Will oils clog my pores?

There is a comedogenic rating to oils that we put on the skin. The scale is from 0-5. A zero rating would mean that the oil won't clog pores at all. A 2 rating would mean that for the great majority of people, the oil does not clog pores, but for a few it will. A 5 rating would mean if you put it on your face, neck and/or chest, overnight you'd wake up with every pore clogged with blackheads. Yay for me (professional pimple popper), terrible for you.

Coconut oil rates as a 4, but it's strange. If your pores are small, it doesn’t cause pore clogging. If your pores are large it will literally clog up everything in a matter of hours. So, there are exceptions for how the oils work for individuals. And using certain oils on the body could be fine, but for the face pose a problem.

Mixing a high comedogenic oil with a low rated oil will bring down the comedogenicity. Many skin care companies do this to gain benefits of an oil that might be higher on the comedogenic scale, but to prevent it from clogging the pores. For example, my favorite zero-rated oil is Argan. Argan oil is a medium weight oil that is full of omega essential fatty acids, vitamin E and antioxidants that can help prevent sun damage. Rice Bran oil is a 2 and it has the amazing ability to brighten dark spots with the high levels of the antioxidant oryzanol. It also has high levels of vitamin E, tocotrienols (vitamin e like constituents), vitamin B, omega-9, and a rich array of fatty acids. All of which will keep the skin supple and tight. Rice bran was used by Geisha’s and women in Japan. The women who used rice bran oil and rice bran powders were called “rice beauties”. Rice Bran mixed with Argan oil is a powerful non-pore clogging combination that is a wonderful base for your regular skin care routine. Adding lemongrass essential oil will help with oily/problem skin. Adding lavender essential oil will help with calming and healing the skin. Many other essential oils can be used to prevent sun damage akn to an SPF like Frankincense and Myrrh, but that’s a whole other topic for another blog post.

You can use oils to cleanse your skin. A lot of people are unaware that they can get a deeper clean by oil cleansing. After all, “like likes like”. Dissolve makeup and oil-based debris by doing a massage with your favorite low comedogenic face oil and gently wipe off with a terry cloth. You can do this before or after your regular cleanser. Use your toner, then water-based serums after. Then use your oil-based serums. Then use a moisturizer and over that a few drops of your facial oil. Or use oil instead of your moisturizer after all, the most important part of your moisturizer is the oil.