The most common question I’m asked by new users about the Wildflower Facial Oil is undoubtedly, “wait, won’t putting oil on my face make my skin break out?!”

Valid question; at first glance applying oil to oily skin may seem counter-intuitive. But what if I told you that the Wildflower Facial Oil has actually been formulated to IMPROVE oily and acne prone skin with regular use? That applying this oil could actually help your face to feel more balanced, and less oily?

Its’ true! And it’s all thanks to the magic (and science) of plants: Oils + herbs = your most radiant skin.

Let’s start with your skin.

The outermost layer of the skin (called the stratum corneum) serves two major functions for your body: barrier (keeping bad stuff out and good stuff in), and passage (allowing movement of nutrients, moisture, and waste). When these two functions are working well, your skin looks and feels it’s healthiest.

To maintain these functions, our skin produces its own fatty acids and lipids in a substance called sebum – the natural oil on our face (and all over). When these fatty acids and lipids are in balance, our natural oils keep our skin and hair soft and supple, protect against moisture loss, and create a mildly acidic surface layer to our bodies that wards off bacteria and microorganisms.

Acne and other skin troubles often occur when our skin’s ratios of fatty acids and lipids are out of balance – affecting our skin’s ability to complete its barrier, passage, and self-repair functions. This is where the power of plant oils can come to the rescue – applying certain oils with the fatty acids our skin needs can help to replenish nutrients and restore balance to achieve healthy, happy skin.

So, what oils will you find in the Wildflower Facial Oil, and how can they help your skin?

The two primary organic cold-pressed oils used in this formula were chosen specifically for their potent ability to support the primary functions and balance of your delicate facial skin to help you look, feel, and function at your best.

Rosehip Seed Oil: The shining star of the Wildflower Facial Oil, rosehip seed oil is regenerative, nourishing, and noncomedogenic (fancy word for ‘doesn’t clog pores’) with an impressive profile of fatty acids and nutrients:

• It’s high content of alpha-linolenic and linoleic (fatty) acids absorb quickly and deeply, delivering nutrients that condition skin cells, and relieve itching, redness, irritation and inflammation.
• Antioxidant carotenoids (think, the nutritious orange stuff of carrots, peppers, pumpkins) protect skin against sunlight induced oxidation effects.
• Vitamin A helps delay skin breakdown, increasing elastin and promoting collagen formation.
• Natural tannins in the oil have an astringent quality, meaning they help to tighten and refine pores rather than clog them.

Jojoba Oil: Pronounced ho-ho-bah, this oil is not really an oil at all, but a plant wax ester that behaves like an oil and is emollient, regenerative, and toning to the skin.

• Protects your skin from moisture loss, while maintaining a breathable barrier (jojoba is a desert-dwelling plant, it’s natural oils help it stay hydrated!)
• On a molecular level, jojoba oil is strikingly similar to our skin’s natural sebum – making it highly compatible and able to mix naturally and easily with the oils of our skin, and can actually help to regulate the flow of sebum from the skin’s sebaceous glands, working to make ‘oily’ skin feel less oily over time.
• Noncomedogenic – doesn’t clog pores and promotes a healthy acid mantle that aids in keeping bacteria and skin troubles at bay.

Next, we look to the power of flowers to help your most radiant skin bloom:

Wildflower’s luxe golden oils are deeply infused with a unique blend of nourishing and soothing flowers to deliver even more plant nutrients to your skin. The compounds in these blooms help to replenish essential nutrients and provide an elevated sensory experience when you apply the Wildflower Facial Oil as part of your daily skincare ritual.

Calendula: Grown organically and harvested from small farms in the Pacific Northwest, the bright orange flowers we infuse into our oils are rich in antioxidants and highly beneficial to our skin’s natural repair and regeneration processes.

Rosehips: A double dose of rosehip nutrition offers your skin biologically active Vitamins C and E along with high levels of antioxidants.

Yarrow: Fragrant, wild yarrow blooms collected along our home island’s rocky shoreline contain high levels of the botanical oil azulene, which naturally soothes, calms, and reduces redness and irritation of the skin while moisturizing, enhancing barrier function, and lending antibacterial properties.

Fireweed: Perhaps the most iconic wildflower of the Alaskan landscape, bright magenta blooms and the fresh green leaves of the Fireweed plant bring an emollient and astringent quality to the Facial Oil, helping to tone the skin and minimize pores.

How to use the Wildflower Facial Oil in your skincare routine

With the power of rich organic oils and gentle yet potent blooming herbs, the Wildflower Facial Oil can be applied to your skin in the morning, at night, or both times of day if your skin feels especially dry.

1. Wash your face with warm water and a gentle, natural cleanser.
2. Gently blot dry with a towel, leaving some moisture and dampness on your skin
3. Apply a few drops of the Wildflower Facial Oil to your fingertips (a little goes a long way!)
4. Rub fingertips together to warm the oil and begin to gently pat the oil evenly across your face and neck.
5. Take a full deep breath as you smooth over the skin of your beautiful face, and enjoy your natural radiant glow.

SHOP WILDFLOWER FACIAL OIL

Info sources:

A review on phytochemistry and medicinal properties of the genus Achillea

Phytochemical Constituents and Pharmacological Activities of Calendula officinalis Linn (Asteraceae): A Review

Power of the Seed, by Susan M. Parker