Not All Oils Are Created Equal When it comes to the (many, many) skin care oils out there, the most important thing to remember is that they are all different. "People think an oil is an oil, but it's essential to differentiate between them," explains Mona Gohara, M.D., associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine.
While we could spend hours getting into the nitty-gritty of what makes them different, the simplest thing to do is split them up into those that are lighter, and those that are heavier. (Technically speaking, the former are higher in oleic acid, the latter in linoleic acid.)
"The ones that are heavier have a larger molecular weight and blanket the skin, creating an occlusive barrier," explains Gohara. This makes them ideal if you want heavy-duty hydration -- they're great at sealing in moisture -- but also ups their pore-clogging potential, she adds. Gohara's trick for determining which kind of oil is which? "Generally speaking, the ones that you'd use for cooking -- coconut, avocado, almond, olive -- are usually heavier and richer," she says.
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