We sometimes look a little crazy in our quest to reduce fine lines and wrinkles. (Be honest: How many times have you scared your husband wearing a sheet mask?) The latest trend in anti-aging is a little less Hannibal Lector and a lot more subtle: anti-aging face oils. While face oils have been around for a while, the latest crop promises to provide more than superior hydration. Namely, they promise to diminish fine lines and wrinkles, firm your skin and generally make you look so glowy and youthful you could be mistaken for a member of Taylor Swift's squad.
Some oils, like argan and marula, contain antioxidants that provide extra protection against damaging UV rays when worn underneath sunscreen, says Dr. Elizabeth Tanzi, Founder and Director of Capital Laser and Skin Care and Clinical Professor of Dermatology at the George Washington Medical Center. You can also use these oils at night as part of your anti-aging routine. To allow the potent ingredients to penetrate your skin, Tanzi recommends wearing these oils under your night cream to boost moisture and add to the anti-aging benefits. When combined with a night cream, skin gets drenched with moisture -- essential as we age, because skin tends to get dry and less able to repair itself. Here, 10 anti-aging face oils your skin desperately needs.
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An Oceanic Fix for Dull Skin
Brown algae extract is the superstar ingredient in Tata Harper Beautifying Face Oil, $48. It makes skin look well rested (aka it's perfect after those late nights where it looks like you've aged years in the span of hours). Over time, skin looks firmer and brighter. Camellia flower extract is extra hydrating and protects skin from damaging, aging free radicals because it's chock-full of antioxidants, like vitamins A and E.
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A Powerful Skin Detoxifier
A blend of five powerful oils make up Joanna Vargas Skincare's Rejuvenating Serum, $100. Neroli oil helps boost blood flow, which may result in more radiant, detoxified skin; olive oil and jojoba oil douse skin in moisture; rosehip oil helps cells regenerate and protects against photo-aging; argan oil combats dry skin and restores elasticity. It's not a magical witches brew, but it's pretty darn close.
Leave it to natural Australian beauty brand Jurlique to come up with an age-defying potion that we enjoy putting on. The brand's Purely Age-Defying Firming Face Oil, $58, is a veritable smorgasbord of botanical extracts. A potent elixir of black currant seed oil and rock sapphire oil strengthen the skin barrier, which makes your skin firmer. Buriti and soybean oils provide antioxidant protection and also help to smooth away fine lines. Other star ingredients include moisturizing sunflower seed, safflower and macadamia seed oils.
Shiseido Future Solution LX Replenishing Treatment Oil, $175, uses a blend of natural oils -- like evening primrose, safflower, argan and jojoba -- along with the brand's patent-pending anti-aging ingredient Skingenecell 1P. The result is a marriage of science and nature that's ultra-effective at diminishing lines, hydrating skin and protecting against free radicals without clogging pores.
