Main Takeaways: Generally speaking, moisturizers hydrate the skin while face oils lock the moisture in. Face oils feel slick while moisturizers are generally creamy. Good to Know: There's no reason you can't use both a face oil and a moisturizer to help restore and lock moisture into the skin.
Moisturizers and face oils are not interchangeable. You cannot use oil in place of moisturizer because oils are too heavy for the skin. They will make your face oily and greasy, which is something you definitely want to avoid as it will make your skin look worse than ever.
Because oil is the heaviest — or most dense — product in your routine, it's able to penetrate your moisturizer, allowing it to reach your skin, but the reverse isn't true. If you want to really amp up the moisture, apply your oil after applying moisturizer onto damp skin.
"The skin needs oil to maintain a healthy balance, otherwise, it gets too dry which can cause breakouts, fine lines, and wrinkles. Using a facial oil helps keep moisture in the skin while protecting it from the environmental damage," she explains.
5. Use face oil twice daily, or as needed. Facial oils can take pride of place in your skincare routine in the morning or the evening (or both!), but they can also be used as and when they're needed.
So while oils can condition the skin, they only retain water content not add it, which means they are moisturizing but not hydrating.
Better idea: Use the moisturizer, then pat on your oil. It'll let the water melt into your skin and not evaporate. The most important reason oil goes last: It'll eventually sink into your skin, reinforcing your moisture barrier no matter the order.
Myth #2: Facial oils clog pores.
Let's cut to the chase right away – facial oils will not clog your pores. Oil (or sebum) occurs naturally in your skin and your sebaceous glands are constantly working to pump it out. Acne is a result of hair follicles that become clogged with oil and dead skin cells.
You can always mix oils in with your moisturizer, but if you're going to give them their own spot of honor in your skin-care routine, derms say there are two ways you can do it, depending on the type of face oil you use.
Alex Roher, MD of San Diego Botox Inc recommends using face oils both in the morning and at night. He advises applying oil as the last step of your nighttime skin care routine and before your sunscreen and makeup in the morning.
Face oils are considered a type of emollient, which means they help strengthen the outer layer of your skin — the stratum corneum — by softening and sealing it, preventing water loss," González said.
The ideal age to start using face serums would be late 20s and early 30s. This is the age at which the first signs of aging appears.
You cannot moisturize your skin with an oil.
The most popular and effective humectants are glycerin and hyaluronic acid. On the other hand, emollient ingredients soften skin.
Hair serum is a styling product that makes your hair smooth and adds shine, while the primary purpose of hair oil is to nourish and improve your hair's health. There's no identifying serum or oil as better than the other, as they both possess distinctive qualities and offer different benefits.