Skin Food Facial Oil: Grain Oils As Lipid Nourishment

Grain oils are often overlooked in skincare. Seed oils, nut oils, and more exotic botanicals tend to take center stage. But grain oils, oat, rice bran, and amaranth in particular, are some of the most nourishing lipid sources available to us.

These oils contain squalene and other unsaponifiable compounds that the skin recognizes and knows how to use. When we talk about supporting the skin barrier, maintaining suppleness, and helping the skin hold water as it ages, grain oils deserve a closer look.

Squalene: an ancient skin lipid

Squalene is not a fatty acid. It is a triterpene lipid, part of the unsaponifiable fraction of oils, and it has been present in living organisms since the beginning of life. Our own bodies produce it in the liver, where it is transported to the skin and incorporated into the sebum produced by the sebaceous glands.

In youthful skin, squalene makes up a significant portion of our natural skin lipids. As we age, production declines. This is one of the reasons skin can begin to feel drier, less resilient, and slower to recover. Topical application of squalene-rich oils can help support what the skin is no longer making on its own.

Rice bran oil and wheat germ oil contain measurable amounts of vegetable-based squalene. Amaranth seed oil is an exception, with a large unsaponifiable fraction of which 75% or more is squalene. As total oil composition, squalene can be from five to ten percent of the total oil.

Oat seed oil is particularly high in these compounds. It contains phospholipids and glycolipids that mirror the skin's own barrier components, along with vitamin E, carotenoids, and a group of polyphenols known for their soothing and anti-inflammatory properties.

Grain oils as skin nourishment

Grains have fed humans for thousands of years. As oils, they carry that same nourishment into skincare.

Oat seed oil (Avena sativa) is calming, reparative, and emollient. Traditionally considered a nervous system tonic in western herbalism, oats have a long association with soothing and restoration, qualities that translate well to sensitive or compromised skin.

Rice bran oil (Oryza sativa) is pressed from the germ and outer layer of the grain and is rich in unsaponifiable matter. Alongside squalene, it contains γ-oryzanol, ferulic acid, phytosterols, and tocopherols, compounds that offer antioxidant protection and support even-looking skin tone.

Amaranth seed oil (Amaranthus caudatus) is the queen of plant-sourced squalene. Its lipid profile is rich and nourishing, and in small amounts it can boost the squalene content of a formulation without feeling heavy.

The Skin Food Facial Oil

Bringing these three oils together creates a facial oil that is greater than the sum of its parts.

This simple formulation supports:

• Moisture and emollience from oat oil's phospholipids and vitamin E complex
• Antioxidant protection from rice bran oil's γ-oryzanol and ferulic acid
• Barrier support and renewal from amaranth oil's high squalene content

The result is a lightweight oil that absorbs easily, feeds the skin, and leaves it feeling supple rather than coated. A meal in a bottle.

This combination absorbs well and feels light on the skin. As always, proportions can be adjusted depending on skin type and preference, but the logic of the formula remains the same: using lipid-rich grain oils to support the skin's natural structure.

Happy Making 

Susan M Parker

For more formulation lessons, recipes, and lipid science, join us in the Lipid Lab. $19/month: lipidoils.com/lab