Facial Oil: Sea Buckthorn Tamanu

Why Use a Facial Oil

Whether you call them facial oils or facial serums, well-formulated oils made from nourishing, unrefined botanical ingredients play an important role in healthy skin care.

A well-formulated facial oil helps:

• soften and condition the skin
• support the skin’s natural moisture barrier
• reduce the feeling of dryness and tightness
• improve overall skin comfort and suppleness

Although oils don’t add water to the skin, they help soften, condition, and support the skin’s natural moisture barrier, which in turn helps skin retain hydration and stay comfortable.

As we age, our skin naturally becomes thinner, produces less oil, and loses some of its ability to hold onto moisture. This can make dryness more noticeable and can exaggerate the appearance of fine lines. Facial oils help reduce moisture loss and support skin suppleness.

How to Use a Facial Oil

Apply facial oil to clean, slightly damp skin. Oils work best when they are applied after cleansing, when there is still water on the skin’s surface. This helps the oil seal in moisture and support the skin barrier. Facial oils can be used alone or layered with another moisturizer, depending on your skin’s needs.

Facial Oils Can Help Different Skin Types

Oily Skin

If you have oily or acne-prone skin, it may seem counterintuitive to use oil—but the right oils can actually help improve balance. Lightweight, non-comedogenic botanical oils can help soften skin and support the surface barrier, which may reduce the skin’s tendency to overproduce oil.

Using harsh products designed to “dry out” oily skin can strip the skin’s surface, triggering oil glands to produce even more oil. A thoughtfully chosen moisturizer or facial oil helps support balance rather than fight it.

Dry Skin

For dry skin, an organic facial oil made with unrefined plant oils creates a breathable barrier that helps slow moisture evaporation. This helps skin feel softer, smoother, and more comfortable throughout the day.

Sensitive or Easily Stressed Skin

Facial oils are often well-suited for sensitive skin because they are free from the surfactants and alcohols commonly found in many lotions. When skin is adequately supported and moisture loss is reduced, it often feels calmer and less reactive.

Maturing Skin

As we age, the skin’s natural oil production declines, making moisture loss more noticeable and fine lines more pronounced. A nourishing facial oil helps support the skin barrier, improve softness, and maintain a supple, comfortable feel—especially important for mature skin.

Choosing the Right Facial Oil

The most beneficial facial oils are made with unrefined, certified organic plant-based oils.

Unrefined oils are typically cold-pressed or expeller-pressed and minimally processed without harsh chemicals or excessive heat. This helps preserve their natural fatty acids and skin-supportive compounds.

USDA Certified Organic oils are produced without synthetic pesticides, preservatives, or additives.

Avoid petroleum-based products containing mineral oil or petrolatum, which coat the skin without providing the same skin-supportive benefits as plant-based oils.

👉 Learn More

What are Natural Face Oils & How to Use Them?
Creating A Facial Skin Care Routine
What Is A Facial Cleansing Oil? How Do I Use It?

Will Your Products Heal My Rosacea, Eczema or Psoriasis?

We often receive emails and phone calls from customers with chronic irritated or inflamed skin problems.

While we cannot promise that our products will help heal your inflamed or irritated skin conditions, we have received a lot of feedback from customers telling us that our products have helped ease or soothe symptoms associated with irritated skin problems.

We have learned that for some people simply switching to a natural product may help.

We believe that natural ingredients are usually milder and gentler on the skin. I often say that what is NOT in our products, that is often the most helpful.

Pure essential oils, herbs, and other natural ingredients have been used for centuries. Their folklore and uses have been passed down through generations.

Please note that our products are NOT drugs or medicines meant to treat or cure illness, which would require FDA testing and approval. Our products are intended to help ease symptoms associated with irritated skin. Always consult your health care provider if you are concern about a skin issue.

If you have sensitive skin issues, always try an allergy patch test before using a new product.

Your skin is as unique as you are.

If you think about it, your skin type is not even the same for all of the areas of your body.

The skin on your face is different from the skin on your hands, which is different from the skin on your back which is different from the skin on your feet ...etc.

Although your skin type is determined by genetics, it will also be affected by other factors and can change with time.

Understanding your skin type is a good starting point before trying or switching to natural products.

There are typically five types of healthy skin: normal, dry, oily, combination, and sensitive.

NORMAL SKIN

This skin is balanced, neither too dry nor too oily. It has regular texture, no imperfections and a clean, soft appearance, and does not need special care.

OILY SKIN

Oily skin is the result of excessive secretions of sebum, an oily secretion of the sebaceous glands. Oily skin tends to attract more dirt and dust than dry skin and may be prone to blackheads, acne, and excessive shine. It is frequent in adolescents and often seen with acne or blemish-prone skin. 

DRY SKIN

For some people dry skin is caused by external factors such as the weather, low air humidity, sun, or hot showers, and it is often temporary.

However, for others it may be a lifelong condition. Dry skin is a result of a decrease in natural oil production which often results in skin that is flaky and has a rough appearance. Dry, cracked skin is often prone to skin disorders, such as eczema.

SENSITIVE SKIN

Truly sensitive skin easily reacts to external stimuli. The skin is often fragile, thin or fine-textured, dry, and prone to allergic reactions. 

Sensitive skin often feels uncomfortable, tight, red or itchy. It is a delicate skin that needs a lot of TLC. 

COMBINATION SKIN

Combination skin is just what is sounds like, it has characteristics of both dry and oily skin. The area with more oil is usually the T- zone (forehead, nose, and chin), while the skin on the cheeks is normal or dry.

For more information on skin type and help with product recommendations for your individual needs, please read our blog, What's Your Skin Type?

Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve is a USDA Certified Organic Company

The most important consideration in any business is its customers. Today's world of misleading claims, false advertising, and simple deception, often leaves consumers trying to discover the truth about personal products and their ingredients.

• We want our customers to know that we are committed to transparency in everything we do.
• We want our customers to know that when we say "organic," we mean it.
• We believe that in becoming a USDA Certified Organic company, our customers do not have to wonder if we really use certified organic ingredients or if our organic products are truly organic.
• So we choose to be a certified organic company and abide by the strict standards required for organic certification.

Some of my favorite products are made with ingredients that just do not exist as certified organic. Why? At this time there are no standards created for ingredients specifically used in the personal care product industry. Organic certification of personal care products is based on the organic food standards set by the National Organic Program of the USDA.

But since we are a certified organic company, we are required to submit documentation that even our "non-organic ingredients" were produced without the use of toxic pesticides, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), sewage sludge, or irradiation.

Why Did We Become a Certified Organic Company?

What Do All of the Organic Labels Mean?

Organic Soap Labeling

All of Chagrin Valley's natural soap, shampoo bars, and personal care products are certified cruelty-free by Leaping Bunny.

 Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve has been Leaping Bunny Certified since 2013. 

The Leaping Bunny Program was developed in 1996, by The Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC), to identify and support companies that are doing their part to help eliminate the unnecessary use and mistreatment of animals to test cosmetic products and ingredients. The CCIC is made up of eight animal protection groups including the Humane Society of the U.S., as well as groups from Canada and Europe.

At Chagrin Valley we do not test our finished products on animals (other than human volunteers). But what about the raw materials, the ingredients we use?

Many products display labels claiming that their finished product is ‘not tested on animals’ but this does not guarantee that the product ingredients are actually free from animal testing. 

The CCIC Standard is a pledge that a company makes to remove animal testing from all stages of product development. Our pledge to buy ingredients that are cruelty-free is integrated into the purchase agreement for all of our suppliers.

Personal care products displaying the “real” Leaping Bunny logo are certified ‘cruelty-free' using the internationally recognized Humane Cosmetics Standards. These rigorous standards require that no animal testing is performed or authorized for finished products or any of the ingredients in any stage of product development by the company, its laboratories or its suppliers after a fixed cut-off date. All Leaping Bunny companies are subject to independent audits and pledge commitments that are renewed on an annual basis.

This annual renewal is a key requirement that sets the Leaping Bunny Program apart from other cruelty-free certification programs. Companies that manufacture products, as well as their ingredient suppliers, must annually recommit to upholding their promise to not conduct animal testing on any finished products, ingredients, or formulations.

Why is this annual commitment renewal important? "Because product formulations change, suppliers come and go, and manufacturers develop innovative lines to meet consumer needs. But we know that compassionate consumers need to be confident that no animal testing is involved in the products they use."

At Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve . . .

• we do NOT test our products on animals
• we do NOT use ingredients tested on animals
• we do NOT sell into markets that require animal testing
  
  

The Leaping Bunny Program provides
the best assurance to consumers
that they are making compassionate shopping choices
by purchasing Cruelty-Free skin care!