Maybe a friend swears by her face oil, or you got a pretty little bottle in a gift set and it’s been sitting in your bathroom drawer ever since. You want to try it, but you’ve heard face oil clogs pores, and you’re not even sure if it goes on before or after your moisturizer. Both worries are fair, and both are easy to sort out.
Face oil isn’t only for dry skin. The oil you choose matters more than your skin type, and light, single-ingredient oils like squalane and jojoba feel very different from a heavy blend. How you use it matters just as much. It goes on near the end of your routine, after serum and moisturizer, and two or three drops covers your whole face.
Where it fits in your routine
The American Academy of Dermatology’s order is simple: cleanse, then any medicine or treatment, then moisturizer and sunscreen, then makeup. A face oil slides in right after your moisturizer. Thin, water-based products go on first so they reach your skin, and the oil goes on top to seal them in. Our post on face serum vs face oil explains why the serum always comes first.
Putting it on, step by step
- Cleanse and pat your skin almost dry. The AAD suggests putting moisturizer on while skin is still a little damp, which helps hold water in.
- Put on any treatment first. A retinoid, acne cream or other medicine goes right after cleansing.
- Add your serum, then your moisturizer. Give each a minute to settle.
- Warm two or three drops between your fingertips. Start with two. You can always add one more.
- Press, don’t rub. Press your palms over your cheeks, forehead and chin, then smooth the last bit down your neck.
- In the morning, wait a few minutes before sunscreen. Sunscreen spreads more evenly once the oil has sunk in, and slick skin makes it slide.
Don’t want an extra step? Mix one drop into your moisturizer in your palm and put them on together. At night, the oil goes on top of your moisturizer, never in place of it. For the full evening lineup, see our night routine order.
Picking an oil for your skin type
Oily or acne-prone skin
Go carefully. The AAD’s advice for oily skin is products labeled “oil free” and “noncomedogenic,” and oily skin still needs a regular moisturizer, so an oil isn’t a swap for that. If you still want an oil, choose a light, non-comedogenic one, use a drop or two at night only, and try it for a week on one area before going all over. If you start breaking out, stop.
The Ordinary 100% Plant-Derived Squalane is a single ingredient, squalane from sugar cane, and it’s non-comedogenic. It feels almost weightless, which makes it the friendliest first oil for oily or combination skin, at about $10.
If you’d like something a little more special, Herbivore Lapis Blue Tansy + Squalane Balancing Facial Oil blends blue tansy, jojoba and squalane. It’s non-comedogenic and made for all skin types, including oily and acne-prone skin, and the bright blue color is fun to use. The 30 mL bottle is about $58.
Combination skin
Use oil only where you’re dry, usually the cheeks, and skip your T-zone. A small bottle is plenty, since you’re only covering part of your face.
Good Molecules Ultra-Hydrating Facial Oil comes in a 13 ml bottle for about $10 and is made for all skin types. It’s a cheap, low-pressure way to see if the habit sticks before you spend more.
Dry skin
This is where face oil shines. The AAD lists jojoba oil among the ingredients to look for in a cream for dry skin, and it suggests fragrance-free products. Dry skin often does well with oil morning and night. For more picks, see our roundup of the best face oils for dry skin.
Cliganic Organic Jojoba Oil is 100% cold-pressed jojoba in a 4-ounce bottle for about $10. It’s great for mixing a drop into your moisturizer, and there’s plenty left over for cuticles and dry ends of hair. Keep it somewhere cool, dry and dark.
Sensitive skin
Fragrance in cosmetics is a common cause of contact dermatitis, according to MedlinePlus. Look for an oil with one ingredient, or one that’s free of fragrance and essential oils, and patch test it on your jaw for a few days first.
Drunk Elephant Virgin Marula Luxury Facial Oil is unrefined marula oil with no essential oils or fragrance, and two or three drops is all you need. It’s a rich oil that’s best at night on dry or sensitive skin. At about $72, it’s the splurge.
Mistakes that make face oil feel greasy
The most common one is using too much. Five or six drops just end up on your pillowcase. If you look shiny ten minutes later, cut back a drop.
Putting it on first is another. Oil under a water-based serum makes it harder for the serum to reach your skin, so keep the oil near the end.
Some people also treat it like sunscreen. A face oil has no SPF unless it’s labeled as a sunscreen. The AAD recommends a broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher every day, and oil doesn’t change that.
Mixing a drop into foundation can make it look more dewy, but it also thins it out and can make it wear off faster, so try it on a day off first. And store your bottle out of the sun, since light and heat make plant oils go stale sooner.
