If one were to look at skin care products from an ingredient perspective, it would be hard to justify paying $40 for a cleanser that is 60% water, in order to get a percent or two of beneficial ingredients. And it becomes harder still to justify when looking at moisturizers that can be $200++ and are mostly water + wax. Enter the growing trend of ‘oils’ for skin care. It turns out that the beneficial ingredients from most beauty products are actually great to use by themselves without any of the costly filler ingredients. And because you use 100% beneficial ingredient, your skin benefits far more.

There are many botanical oil ingredients on the market now. So how to choose? In our opinion, if you are looking for straight value, then Argan Oil is the easy choice. Argan Oil can be used for skin care, Hair care, and nail care. This multi-purpose oil helps you to eliminate many separate budget-busting products.

But, if you are looking for the up and coming beauty oil that editors are writing about, it is Squalane Oil. Never heard of it? You will soon. It turns out that Squalane is produced by our own bodies. It is a key compound in youthful appearance of skin. As we age, our body produces less Squalane and fine lines and wrinkles start to appear. By adding Squalane Oil to your skin care routine, you help replace the missing compound and your skin will look more nourished. The oil is known as a ‘dry oil’ because it soaks into the skin so well that is does not leave behind any residue.

As with most beauty products, there are many pitfalls and scams to watch out for. The first is that Squalane can be harvested from botanical sources and also from animal sources. So be careful when buying Squalane that it is not from shark liver and sourced from a high quality source such as olives. Our favorite Squalane Oil is from Russell Organics. At $38 for a 2 fl oz size, it is 50% less than competing brands, and it is sourced from Olives. Only a few drops are needed per use to see amazing results.

One note on Squalane. There is a lot of confusion in the beauty market between Squalene and Squalane. They are actually the same compound. Squalene is the initial compound produced. Squalene is very unstable as an ingredient and goes rancid very quickly. So a process called hydrogenating is used to make Squalene into Squalane which is then very stable and has a long shelf life.

Squalane Oil can be used alone as a moisturizer or can be added into a moisturizer to give it extra ability to nourish the skin. Remember it is an oil though and only a few drops are needed per use.