Face oil in your routine: what it actually does and where it belongs.

Face oils are among the most marketed skincare products, frequently described as "nourishing," "transformative," or capable of "feeding" skin. They are also among the most routinely misused — applied at the wrong step, in place of the wrong product, or chosen without considering comedogenic potential. The reality of what face oils do is more limited, more specific, and still genuinely useful.

What face oils actually do

Face oils function as occlusives and emollients. As occlusives, they sit on the skin's surface and slow transepidermal water loss — the passive evaporation of water through the skin — by forming a semi-permeable lipid layer. As emollients, they soften and smooth the skin's surface by filling in the spaces between corneocytes, the flattened dead cells of the outer epidermis.

What face oils do not do: they do not deliver nutrients into the skin in clinically meaningful quantities. The stratum corneum is designed to prevent penetration by most external substances — that is its function. While some lipids from facial oils do integrate into the intercellular lipid matrix of the barrier, describing this as the skin being "nourished" is marketing language rather than biology. The primary benefit of a face oil is physical and mechanical, not nutritive.

The different types of face oil

Dry oils — squalane, rosehip, marula, argan — absorb relatively quickly and leave little residue. They tend to be lower in comedogenic risk and are better tolerated by a wider range of skin types.

Heavier oils — coconut oil, cocoa butter, mineral oil, shea butter in high concentrations — are more occlusive and slower to absorb. They are more appropriate for very dry or compromised skin where maximum occlusion is the goal.

Squalane deserves specific mention. Squalane is a hydrogenated, stable derivative of squalene — a lipid the skin already produces naturally. It is non-comedogenic (a comedogenicity rating of 0–1), extremely stable against oxidation, lightweight, and well-tolerated even on oily and acne-prone skin. For anyone who wants to add a face oil and is uncertain where to start, squalane is the lowest-risk entry point.

Rosehip oil is frequently marketed for its retinol precursor content (beta-carotene converts to vitamin A). The conversion rate through the skin is minimal and not comparable to using retinol directly. Rosehip's actual benefit is as an antioxidant-rich, lightweight dry oil with a favourable fatty acid profile (high in linoleic acid, which is often deficient in the skin of acne-prone individuals).

Jojoba is technically a liquid wax ester — not an oil at all — which gives it exceptional stability and a non-comedogenic profile that closely mimics the skin's own sebum structure.

Where face oil belongs in a routine

This is where most face oil guidance goes wrong. The conventional wisdom of "oil last" is correct for a specific reason: oils are not miscible with water. If a face oil is applied before water-based serums or a water-based moisturiser, it forms a barrier that prevents water-soluble ingredients from reaching the skin effectively.

The correct order:

1. Cleanser
2. Toner or essence (if used)
3. Water-based serums (vitamin C, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, exfoliating acids)
4. Water-based moisturiser
5. Face oil (or a drop mixed into the moisturiser)

As a PM final step, a face oil seals everything applied beneath it and provides overnight occlusion. In the morning, face oil under SPF creates an application challenge: sunscreen requires direct skin contact to absorb and disperse correctly, and an oil layer between skin and SPF can reduce its effective coverage. If you use SPF (which you should, every morning), apply it directly to the moisturiser layer and leave the face oil for PM use.

Who face oils are for

Very dry and dry skin benefits most from face oils as a PM final step, supplementing rather than replacing a moisturiser. Dry skin has a depleted barrier lipid profile; adding an emollient oil layer addresses the lipid deficit more directly than a water-based moisturiser alone.

Mature skin with reduced sebum production and a thinner barrier benefits from the additional occlusion, particularly in cold or low-humidity conditions.

Oily skin is not automatically contraindicated for face oils — but selection matters. Squalane is appropriate. Heavy, high-comedogenicity oils (coconut, cocoa butter) will worsen congestion. The oil myth that oily skin should avoid all oils conflates sebum excess with lipid barrier deficit, which are separate issues.

Face oil is not a substitute for moisturiser

The most common mistake: replacing moisturiser with a face oil, or assuming that because an oil feels rich it is also providing hydration. Oils do not hydrate — they seal. If the skin is dehydrated (lacking water, not lipids), applying only an oil over dry skin seals the dryness in. Humectant ingredients — hyaluronic acid, glycerin — pull water into the skin. The moisturiser provides these; the oil locks them there. You need both, in the right order.