Inside-Out - Heal Dry Skin With Natural Skin Care Oils Good Enough to Eat!

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Many factors (living in dry or windy climates or higher altitudes for example) can lead to excessively dry skin, where the sebum you secrete is simply not enough to do the job and additional moisturizers are needed. By the same token, overactive sebaceous glands that lead to excessively oily (and acne-prone) skin can sometimes be a sign of an oil deficiency in the body. As counter-intuitive as that may sound, if your body isn't getting enough Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) from food or supplementation, it can respond by over-producing and secreting sebum to counteract the potential harm or damage to your skin that can come from this deficiency.

All fats and oils (including sebum) are composed of molecules called fatty acids. There are two ways of classifying these fatty acids. The first is based on saturated fat vs. unsaturated fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated). The other is a system of classification based on molecular size or the length of the carbon chain within each fatty acid. If I can get technical here for a minute... fatty acids often consist of long chains of carbon atoms with hydrogen atoms attached. So oils can have short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA), or long-chain fatty acids (LCFA). Sebum contains medium chain fatty acids, in the form of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), so oils that consist of MCFAs are those that most closely resemble sebum.

The two oils that are richest in antioxidants and most closely resemble your sebum are Virgin Coconut and EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil), which is what makes them such excellent skincare ingredients, and the main ones to look for in high quality natural lotions, creams and cleansers. Here's a brief summary of each:

Coconut Oil: A Fat Like No Other

Coconut oil has wonderful antioxidant properties that protect the skin from free radical damage. In addition to its highly moisturizing properties, it also helps keep connective tissues strong and supple so that the skin doesn't sag and wrinkle. In some cases it can even restore damaged or diseased skin. While coconut oil applied directly to the skin doesn't have any immediate antimicrobial action, when bacteria, which are always present on the skin, turn the coconut's triglycerides into free fatty acids (just as it does with sebum) the result is an increase in the number of antimicrobial fatty acids on the skin, which provide protection from infection. By using a coconut oil-based cream, lotion or just pure coconut oil you can quickly help re-establish the skin's natural antimicrobial and acid barrier.

At one time, coconut oil was mistakenly believed to be unhealthy because of its high saturated fat content (a whopping 92%), but we now know that the fat in coconut oil is a unique one - different from most other fats - that possesses many healthful properties. As a saturated fat consisting primarily of medium chain fatty acids (also known as medium-chain triglycerides or MCTs) coconut oil is more easily metabolized, and not easily oxidized so it doesn't cause harmful free radical damage like polyunsaturated vegetable oils often can. This is true whether the oil is ingested or applied topically.

Because coconut oil can help reduce chronic skin inflammation within days and be soothing and healing to wounds, blood blisters, rashes, etc., it's also an excellent ingredient to use in healing salves and ointments.

Olive Oil: Mother Nature's Biggest Beauty Secret

Among all the natural lipids, olive oil has the most similar chemical composition to sebum, which gives it a strong affinity to human skin. Completely safe and easily absorbed, it has exceptional penetrating ability, and is high in well-documented antioxidant properties including tocopherols (vitamin E), beta-carotene (vitamin A), phytosterols, flavonoids (including quercetin and squalene), and phenolic compounds.

There's as much as 5 mg of antioxidant polyphenols in every 10 grams of olive oil, and 1.6 mg or 2.3 IU (International Units) of Vitamin E per tablespoon. This potent combination of antioxidants works to neutralize free radicals (unstable molecules created by exposure to things like cigarette smoke, pollution, alcohol, radiation, and oxidation of trans fats) and repair cell membranes - including sun damaged skin.

In addition, olive oil has the natural ability to target the skin cells in the top layer of your epidermis and can stimulate the synthesis of collagen and elastin - encouraging firmer and healthier skin. The rich emollients in olive oil allow just a little to go a long way.

Most commercial skin care products in the United States today are made from polyunsaturated oils, which oxidize and turn rancid very quickly causing free radical damage in the skin. So choose your oils wisely.

For optimal safety and efficacy, the oils you use on your skin, whether they are main ingredients in your products or applied alone, should be certified organic, raw, and unprocessed, or subject to minimal processing as the latter can destroy much of the oil's nutritive value and increase the likelihood of rancidity. This applies whether the oils are for internal consumption, topical application, or both.