I had mostly stopped using facial oils for a while. I used to like them & I don't remember why I stopped to be honest. My skin was really dry while I was pregnant but I stayed away from a lot of oils then due to the fear of essential oils. I moved from Montana to Texas three years ago and the climate shock of dry & cold to hot & humid made my skin freak out and I used really light routines. I think those all played parts. Now that I'm settled in this climate and no longer have pregnancy skin I have been back into branching out my skincare routines again.
I started with three facial oils last summer/fall and now I have a dozen or more. I feel like I can't stop buying them. I've been really learning which oils my skin loves and doesn't love. There has been such a huge difference in the texture, radiance, elasticity and supple feel of my skin with using twice a day facial oils in my routine. I think the increased moisture level has really helped me. My skin has been changing the last year since I turned 39. I think I'm going from combo skin to more dry and I don't even want to say it-mature skin. Not that I have anything against mature, I just wasn't ready for that designation yet. I have a two year old I can't have mature skin right? Whatever the reason is my cheeks and eyes are getting drier. Time to change my routines.
I even branched out into eye area oils which I love at night and on the weekends. Once I found the right oils for me I was able to incorporate them into my routine without any added heavy feel to my normal routines. I was surprised how much better my skin looked and felt overall. So now I feel like an oil fanatic and have to test them all. So I will be going through some of the oils I have been playing with and compare them all at the end. One of the first ones I grabbed was Cinco Facial Oil by ALKIMI. I stumbled across this on Instagram. The #skincarecommunity is a great hashtag to waste an entire day reading all kinds of fun helpful information on skincare by the real people who use it, not the brands selling it to you. ALKIMI was created by @RoadtoGlow or Natalie. She's one to check out on Instagram. Details per ALKIMI:
Cinco is a concentrated blend of exotic oils featuring high levels of essential fatty acids Omega-3 and Omega-6. Consciously curated, each oil has been specially hand-picked for their exceptional anti-oxidative, soothing and regenerative benefits, fused together to create a nutritive powerhouse that supports skin health.
The oil has a medium weight texture. It has a yellow hue and a woody scent. Those who have reviewed this product talk about Cinco's pencil shaving scent & it is true this smells like wood that's used in pencils. I looked up the common wood used in pencils and it's cedar, I can go with this product smells like cedar wood. I love cedar so I'm good with it. This is a fragrance free product so no essential oils or artificial extras. Some love that extra scent boost from essential oils or fragrance to mask the scent of a natural oil. However, a lot of people with sensitive skin cannot tolerate the extra fragrance or essential oils. The fragrances can even irritate skin and make acne or other skin conditions like rosacea worse. Acne is a disease of inflammation in the skin, not excess oil production or bacteria only like common thought can be. Calm the inflammation, don't irritate it with non-necessary fragrances. While I don't have acne anymore I did have a few years of hormonal acne around 33 which is what prompted me to start researching skincare ingredients years ago.
While I am not an expert in facial oils as I'm not an Esthetician or Physician, I do know what works for me and have researched a fair amount of skincare ingredients in the past. At least a nurse I can read an research article and understand it enough to get by. If you've ever read one you know they sound like complete nonsense sometimes. A bunch of fancy textbook words and enough jargon to make you feel like a complete idiot even if you have some biology, medical or formal training. Why did I go into this tangent? Mostly because facial oils are concentrated nutrients. Beyond delivering fatty acids and hydration is the unique abilities of the ingredients to help your specific skin issues. Understanding why one oil worked for you and one didn't will help you from wasting your money on ones that are not for your skin type or needs. Oils tend to be pricey, at least the good ones are, because of the quality grade of the oils and ingredients. Understanding the ingredients will also help you know which oils might work for you, remember that just because it works for that one blogger or other person does not mean it will work for you. We all have different skin types and needs.
I found this oil to be hydrating without being greasy or heavy. It sinks in after a few minutes. I never experienced any kind of break out or adverse side effect while using. Being medium weight it can be used day or night (or both) based on your skin type, climate and season of the year. All three of those play a big part in what your skincare routine should be. I use a medium weight oil in the winter in the day, but not in the summer. I like a medium weight oil at night in the summer but tend to favor a medium to heavier weight at night during the winter. It all depends what you want. I've used this oil all over my face and neck, and just on the cheeks only which is my driest area. I've been playing with this oil for several months now. I love it and would definitely repurchase. I do prefer the pump mine came with to the dropper style of the new batches. I hate droppers and that's why. I'm clumsy and I knock things over. A lot. I love pumps because they save me the aggravation. I know a ton of oils come with droppers, and I wish they all had pumps. I will be saving my pump for future bottles. This is not available in the US, you must purchase from the ALKIMI site as it's not sold anywhere else. It runs 35 pounds or GBP which is about $47 at the current exchange rate.
I love raspberry seed oil. It's an anti-inflammatory oil high in antioxidant ellegic acid. Raspberry, cranberry, blueberry & rosehip seed oils are great for inflammation and high in Omega 3 or a-linolenic acid. Watermelon seed oil has become a new favorite of mine. It's high in antioxidants and detoxifying as well. It's light and helps balance the skin. Like black cumin seed oil they are both great for combo, blemish prone or oily skin types & high in Omega 6 or linolenic acid. Black cumin seed oil is also antibacterial & anti-inflammatory.
Pomegranate seed oil is high in punicic acid (omega 5) a polyunsaturated fatty acid classified as conjugated linolenic acid. In short it helps with inflammation and aids in skin repair. Pomegranate seed oil is high in antioxidants to fend off free radicals & also high in tannins which acts as an astringent and helps with pore size. Tamanu is a new oil I've been seeing in everything. Tamanu oil helps with healing or regenerating. Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant and I think we're all familiar with that one. Cranberry and blueberry seed oils are both high in natural vitamin E.
Ingredients
Rubus Idaeus (Red Raspberry) Seed Oil, Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Seed Oil, Citrullus Vulgaris (Watermelon) Seed Oil, Nigella Sativa (Black Cumin) Seed Oil *Organic, Vaccinium Corymbosum (Blueberry) Seed Oil, Rosa Rubiginosa (Rosehip) Seed Oil *Organic, Punica Granatum Linn (Pomegranate) Seed Oil *Organic, Calophyllum inophyllum (Tamanu) Oil *Organic, Tocopherol Acetate (Vitamin E).
*Certified Organic.
Final Thought
Overall Cinco has a great mix of antioxidant & anti-inflammatory oils that have a soothing, balancing effect on the skin. The addition of the antibacterial black cumin seed oil makes this perfect for oily to combo & normal (if there really is normal) skin types. There's no reason why dry skin can't use it too. It just suits the oily to combo skin types well. Dry skin types can use some of the heavier oils that aren't in this inci list like olive, marula, sweet almond, apricot and plum kernal oils. More to come on that in future posts. In the meantime I suggest you look at the fabulous facial oil chart made by Goals to Get Glowing HERE. This is an oil I intend to use this more in the non-winter months as it's a lighter oil good for balancing. I can get away with the heavier oils in the winter so I'll be using those up while I can.