4.29.2015

Rosehip Seed Oil Review - The Acne Experiment

Rosehip Seed Oil Review - The Acne Experiment

In the hope of squeezing just one blog post out of April 2015, I've skipped over a few product trials that I should have reviewed before getting to this one. Besides, I know what you ravenous hags want: my face with a ton of acne on it, right? Lots of grease, some tears, and a review of a fabulous holistic skincare treatment that is referred to, by some, as "liquid gold."

Due to it's high concentration of vitamin A, rosehip seed oil is the only natural product that is considered a substitute for retinol or tretinoin (retinoic acid). My past experiences with Retin-A were nothing short of fantastic; my forehead has never looked as clear as it did during my Retin-A heyday. I remember having a dermatologist look at my skin under one of those magnifying dermatologist lights and say "Your forehead is clear." Also, "Is yous a professional gorgeous person? Wowy wow wow."

When I decided to get more natural with my routine, the Retin-A was the first thing to get the axe. Years ago I tested out an old bottle of NOW brand rosehip oil that my mom had kicking around her medicine cabinet. My experience was lackluster, but when I got real serious about my acne research, I realized my half-assed trial was probably closer to quarter-assed.

Not all rosehip oil is made equal. If you're looking for a high quality rosehip oil, look for cold-pressed, unrefined, organic oil that is from Chile. Because the oil has a tendency to oxidize, rosehip in a dark glass, airtight pump is ideal. Store it in the refrigerator to extend it's shelf life; rosehip oil will only be good for about a year once opened and exposed to air. By-the-by, "rosehip seed oil" and "rosehip oil" are the same thing. Rose oil, is not. As such, rosehip oil does not smell like roses.

I got a bottle of InstaNatural from my mom for Christmas and it sat in my refrigerator for 3 months before I cracked the seal. You don't have any clue how freakin' jazzed I was about this trial. I've read that supermodels and fellow professional gorgeous people love rosehip seed oil, and that Princess Shiny Locks herself used it when she was pregnant with the future king of the British Empire.

I'm drooling all over myself. I want this bad.

Ingredients:


Method:

  1. Obtain some rosehip seed oil. You're gonna look mahvelous dahling.
  2. Store it in your refrigerator until you can't hardly wait any longer.
  3. Choose a good place to spot test it. I chose my forehead because I have bangs. Yay bang.
  4. Clean your face and dry it as usual. I did my normal washcloth+water routine.
  5. Put a teensy tinesy bit of rosehip oil into the palm of your hand and rub it between your fingertips. I found just a half-pump of oil was plenty.
  6. Apply it to your spot test area. I only used it once per day during the forehead trial.
  7. If you're using an exfoliant while using rosehip oil, apply it at a different time of the day than the rosehip oil to minimize the chance of irritation.
  8. After 1-2 weeks, if you're feeling ballsy, apply it all over your face for another 1-2 weeks.
  9. Turn into a real princess.

Conclusions:

Before we get to the hot-sexy pics, let me say that rosehip seed oil does not really smell like old fish or rotting flesh like so many people complained about in the Amazon reviews. Wanna see a dead body, kid? No, you don't Amazon reviewers, because it will surely punch a hole in your olfactory bulb. Rosehip oil is darkish orangish in color, and smells like a multi-vitamin. It's stronger smelling than other oils, but it does not smell like actual vomit garbage, I swear it.

The feel of the oil was better than I expected as well. It absorbs quickly, and is not super greasy - I'm sure this is due, in part, to the fact that I purposely applied the smallest amount possible while testing it. It's also due to the fact that rosehip oil is high in linoleic acid, which is a preferred trait for those with oily skin; FYI, for comparison fun, Rosehip has 44% Linoleic acid, Hemp has 56.48%, and Grapeseed has 70.6% (this blog post is very helpful if you want more information).

Please note: InstaNatural doesn't even recommend this rosehip for people with acne, but what the hell do they know anyway. My forehead trial was relatively uneventful, so suck it rules/comedogenic ratings.

Before & After Rosehip Seed Oil :: The Acne Experiment
Before & After Rosehip Seed Oil
"Forehead Trial" After = results after two weeks of testing Rosehip on forehead only


Before & After Rosehip Seed Oil :: The Acne Experiment
Before & After Rosehip Seed Oil :: The Acne Experiment

Yeah! I'M GONNA GET ME SOME soft, beautiful, amazing skin, that is naturally this way because I only use the oils of this plant, native to Chile. I applied it to my whole face for a day or so before I realized trouble was abrewin' in forehead land. Below you will find the fruits of that eruption:

Breakout from Rosehip Seed Oil :: The Acne Experiment
holy hell.

While this fun was all happening, I continued the "trial" on my chin only for 2 weeks. Let me say, I was super excited anyway. The oil was so dry and luxurious and antioxidant rich that I convinced myself I finally found something my chin skin likes.

Perioral Dermatitis Rosehip Oil :: The Acne Experiment
Before & After Rosehip Oil
"Chin Trial" - After = results after testing Rosehip on chin only

In case you can't see it in the after photo, I've aggravated the perioral dermatitis gods. I know it's the oil too, because I applied it slightly beyond my chin, and I had those little bumps slightly beyond my chin too. And just so you know, as I write this 3 weeks later, it is still messed up.

I'm giving this oil to my dog.

Just kidding I'm giving it to my Mom. She'll probably love it.

Next Up:  Caru Witch Hazel + Bee Balm Toner (Hydrosol)

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Special Note: I had a person in the comment section of a different blog tell me that rosehip oil is best used diluted with another carrier oil like Jojoba. I'm too afraid to try this oil mixing myself, but if any of YOU have experience with it, I'd love to hear about it.

All Acne Experiment Posts + FAQs are in The Acne Experiment MOTHER HUB


Testing Rosehip Seed Oil on Acne :: Crappy Candle
Testing Rosehip Seed Oil on Acne :: Crappy Candle

All Images © Crappy Candle / The Acne Experiment
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12 comments

  1. Hey! I just came across your page :)
    I pretty much have the best skin EVA ;).... hormonal acne, hyper-pigmentation, scars, oily skin, dry skin, and sensitive skin yayyyyyy. But I wanted to tell you to try vitamin e oil, it works great on scars and hyper-pigmentation. I use the brand from "sundown naturals vitamin e oil" has an IU of 70,000. People say you shouldn't go over and IU 40,000 but I haven't seen any side effects. I've been using it for months and I've seen a huge improvement in my skin and scarring. It's a thick vitamin e oil so, after I wash and tone my face at night I use it as a moisturizer. You don't gotta worry about it getting on your sheets or anything...it absorbs into the skin really fast. I wouldn't use it in the morning unless you wanna get a sun burn or tan.

    As for toners since your testing them I'd say no to Neutrogena ( HELL FUCKING NO) well this is just my opinion but there products just dry the skin out and makes it itchy like I wanna rip my face off itchy (well for me at least). I'd def recommend Dickinsons Original Witch Hazel Pore Perfecting Toner or Thayers Alcohol-Free Witch Hazel with Organic Aloe Vera Formula Toner, Rose Petal.

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  2. The pictures you show are not long term scars (that have been there for years) but the leftover acnes from 1-3 weeks that will still continue to heal by themselves even without any treatment. I wonder is rosehip oil can reduce ling term scars, because so far it can only be removed by laser.

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  3. LOL! Your writing/reviewing style is so refreshing. Thanks for that. As I am meant to be working this will be briefish....
    I have acne prone, reactive to random shi*, combination skin. I also get hyperpigmentation (HP) from previous spots and rashes. Yeah me (sounds like I am applying for a competition, I'm not).
    Anyhoo, Rosehip Seed Oil is a tetchy one, at a 100% my face will break out in painful lumps of misery. Roll on a few years and I liked the idea of natural treatment of HP, so I thought I would ease into it... After clay cleansing, I used a mix of grapeseed oil / RSO of a eyeball ratio of 70 / 30. Used 3 drops only all over my face. I actually found my skin to become dry in places! More importantly no lumps of misery and my HP did tone down.

    Did people say I looked 10, no. But it is ok....

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  4. I enjoyed reading your honest product review about the rose hip oil. Would consider reviewing our Kosmea Certified Organic Rose Hip Oil??? We'll send sample, of course. Let me know by return at info@kosmea-usa.com, thanks!

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  5. Hi, I recommend using the oil for at least 3 months. Just like you, I have acne prone skin and when I first started using it it made my skin seem worse but I just kept using it because I didn't want to throw it away and waste the money that I spent on it (it was like 28 bucks for a specific brand at whole foods). Anyway, once I got close to the final drops of the bottle, I realize my skin looked really good!!! Instead of buying another bottle, I decided to try a new moisturizer and all my acne came back again. So I finally went to whole foods and got another bottle last week. I like this brand ( burgundyish label called "trilogy") because it isn't diluted with vitamin e oil as most of the brands are. I think thats maybe what made you break out? but if you're still suffering with acne, you should give rose hip oil another chance.

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    Replies
    1. Hey karin, i've been using RHO for 2 weeks and my acne seems worse. Is it the initial break out? How long does it take to make the acne stop bumping? It would be great if u answer. Reading your comment give me a slight hope:)

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  6. the brand you used is actually 100 percent rose hip oil too! anyway, give it another shot for 3 months!

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  7. Hi there, I myself have been using Rosehip seed oil for over two years now! At first, I did not see any change and my acne was still there. As I started to slowly change my skin care routine and my skin reacted to better products, I still kept the oil. When I look at my skin now, I do find that it is a lot smoother, softer, brighter, and the acne scars that usually would take a long time to disappear, now would go away within the month or two. What I initially used it for was anti-aging because I did not want to invest more financially.

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  8. Thanks ladies for the comments. That makes sense that the body might take longer to heal the skin using rosehip oil. Three months is a considerable amount of time.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi, I'm a skin aficionado. I own and operate Oil Angel Natural Skincare. For the best toner ever use liquid whey! I make kefir and use the left over whey as a facial toner and it works amazingly well. All the best :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. For anyone who has ever used retin A you would know that acne gets worse before it gets better. Years ago when I was on retin a treatment my derm explained that it pretty much brings up a lot of acne in the first few weeks. According to retin a packaging/website it takes about 12 weeks before you see results. So I'm guessing rosehip oil will be the same since it's the natural alternative. So be patient and use it long term. Seems like the initial breakouts many of you had was just the vit A doing its thing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The initial reaction I saw with rosehip oil was very different from what I saw with Retin-A. With rosehip oil, it felt more like a proper breakout because the acne was inflamed. The purges I've experienced with Retin-A have all been very similar: red, but not inflamed acne, and whiteheads -- almost like a rash. (I have pictures here: http://www.crappycandle.com/2016/08/how-to-use-retin-survive-purge-acne.html). My reaction to rosehip oil was nothing like this, so I opted to discontinue use rather than risking potential scarring.

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