Nature's Own Vitamins: How Plant Oils Deliver Nutrients Your Skin Craves
While tallow provides the fatty acid foundation your skin recognises, botanical oils act as nature's vitamin delivery system — concentrated sources of the nutrients skin makes good use of. These aren't just moisturisers; they're liquid vitamins, and your skin takes them up readily.
Unlike synthetic skincare built on isolated compounds, plant oils deliver vitamins in their natural context, surrounded by complementary nutrients that help with absorption.
Best Plant Oils for Skin: The Vitamin Powerhouses
Rosehip Oil
Rosehip contains naturally occurring trans-retinoic acid (vitamin A) along with vitamins C and E — a lovely anti-ageing combination without the irritation that synthetic retinoids so often bring. It is a long-standing favourite for skin that looks uneven, and it works gently.
Sea Buckthorn Oil
Packed with beta-carotene, vitamin E and the rare omega-7 fatty acids, sea buckthorn is one of the richest botanical oils available. It is deeply nourishing and particularly well suited to skin that feels dry and looks tired.
Argan Oil
With roughly twice the vitamin E of olive oil, argan offers strong antioxidant content along with skin-softening squalene and oleic acid. Used regularly, it leaves skin feeling supple and looking well hydrated.
How Plant Oils Deliver Vitamins to Your Skin
Plant oils don't simply sit on the surface — their molecular structure lets them absorb properly, carrying their vitamin content with them. The detail differs from oil to oil.
Jojoba oil (technically a liquid wax) is so close to human sebum that it carries water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C further into the skin than water-based serums manage. Heavier oils such as avocado and marula create a reservoir effect, releasing the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K slowly over several hours.
Combined thoughtfully, their vitamins work together: vitamin E protects vitamin A from oxidising, while vitamin C restores oxidised vitamin E, creating a continuous cycle of antioxidant protection.
Timing Your Oils
Morning: Vitamin C and Antioxidants
Oils rich in vitamin C and antioxidants — rosehip or pomegranate seed — are lovely in the morning, before the day gets at you. The naturally occurring vitamin C in these oils is more stable and less irritating than synthetic ascorbic acid.
Evening: Vitamin A
Vitamin A-rich oils such as rosehip, carrot seed or sea buckthorn are best at night, when skin does most of its renewal. The natural vitamin A compounds work gradually and without the photosensitivity of synthetic retinoids.
Year-Round: Vitamin E
Vitamin E-rich oils — sunflower, wheat germ, argan — offer consistent antioxidant protection and can be used daily. Vitamin E is central to the skin's moisture barrier and to how well skin ages.
Seasonal Strategies
Your skin's needs change with the weather:
Summer
Focus on antioxidant-rich oils — green tea seed (vitamin E), pomegranate (vitamin C), or red raspberry seed. None of these replace sunscreen, but they support skin that spends its days in Australian conditions.
Winter
Heavier oils like avocado (vitamin E), rosehip (vitamin A) or evening primrose (gamma-linolenic acid) give the extra richness skin wants in cold, dry weather.
Between Seasons
Light layering of complementary oils — vitamin C-rich rosehip under vitamin E-rich jojoba — covers most bases without overwhelming the skin.
Quality Matters
Cold-Pressed Extraction
Heat destroys many vitamins, so cold-pressed oils retain considerably more than solvent-extracted alternatives.
Dark Glass Storage
Vitamins A, C and E are light-sensitive. Oils in dark glass keep their potency far longer than those in clear bottles.
Fresh Production Dates
Unlike synthetic vitamins, the natural vitamins in plant oils degrade over time. Fresher oils are simply better oils.
Combinations Worth Knowing
Vitamin A + E
Rosehip (vitamin A) with sunflower (vitamin E) is a classic pairing, because the vitamin E protects the vitamin A from oxidising.
Vitamin C + Bioflavonoids
Oils pressed from whole fruits — sea buckthorn, acai — carry vitamin C alongside the natural bioflavonoids that help it do its job.
B-Vitamin Oils
Some oils, hemp seed among them, carry natural B vitamins that complement the antioxidant vitamins beautifully.
Beyond Vitamins
Plant oils also carry some lesser-known but equally useful compounds:
- Phytosterols: plant compounds that play a similar role to cholesterol in the skin's moisture barrier, found abundantly in avocado and shea.
- Polyphenols: antioxidants that work alongside the vitamins, concentrated in oils from colourful fruits and seeds.
- Essential fatty acids: the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids your body can't make itself, found in flax, chia and hemp seed oils.
Combining Plant Oils with Tallow
The beauty of botanical oils lies in their complexity — each drop carries dozens of useful compounds working together, delivering nourishment the way nature arranged it.
Our Dew Drops Barrier Oil combines beneficial plant oils with other natural ingredients for comprehensive nourishment. Used alongside our grass-fed tallow balm, the two together give skin a complete vitamin and fatty acid profile, and leave it feeling soft, supple and comfortable.
References
- Keen, M. A., & Hassan, I. (2016). Vitamin E in dermatology. Indian Dermatology Online Journal, 7(4), 311-315.
- Pullar, J. M., et al. (2017). The roles of vitamin C in skin health. Nutrients, 9(8), 866.
- Zaccara, S., et al. (2016). Antioxidant activity of botanical oils. Cosmetics, 3(2), 18.
This article is general information only and is not advice about any health matter. If you have concerns about your skin, please speak with your health practitioner.