Learn how oil based cleansers interact with the skin and how does it affect it's barrier.
Oil cleansing as well as double cleansing routine became very popular recently. Oil cleansers claim to:
remove make up and skin build up more efficiently,
clear out pores without clogging them,
to be nourishing and more gentle to the skin.
They are available in different formats such as liquid oils, gels and balms. Chemically they are mixtures of vegetable triglycerides and synthetic ester oils, sometimes combined with low HLB surface active agents to facilitate rinse off.
But is exclusive oil cleansing really healthy for the skin long term?
About skin cleansing process first
The general purpose for skin cleansing is to remove external contaminants, clear out skin from excess sebum and to control pathogenic bacteria on the skin. A perfect cleanser would do it without removing protective SC surface proteins, NMF, lipids and without affecting the skin microbiome. In reality it’s not possible because the cleansing process will reversibly affect the skin structure and microbiome balance. In a healthy skin, it takes from 1 to 4h to reestablish its protective barrier. In some cases, longer term use might lead to irreversible changes, that result in skin conditions.
As most of the impurities and contaminants that are found on the skin’s surface are not water-soluble, cleansing the skin with water alone is not sufficient. We know that surfactant-based products are capable of breaking down and emulsifying most of those skin impurities and contaminants into finer particles and enabling their removal from the surface. Unfortunately, they can also remain in the SC even after rinsing. They are likely to insert into the SC lipid lamellae and disrupt its structural order causing the continual degradation of the skin barrier. In general, syndets with pH being close to the skin’s native pH, are milder showing fewer damaging effects to the skin in comparison to soaps. But the final effect will depend on the surfactant type and concentration.
What about oil-based cleansers?
About oil cleansing mechanism & skin barrier
The quality of skin barrier function is primarily determined by the structural order of intercellular stratum corneum lipids. SC lipids consist mainly of ceramides, cholesterol and free fatty acids (FFAs), hydrophobic molecules with high polarity. The lipids are arranged in lamellar layers. External factors including topical skincare products can affect SC lipid molecular order and lead to the whole structure perturbation.
Because plant oils and hydrophobic emollients have high affinity to the skin lipids, treating skin with oil-based cleanser on daily basis might not be as beneficial as claimed. They mix very well with the SC lipidic cement and when removed take away the native skin lipids with them, leaving it disturbed.
Some fatty acids are well known for the SC lipids disrupting activity, such as oleic acid. Oleic acid is present in many vegetable oils and makes up 55–80% of olive oil, 15–20% of grape seed oil and sea buckthorn oil. Other oils such as soybean oil, palm oil and corn oil contain about 10–40% oleic acid.
In vivo, oleic acid caused a significant increase in TEWL and skin irritation. It was found to interact with SC lipids, and two mechanisms have been proposed to understand the interaction with SC lipids: disordering of SC lipids and formation of separate disordered oleic acid enriched domains. More recent studies showed that oleic acid promotes phase separation in SC lipids and reduces SC lipid bilayer density and thickness.
Abnormal lamellar structure and disrupted order have been associated with compromised barrier function clinically in patients with psoriasis, ichthyosis and atopic dermatitis.
With that knowledge in mind, let’s look into the claims again and comment:
Oil cleansers remove make up and skin build up more efficiently- yes, oil cleansers will be more effective in makeup removal, because make up formulations are usually more hydrophobic. At the same time, they will take away the native skin lipids, leaving skin disturbed, that may lead to dryness at first and eventually manifest as psoriasis, ichthyosis or atopic dermatitis.
Oil cleansers clear out pores without clogging them- yes, they will help soften and remove debrief as well as sebum content from the pores, but the result might be similar as above.
Oil cleansers are nourishing and more gentle to the skin- yes, in general oil based cleansers will be more gentle and will spare the NMF, but will affect skin lipids and weaken the barrier making that precious water escape causing dryness.
To summarize, oil-based cleansers provide positive sensorial experience, feel nourishing and softening, but are not recommended for daily use long term.
Let's create beauty together.
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