Mineral oils: where do they come from and what are they hiding from us?

Mineral oils are very popular in cosmetics. But what do we really know about these oils whose name suggests they come from nature? Mineral oils are oils derived from the distillation of petroleum or coal.

The effects of mineral oils on the skin

Mineral oils leave a protective film on the skin that limits dehydration and helps preserve the face's natural hydration. However, these oils do not act deep down.

They are said to be “occlusive”, which means they clog the skin's pores, and are therefore considered comedogenic. This type of oil is known to promote the appearance of blemishes: pimples, blackheads...

How do you spot mineral oils in your products?

To spot the presence of mineral oils in your products, you will need to look at their composition.

The following ingredients indicate that your product contains mineral oils:

- Mineral oil

- Paraffinum liquidum or paraffin oil (extremely widely used in lip balms)

- Hydrogenated polyisobutene

- Petrolatum

- Cera Microcristallina

- Ozokerite

- Ceresin

- Words with “methicone” or “siloxane”

For healthy, protected skin, it is therefore recommended to favor the use of so-called “ clean ” products formulated withplant oils.

Plant oils: true allies for our skin

Plant oils are extracted from plants, flowers or fruits. There are different extraction methods for plant oils, such as cold extraction. This technique preserves the virtues of the plants and should therefore be favored.

The list of plant oils is long: it includes big names in cosmetics such as jojoba oil, avocado oil, sweet almond oil, argan oil… as well as very trendy varieties such as Amazonian açaí oil, borage oil and hemp oil.

All are extremely rich in benefits. While some are used on the hair, nails, face and body, others are ingested and act as dietary supplements.

These oils penetrate the epidermis and bring our skin many essential nutrients for the functioning of the cells.

Unlike mineral oils, they therefore act deep down and have many benefits for your skin.

How do you spot plant oils in your products?

To spot plant oils, it's very simple, you just need to take a look at the list of ingredients. Plant oils are very easy to spot in the list, thanks to their names, always written as follows: Latin name of the species + (vegetal) oil.

For example: argan oil will be listed as "argania spinosa kernel oil".