5 Natural Oils that Mimic Sebum for Healthy, Glowing Skin
Your skin makes its own oil. It's called sebum, and it's the reason healthy skin has that soft, dewy look instead of feeling tight or flaky. When sebum production is balanced, skin looks glowing. When it's not, either too much or too little, skin can feel oily, dry, or reactive.
The good news: certain plant oils are structurally similar to sebum. Skin recognizes them, absorbs them well, and doesn't fight them the way it sometimes fights heavier or more synthetic ingredients. Here are five worth knowing, plus one bonus oil we couldn't leave out.
The oils to know
Technically a liquid wax ester, not an oil. Its structure is closer to human sebum than almost any plant oil, so it absorbs fast without feeling greasy. Found in our Barrier Renewal Facial Oil.
The stable, shelf-friendly version of squalene, a lipid your skin already makes. For an even lighter feel, try Hemisqualane.
High in essential fatty acids and vitamin E. Heavier than jojoba or squalane, so it works well for drier skin or as a nighttime layer.
High in linoleic acid, often lower in oily or breakout-prone skin's natural sebum. Helps support smoother-looking texture over time.
Fast-absorbing and high in linoleic acid. A good fit for oilier or combination skin. Also found in our Barrier Renewal Facial Oil.
Traditionally used across the Pacific Islands. Deeply supportive of skin's barrier, often reached for on rough or blemish-prone areas.
How to choose
- Oily or breakout-prone skin: reach for jojoba, squalane, or grapeseed
- Dry or barrier-compromised skin: reach for argan, tamanu, or rosehip
- Not sure? A blend of several often works better than one oil alone
- Look for cold-pressed or CO2-extracted where possible, it preserves more of the oil's natural benefits
Curious about the full ingredient story behind our oils? Visit our Ingredient Dictionary for sourcing notes on jojoba, tamanu, and everything else we use.
Our pick
Barrier Renewal Facial Oil
Blends jojoba, grapeseed, and several other sebum-friendly oils into one formula, so you don't have to layer several products to get the benefits above.
WHAT IT DOES: Strengthens the skin barrier, deeply nourishes, softens and smooths skin texture, improves elasticity, leaves skin with a natural healthy glow
SKIN TYPE: All skin types
WHEN: Morning and Night
HOW: Last step in your PM routine. Apply before sunscreen in the AM.
Some days your skin just looks good. Barrier Renewal Facial Oil was made to give you more of those days.
A carefully crafted blend of 13 pure botanical oils — including Marula, Pomegranate Seed, Cranberry Seed and Borage — work together to deeply nourish, strengthen and protect your skin barrier, leaving you with that natural, inside-out radiance that makes people stop and say 'you're glowing.'
Unlike heavier oils that sit on the surface, this lightweight formula absorbs easily and never feels greasy — just soft, deeply nourished skin that feels like the best version of itself.
Feels light, never greasy. Good skin days, every day.
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