Rosehip Oil for Face Care: The Ultimate Guide

Natural skincare ingredients get a lot of hype. It’s almost impossible to go on social media without seeing the latest trends, whether that’s vampire facials, collagen supplements, or mud baths.

At MiamiMD, we want to ensure that you have the information you need to make your own, educated skincare decisions. We’re here to help you learn more about rosehip oil for face care, determine if it’s worth it and if you may benefit most from using it in your routine.

Rosehip Oil (Rosehip Seed Oil) Basics

Did you know that rose bushes had fruit? We focus so much on the flowers that we don’t pay enough attention to the rest of the plants that they come from.

Rosehips are the fruit of a rosebush. If a rose isn’t picked before it dies on the bush, what is left behind is a spherical, reddish-orange fruit that looks similar to a cherry tomato. These fruits are also filled with seeds, which is how rose bushes propagate themselves without human interference. 

Although tiny, rose hips have long been used as a medicinal plant all across the world. They can be eaten in their raw state (avoiding the hairs on the inside of the fruit), made into teas and jellies, or added to soups or salads.

One of three extraction processes is performed to extract the rosehip oil — solvent, cold-pressed, or supercritical. Each process produces the oil similarly to other essential oils, resulting in a condensed extract.

What Are the Main Benefits of Using Rosehip Oil for Face Care?

To discuss all of the benefits of rosehip oil for face care, we have to break it down into its various components. Each can positively impact the skin differently and, together, they make up this fantastic product.

High Vitamin C Content

The most significant benefit of using rosehip oil for face care is its incredibly high concentration of vitamin C.

Vitamin C has been proven repeatedly for its tremendous potential to transform and protect the skin. Studies have even called its ability to help improve the impacts of photodamage, especially wrinkles, “statistically significant.”

The power of vitamin C is no secret, and rosehip oil has a lot of it. They have more than 60 times the amount of vitamin C compared to citrus fruits. 60 times! That gives rosehip oil the potential to be a powerful antioxidant.

The most obvious impact that the high concentration of vitamin C in rosehip oil can have on your face is its brightening abilities.

Vitamin C has also shown that it can help reduce the visibility of hyperpigmentation (dark spots), support collagen production, and even help moisturize the skin.

And that’s just one of the potential benefits of rosehip oil for face care!

Rich Omega Fatty Acid Content

In addition to a high vitamin C content, rosehip oil also contains a large amount of essential fatty acids. Specifically, it has both omega-3 (also known as linolenic acid) and omega-6 (linoleic acid), which both soften the skin and provide hydration and nourishment.

These fatty acids help the oil soften the skin while improving skin barrier function, working as both a moisturizing cream and an emollient. It is excellent for “acute” hydration, especially when your skin is feeling extra dry. The dry skin can easily absorb the oil, and it locks in moisture once inside.

Although it is an oil, rosehip oil for face care is far less greasy than many other counterparts. Its texture is part of what makes it so great for all skin types, even those with naturally oilier skin or those prone to acne.

The latter category may also benefit from the omega-3 fatty acids, which have also been shown to help decrease the likelihood of acne flare-ups.

High Vitamin Content

While rosehip oil is best known for its high vitamin C content, it is also high in plenty of other beneficial nutrients!

For instance, the oil is rich in vitamin E, making it a good option for people dealing with sensitive skin or skin irritation. Ironically enough, those with rosacea (which makes your skin red and swollen) may benefit from the way it can calm and soothe the skin.

Rosehip oil is also high in vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, and K. Each has a unique ability to help the skin. You may already be familiar with vitamin A, as it is the same family that contains the popular anti-aging ingredient retinoid. B complex vitamins, however, have plenty of uses on their own.

B1 is known for helping to increase circulation to the skin, which can give you a healthy, radiant glow. B2 helps with cell turnover and the maintenance of collagen, and B3 is considered a solid anti-aging skin conditioner.

And vitamin K, while known primarily for its ability to help with blood clotting, is also great specifically for helping to brighten the skin in the under-eye area. Together, those vitamins give rosehip oil a lot of bang for the buck.

Choosing A Rosehip Oil For Face Care

With so many different manufacturers, what should you be looking for in a good rosehip oil?

For starters, make sure that you are always buying from a company that you can trust. Whether you get a personal recommendation from a friend who uses it or ask your dermatologist, always make sure that you do your research.

Also, because you will be using it on your skin (which absorbs into the rest of the body), make sure to choose a rosehip oil for face care that comes from a company that does not use pesticides.

You may not think about the whole body impact the things you put on your skin have, but our skin is our largest organ. So what we do to it can also affect the rest of the body as well.

Keep in mind that, due to rosehip oil’s high vitamin C content, it tends to degrade when exposed to light naturally quickly.

Make sure to purchase your face oil in a dark container and keep it out of direct sunlight. Protecting it from sunlight will help you keep it as effective as possible for as long as possible so that you’re not just throwing money away.

How To Include Rosehip Oil for Face Care

If you’re interested in adding rosehip oil to your existing routine, always start by doing a patch test. The same goes for introducing any new skincare products to your face.

Start by using a small amount of the oil on a small area of your face, and wait approximately 48 hours. If you haven’t noticed any slight reaction, go ahead and apply liberally! Just make sure to start slow, which gives your face enough time to adjust.

While you can use rosehip oil on its own, similar to a serum or hyaluronic acid, many people prefer to add it directly to their favorite moisturizer. Combining it in this way works to enhance the hydrating effects of the moisture without applying the oil directly to your skin.

Just a drop or two can be a real game-changer, especially when the temperatures start to drop.

You can also use rosehip oil for oil cleansing. Because it is considered non-comedogenic (meaning it doesn’t clog pores), it’s great to use as a gentle way of removing makeup and any excess sebum (oil) that may build up on the skin.

If you’re concerned about using oil on its own, you can use a double cleansing routine, where you follow oil cleansing up with a gentle, hydrating cleanser.

Rosehip oil is also great to use in an effective anti-aging skincare routine. You can apply it before or after other products meant to enhance the skin and reduce the visible signs of aging, like Miami MD’s Instant Wrinkle Eraser. Just make sure that you’re letting every product dry thoroughly before applying the next one.

Also, be careful when combining it with other products high in vitamin A, like retinoids.

In Conclusion

Rosehip oil for face care may be the one ingredient your skin needs most that you haven’t heard of. Because of its high vitamin content and how it can help keep the skin hydrated and soothed, adding rosehip oil to your skincare routine can have a wide variety of benefits.

The best part is, rosehip oil is great for every skin type, and you can easily incorporate it into any existing beauty routine. 

Use it alongside our great anti-aging skincare products here at Miami MD, and watch as your best skin reveals itself. We’re ready when you are!

Sources:

Double-blind, half-face study comparing topical vitamin C and vehicle for rejuvenation of photodamage | NIH

Acne: Treatment, Types, Causes & Prevention | Cleveland Clinic 

What is rosacea? AAD