7 Incredible Rosehip Oil Benefits for Your Skin
Rosehip oil is packed with ingredients that make it useful for your skin. You can find rosehip oil taking up residency in some of your favorite plant-based serums and moisturizers. Used for decades to help soften, smooth, and hydrate the skin, you’ll love the benefits of rosehip oil more than getting a fresh bouquet of single stems.
Because rosehip oil is a vegan ingredient, you might think it’s always cruelty-free. That’s not the case, but don’t worry—we’ll give you all the information you need so you can decide how and when to add rosehip oil to your skincare routine, plus a recommendation for cruelty-free rosehip oil.
What is rosehip oil?
Rosehip oil is extracted from the seeds of the Rosa canina plant, while rose oil (commonly used in skincare products to give them fragrance) is extracted from the petals. Rosehips contain the seeds and are the part of the plant left behind once the flower blooms and falls.
Rosehip oil is gentle and generally well-tolerated by all skin types. As a lightweight oil, it dries quickly and absorbs easily, leaving behind a silky smooth finish on your skin. Unlike coconut oil, rosehip oil is known for its low comedogenicity, which means that it’s much less likely to clog your pores.
Ancient Egyptians, Native Americans, and Mayans thought rosehip oil could keep their skin glowing, healthy, and beautiful and believed it had healing properties.
Why should I use rosehip oil?
There are a million different essential oils available, but rosehip may be a better choice for your skin than some others. Besides the fact that it works for even the most sensitive skin types, it does the work of numerous other oils in one fell swoop.
1. It helps improve skin elasticity
Skin loses its elasticity as we get older. The ability of your skin to snap back into place after it has been stretched is dependent on your skin’s production of elastin. Elastin production, just like collagen production, declines with age.
Rosehip oil is an excellent source of vitamin A and vitamin C, which studies show can help naturally improve the skin’s elasticity. Vitamin A is also a source of antioxidants, which can protect your skin from free radical damage, while vitamin C boosts skin regeneration by supporting your cells.
2. It helps even out the skin
An even skin tone keeps your skin looking healthy and youthful, and might also help your foundation last longer if you don’t need as much color-correcting for your acne scars.
If you use rosehip oil on other parts of your body, it might help reduce the appearance of stretch marks.
3. It helps moisturize the skin
Chances are, your skin is dehydrated. Yes, even if you have oily skin.
Over the years, the focus on clearing up blemishes has created a landscape of products that cause irritation and dehydration, rather than focusing on the source of blemishes, which is usually the overproduction of sebum.
Dehydrated skin will make more sebum to compensate for the lack of moisture, so using products that provide hydration is an essential piece of the puzzle.
Rosehip oil hydrates the skin deeply and works as an emollient to smooth and condition the skin. It is a rich source of linoleic acid, a fatty acid that helps keep skin hydrated naturally. Rosehip oil helps restore your skin’s natural moisture balance, which means less oil and fewer breakouts.
4. It helps exfoliate
Yes, really. The vitamin A content in rosehip oil comes from a retinol, which helps encourage your skin’s natural cellular turnover. That means your skin will make newer skin cells faster and slough away old skin cells that keep it looking dull and dry, especially if you have dry skin.
5. It helps firm the skin
Because rosehip oil is so powerfully effective at targeting collagen and elastin production, you’ll also feel a noticeably firmer texture when you use it. Collagen is the protein in our skin that keeps it firm and plump.
Using rosehip oil can help boost your skin’s collagen production naturally. The essential fatty acids in rosehip oil also help firm the skin by increasing its ability to retain moisture and keep cells plump—that means it might help reduce or slow down the appearance of fine lines and other signs of aging.
6. It helps fight sun damage
The vitamin E in rosehip oil offers antioxidant effects that help keep your skin protected from photoaging. You’ll still need to use your regular sunscreen, but the addition of rosehip oil helps to protect your cells from oxidative damage that could leave your skin with areas of hyperpigmentation or loss of elasticity from sun damage.
Rosehip oil is also effective in making scars less noticeable, which can help with skin that is damaged from sun exposure or blemishes. Of course, you can always speak with a dermatologist about concerns over sun damage, too.
7. Helps Fight Blemishes
Rosehip oil can help soothe and calm skin that’s been irritated from too many drying acne products. Because rosehip oil works well on sensitive skin and it helps to balance the skin’s moisture content, acne-prone skin can produce less oil, which can keep your pores clear and help you experience fewer breakouts.
How do I use rosehip oil?
It’s easy to add rosehip oil to your skincare routine. Trilogy’s certified organic rosehip oil is vegan, cruelty-free, and can be used alone or added to other products like moisturizers to increase hydrating effects on the skin.
Apply directly to the skin
Rosehip oil is mild yet powerful, so it can be placed directly on your skin without causing irritation or clogging your pores. To apply it directly to the skin, use just a few drops and smooth it over your skin until it absorbs completely.
You can use it after cleansing and after your moisturizer as a serum. It’s important you use it after your moisturizer because it creates a protective barrier on the skin that keeps moisture locked in and protects from external stressors.
Put it in a moisturizer
If you already have a serum you love, consider adding a drop of rosehip oil to your moisturizer to reap the benefits of rosehip oil without doubling down on oils and serums. Don’t mix the oil directly into your bottle or tube of moisturizer. Instead, add a small drop to the moisturizer you remove from the bottle to place on your face.
Gently massage in your moisturizer and wait until it has completely absorbed and dried before applying any other products or cosmetics.
A little goes a long way
Just like other essential oils, you only need a small amount of rosehip seed oil for it to be effective. It’s important to go light because too much will simply run off your face.
If your skin is especially sensitive, start using rosehip oil just once a day and build up to twice daily as your skin tolerates it. Normally, rosehip oil is easy on the skin, so don’t be scared to use it even if your skin is blemish-prone.
A rose by any other name
We love rosehip oil. It’s vegan, it’s plant-based, and it’s an excellent source of vitamins and fatty acids that can dramatically improve your complexion. From skin brightening to tightening, you’ll love the effects you get from rosehip oil.
As always, look for oils that are vegan and cruelty-free. Kinder Beauty has you covered with recommendations and information on all the latest vegan and cruelty-free products over at The Kinder Beauty Blog.
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