Beauty

[magemay]

On 1/16/2015 Sweet Susie said:

Tigriss, before you jump in and use or buy oils that may be inappropriate for your skin type, you need a primer on oils appropriate for oily, acne prone skin.

Dawn Michelle has a Minimalist Beauty blog with decent articles on oils appropriate for oily, acne prone skin. This blog entry is a good one to start with (copy and paste into your browser): http://www.minimalistbeauty.com/oils-specifically-for-acne-prone-skin/

This blog article discusses the ratios of oleic acid and linoleic acid in oils and why it's important to your skin type. Oils higher in linoleic acid and lower in oleic acid work better for oily, acne prone skin. You definitely don't want to be using coconut or olive oils if you have oily, acne prone skin! Argon oil and marula oil are also too high in oleic acid for oily, acne prone skin and are more appropriate for dry skin.

Evening primrose oil, rosehip seed oil and maracuja oil (passion fruit seed oil) are a few examples of oils with high linoleic acid and low oleic acid profiles that are appropriate for oily, acne prone skin.

From what I've read about Manuka oil, it is used sparingly like an essential oil. So if you are going to add it to a carrier oil, be sure to use a carrier oil that is appropriate for your skin type (high in linoleic acid and low in oleic acid), otherwise you will defeat the purpose of using the Manuka oil.

Excellent advice.

I'm glad you mentioned Dawn Michelle's blog. I remember the discussion from ages ago, about her blog - findings, thought it was brilliant and had bookmarked her site.

[magemay]

On 1/17/2015 twins mom said:

I get mine from Shea Terra Organics... they have a 30% off code that you can get through goggle... changes every month...

These 2 oils are so similar in their spelling and with all the posts about Marula oil now, it's really easy to get them confused.

This one is Manuka, like honey

Throw Maracuja in there too, and ..... yikes, enough to make our heads spin

[BellaCarro]

On 1/16/2015 tigriss said:

I got an email from Prevention Today about treating acne naturally. Since I stopped my hormones, I've had serious acne, so I'm back on the pill, but need to get rid of the cystic ones that have popped up and are fading but not fast enough. They tauted manuka oil, like the honey, to have great anti-fungal/biotic powers especially for cystic acne. They stated that it is better than tea tree for treating acne, so I thought I would give it a try since I have done the tea tree oil. The other oils on the Shea Terra site also state that they are great for acne, but I got some of their Argan/Rosemary cleaning oil and had my eczema hate it, but rosemary oil is supposed to be great for calming eczema. Mine did not like it at all. I think going to just one oil would simplify the process and rule things out. I can mix it with coconut or olive oil, since I have those in the house.

I've also heard coconut oil is good for acne as well, but I've got oily skin, so cleaning with oil was not my first thought, but other seem to love it. That is when I got the Shea Terra. I haven't tried cleaning with coconut oil, but could. It is straight virgin coconut oil, so it too is a one ingredient product.

Your wisdom is appreciated. I am now looking into the manula oil and iherb with the garden of wisdom site too! so much to look at, but I've got to head to bed before I wake up in front of my compute tomorrow morning!

NO! Regular coconut oil is not good for acneic skin. They must be referring to fractionated coconut oil (FCO) also referred to as caprylic/capric triglyceride. It's really more of an ester than an oil but I'm sure you don't care about medium chain fatty acids. Anyway, NO!, don't use regular coconut oil. FCO you can.
I don't really think one oil is the answer. SQ3 and magemay both make great points. Many "exotic" oils should not be used full strength but need a "carrier oil". For you, consider grape seed oil or castor oil. I prefer grape seed. But, grape seed oil has a shorter shelf life so you'd need to add Vit E or Rosemary as an antioxidant to, hopefully, prolong the shelf life.
Recently, I was having a breakout from a bad waxing. I put together some witch hazel (no alcohol), calendula and chamomile extracts, a drop of neem oil, and a little grape seed with Vit E, along with a few drops of tamanu oil. Did the trick and reduced inflammation and redness, too. The point is, there is not one "miracle" oil. Before putting an oil on your face you should research its properties.

[magemay]

Bella, check out the blog that Sweet Susie referenced:

http://www.minimalistbeauty.com/oils-specifically-for-acne-prone-skin/

Dawn Michelle has done a lot of work, has broken down and lists the essential fatty acid compositions, gives descriptions and comparisons. Takes a lot of the guess work out of choosing oils which helps reduce trial and error.

[Tigriss]

Wow Sweet Susie! Thanks for the article. I did not know about the acid type content being such a big deal. I am now lost in her blog. It has a wealth of information on treating acne and scars. I'll be over there reading for quite a while!

[suzyQ3]

On 1/16/2015 Sweet Susie said:

Tigriss, before you jump in and use or buy oils that may be inappropriate for your skin type, you need a primer on oils appropriate for oily, acne prone skin.

Dawn Michelle has a Minimalist Beauty blog with decent articles on oils appropriate for oily, acne prone skin. This blog entry is a good one to start with (copy and paste into your browser): http://www.minimalistbeauty.com/oils-specifically-for-acne-prone-skin/

This blog article discusses the ratios of oleic acid and linoleic acid in oils and why it's important to your skin type. Oils higher in linoleic acid and lower in oleic acid work better for oily, acne prone skin. You definitely don't want to be using coconut or olive oils if you have oily, acne prone skin! Argon oil and marula oil are also too high in oleic acid for oily, acne prone skin and are more appropriate for dry skin.

Evening primrose oil, rosehip seed oil and maracuja oil (passion fruit seed oil) are a few examples of oils with high linoleic acid and low oleic acid profiles that are appropriate for oily, acne prone skin.

From what I've read about Manuka oil, it is used sparingly like an essential oil. So if you are going to add it to a carrier oil, be sure to use a carrier oil that is appropriate for your skin type (high in linoleic acid and low in oleic acid), otherwise you will defeat the purpose of using the Manuka oil.

Susie, in my post just before yours, I reference the theory about the ratio between oleic and linoleic acid and how it might relate to acneic skin. I'm glad, though, that you included the source. I hesitated doing so because so often that starts a battle of links.

But I prefaced my comments with "Some believe..." because although the blog is well-written, there is only one link to a source. And that source does not state anything about oleic acid and merely conjectures about the benefits of linoleic acid. So although it is an interesting possibility that is worth considering, I haven't seen any conclusive data to support it. Here is the abstract that is the source she used:

<h1>Essential fatty acids and acne.</h1>

Downing DT, Stewart ME, Wertz PW, Strauss JS.

<h3>Abstract</h3>

Acne is characterized by hyperkeratosis of the follicular epithelium, leading to horny impactions that may lie dormant as open or closed comedones or may cause inflammation of the follicle. Although persons with acne have consistently been observed to have elevated levels of sebum secretion, no mechanism relating sebum secretion rates to comedogenesis is known. Acne patients have also been shown to have low levels of linoleic acid in their skin surface lipids. To explain this observation, the hypothesis is advanced that the linoleate concentration in human sebum depends on the quantity of linoleic acid present in each sebaceous cell at the commencement of its differentiation and on the extent to which this initial charge is diluted by subsequent endogenous lipid synthesis in each sebaceous cell. A corollary hypothesis holds that low concentrations of linoleate in sebum impose a state of essential fatty acid deficiency on the cells of the follicular epithelium and induce the characteristic response of hyperkeratosis. Both hypotheses could hold, without there being a systemic deficiency of linoleic acid, simply as the result of elevated lipogenesis in individual sebaceous cells.

[magemay]

You can follow guidelines, research until you develop a nose bleed, but once ingredients, in this case oils, are put into practice, results are always and will remain, variable.

As with any topical, it's important to become knowledgeable; seek a basic understanding of, learn what to look for in terms of credibility, research with an open mind and without bias, obtain a well rounded view and don't use until you conclude. But, again, it's still subjective. Even the most credible, factual, conclusive scientific studies are up against that, because of variables.

Eveything, in the end, comes down to trial and error, knowledgeable trial and error, but trial and error all the same.

[River Song]

SuzyQ3, I've found info on the oleic/linoleic acid profiles of oils on sites other than the Minimalist Beauty blog and how it relates to different skin types. Acne.org is another site that discusses this concept along with many others. The Minimalist Beauty blog is a good place to *start* reading about the subject, it's clear and well-written, for those folks that are unaware that oily, acne prone skin needs to stay away from certain oils. I know from personal experience that it is critical to choose the correct oil for your skin type.

I've had oily, acne-prone skin for 40+ years, started with puberty and ended (pretty much) with menopause. I have personal experience with the oleic/linoleic acid concept when it comes to oils and my skin does not like oils that have a high percentage of oleic acid in them. My skin does not break out using oils that have ~70% linoleic acid. I get massive breakouts if I use oils that have a high oleic acid content. So, from my personal experience, the theory regarding acne and the oleic/linoleic acid profiles in oils is correct.

I would hate for anyone with oily, acne prone skin to suffer the same way I did when I first experimented with using oils. I did not research the subject thoroughly, like I should have, before I started using oils. It was only after suffering through a massive breakout that the light bulb went on above my brain and it dawned on me that I should have researched the subject before jumping into the oil craze.

To add further confusion to the subject, there are people with oily skin that never break out with acne and they can probably use a lot of the oils that normal-dry skin people use with no ill effects. It's the oily, acne prone people that really have to pay attention to what oils are used in their skin care products.

I stumbled across this great paper about oils and skin barrier function from the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University if anyone wants to slog through it, lol. Not exactly pertinent to our discussion of the oleic/linoleic acid theory but it's really quite interesting: http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/skin/EFA/.

[Tigriss]

I think I'll start with Shea Terra's oils for acne skin or garden of wisdom. I've got emails in to both for recommendations. If there are issues, their CS is great with the problems. Thanks for the starting points.

[suzyQ3]

On 1/17/2015 Sweet Susie said:

SuzyQ3, I've found info on the oleic/linoleic acid profiles of oils on sites other than the Minimalist Beauty blog and how it relates to different skin types. Acne.org is another site that discusses this concept along with many others. The Minimalist Beauty blog is a good place to *start* reading about the subject, it's clear and well-written, for those folks that are unaware that oily, acne prone skin needs to stay away from certain oils. I know from personal experience that it is critical to choose the correct oil for your skin type.

I've had oily, acne-prone skin for 40+ years, started with puberty and ended (pretty much) with menopause. I have personal experience with the oleic/linoleic acid concept when it comes to oils and my skin does not like oils that have a high percentage of oleic acid in them. My skin does not break out using oils that have ~70% linoleic acid. I get massive breakouts if I use oils that have a high oleic acid content. So, from my personal experience, the theory regarding acne and the oleic/linoleic acid profiles in oils is correct.

I would hate for anyone with oily, acne prone skin to suffer the same way I did when I first experimented with using oils. I did not research the subject thoroughly, like I should have, before I started using oils. It was only after suffering through a massive breakout that the light bulb went on above my brain and it dawned on me that I should have researched the subject before jumping into the oil craze.

To add further confusion to the subject, there are people with oily skin that never break out with acne and they can probably use a lot of the oils that normal-dry skin people use with no ill effects. It's the oily, acne prone people that really have to pay attention to what oils are used in their skin care products.

I stumbled across this great paper about oils and skin barrier function from the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University if anyone wants to slog through it, lol. Not exactly pertinent to our discussion of the oleic/linoleic acid theory but it's really quite interesting: http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/skin/EFA/.

I understand what you're saying. I understand the concept of personal experience and how important it is. All I wanted to clarify is that there is a difference between discussing our personal experience, which we do here all the time, and providing facts based on data, which we also do here all the time.

I first broached the discussion about the oleic/linoleic balance in my post here last night precisely because I do think it's noteworthy and something to be considered. But I am not aware that it is established fact for all who have a particular type of skin. That's why I prefaced my mention of the oleic/linoleic balance with a qualifier.

I've read enough posts here and elsewhere, including acne.org, to conclude that when while there may be some verifiable constants, there as many exceptions. So extrapolation is dicey.