You know that skincare product that languishes in the back of your shelf, hidden between all the products you actually use. Maybe it was a gift with purchase. Maybe you bought it for some long forgotten purpose. But it’s there, and it’s judging you for not using it. That’s why I’m looking into how to use squalane.
For me, that product is this little bottle of Squalane. It actually was a gift, and at first, I loved it. That’s because it coincided with my trip to Finland, and it was super helpful during the super cold weather at the Arctic Circle. But then, we don’t have Arctic temps where I live, and my skin needs additional oil only in very cold winters. So. What to do?!
Sustainable beauty products are the ones you actually use, and I made a valiant effort (I think) to use that sucker. The first thing that happened, though, that when I researched this post I had it on my desk, and OF COURSE tipped it over. First recommendation if you’ve got a bottle of face oil you want to use up? Spilling it might not be the answer, because it took me ages to clean it up and did nothing for my skin.
Squalane, Squalene?!
Let’s pedal back for a second and research Squalane and get a few myths out of the way.
Squalane is a hydrocarbon (wha’?!), which is science lingo for ‘oily liquid’. Today, it’s generally manufactured from sugarcane, olives and rice. (It’s generally not made from shark liver anymore, although you can find that in some Japanese products.) Squalane can also be found in our sebum.
Squalane’s main things are “emolliency, surface occlusion, and TEWL prevention all with extreme cosmetic elegance”. In other words, it’s a superb moisturizer that makes your skin nice and smooth, without being heavy or greasy.
Incidecoder
And then there’s Squalene. SqualEne is SqualAne’s ugly stepsister, or, differently put, Squalene is an unsaturated oil, while Squalane is saturated. That means that Squalene, on a molecular level, has the double bonds that make it an antioxidant. (It is also less stable and prone to oxidisation.) Squalane, though, isn’t an antioxidant. But: it’s one of the least irritating and comedogenic oils out there.
How to use a bottle of Squalane?
Now that we’re all caught up, let’s see what we can use SqualAne for. (I got these recommendations of the Internet. As everything on the net, there’s some weird shit out there.)
- Put it into moisturiser/ body lotion. This is in fact the only way Squalane works for me. Squalane is very spreadable, and differently to other oils, sinks in relatively quick instead of sitting on your skin. Still, my skin doesn’t only need oil, it needs humectants as well. In other words, it needs hydration. Using an emollient alone doesn’t give me that. (An emollient, though, is excellent in preventing Transepidermal Water Loss, TEWL, but then, the most effective emollient for that is Petrolatum and if you’re concerned about TEWL, the best thing to slather on your face is good old Vaseline.)
- Put it on cuticles, lips, heels whatever. No. Nonono. This only works for me if I use it as a mask, trapping moisture. Otherwise, everything feels dry AND oily. (Even if Squalane sinks in relatively quickly in comparison to other oils, I don’t dig sitting around for 20 minutes waiting for me fingers to leave oily prints everywhere.)
- Put it on hair for a sleek look. Ahem. I’ve fine and dry (and bleached) hair, so this is literally the worst. Grease-central! What works, though: I put a few drops into my ends when my hair is still damp. It leaves them nice and smooth. On dry hair, it’s a disaster of incomparable scale. (For another hairtype, though, this might work very well.)
- As a mask: do your evening skincare routine. Add Squlane OVER your moisturiser. Wait, or sleep on a towel. (But will combat TEWL very nicely.)
- Add for… glow. Well. Instead of using it as a liquid highlighter as people suggested on the interwebz (really), it works well mixed into heavier foundations and concealers, especially in winter.
- Spill over your workdesk. Not recommended: takes a lot of liquid soap to remove fully and will disrupt your workday.
Sometimes, you’ve just admit defeat and live with the fact that you can’t get much use out of a product that everyone else seems to love. Trying to repurpose it might be a step in the right direction (to actually use it up), or swapping it, and of course make informed decisions when purchasing stuff. And whatever you do, spilling it is not the answer.
Please note that this post is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods or money for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.
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