very little improvement in the moisture content of my skin nor the elasticity of my skin. While I love the smell and love a cream-it just doesn’t deliver. With these new facial oils, it only takes 4-7 drops of oil to completely treat and hydrate your skin. This is so much more economical and the results came quick. Not to mention the fact that facial oils only contain pure, natural and organic oils and on top of that are so easy to make!
In conclusion, as much as many of us love lotions, they just aren’t the best for our skin. I will continue to make and provide lotion recipes on my blog, I just don’t feel comfortable charging buyers for creams due to inconsistent textures from batch to batch, air bubbles and the not so natural additives. I will probably always make my own body lotion but as for my face, facial oils are the new black, as they say…
DIY Facial Oil/Serum Recipes:
- Rejuvenating PURE Facial Oil
- Cypress Firming Serum
- Beauty Sleep In A Bottle
- The Fountain of Youth (in a bottle)
- 10 Simple Serums for Every Skin Type
xx, Jenni
P.S. For those of you who love the Creamy Shea Moisturizer, feel free to custom order it-as long as you are aware of the issues mentioned.
I have a beeswax moisturizer I make that contains no water. The butters and wax give it a lotion look but it is very much an oil moisturizer and works wonderfully with the exception that it takes a while to soak in. A little goes a long way. I also make a firming oil that I cant keep on the shelf. I sell it in half ounce bottles, these last up to 3 months and produces great results, per my customers, they love it.
Leanna-Oooooohhh! I’m so intrigued! You must have a shop! Would you leave the link? I love to see what other skin care creators are doing! A beeswax moisturizer has me so excited-I might take to the kitchen now to experiment!!
So glad you posted this Jenni…totally with you on the oil. Even when my skin is oily, applying oil makes it feel balanced. And I really get a glow from using oil that I never had with any cream, lotion or other crazy concoction that I put on my face. Plus love knowing that they don’t require preservatives. I’m really into using oil on my body now too.
Oh, and for anyone that is thinking about trying it, I have made the firming facial oil and loved it. Just the rosehip oil along is awesome, and cypress essential oil is amazing and something you don’t see too often. Next time I’m just buying it from your Etsy shop!
Hi Jenni,
For my skin, I had tried before using just facial oil for for acne prone skin. My combination is grapeseed + rosehip + tea tea oil. Unfortunately, it did not fully make my skin feels plump and hydrated. I had also tried just using lotion, and it made my skin so oily and broke out badly. Then, it strucks my mind to try mixing them. I then tried mixing my facial oil with a small amout of hydrating lotion (QV lotion). I’m surprised that it heals my acne faster and I did not suffer from major breakout like I did with just using facial oil/ lotion. My skin now is so smooth and glow from within. Sometimes, our skin just need something from both sides.
Grace-You are so right and a great example that you have to experiment and find what your skin needs because everyone is so different!