The benefits and challenges of treating skin with natural oils.

The term natural oil refers to a fixed (non-volatile) oil of animal or plant origin. These types of oils - in contrast to essential (volatile) oils, which are obtained by steam distillation methods of plant matter - are typically obtained from plant seeds and nuts by a mechanical pressing technique or solvent extraction. The natural movement in cosmetics of the 21st century has led to renewed interest in formulating skin care products with botanical ingredients. In this article, we discuss the benefits and caveats of natural oil treatments as moisturizing agents (as occlusives and emollients) as well as their utility in wound healing and treatment of skin diseases. We also address the paradoxical behaviour of natural oils in relation to barrier function and highlight the current state of our knowledge with respect to the use of natural oils in neonatal skin care. Finally, we provide a comparison of natural oils to conventional petroleum-based oils.