Oils for the body - treating keratosis pilaris

This time of year my skin tends to get a bit dehydrated, so I'm looking to add moisture back to my face and body, and I'm getting really into using oils this month. Previously, I wouldn't have gone near an oil, as I thought my t-zone was too greasy and I kept getting spots on my forehead and especially on my chin. I also kept getting spots on my upper arms, which I was treating with plenty of spot gel that made my skin very red and flaky. I have since realised that I have keratosis pilaris, which is a skin condition where the hair follicles get blocked with a plug of keratin and the hair curls itself around in this plug, causing a red raised bump on the skin. I've been treating this by exfoliating my upper arms every other day and using a dry body oil afterwards. I found that using a normal body lotion blocked the follicles even more, especially ones containing cocoa butter. Exfoliating and using the dry oil seems to be working, as I don't seem to get anywhere near as many bumps and the skin looks less red.

I wanted to write a bit about different oils I have tried, starting with body oils. I'll start with three that are under ten pounds. The first is the Morrocan Oil from Marks and Spencer. I discovered this on their website, as I don't go to the store very often. This contains argan oil, as well as sweet almond oil and sunflower seed oil. You get 100mls and it comes in a thick glass bottle. The bottle is a little bit impractical as you have to pour the oil out into your hand or do as I did and transfer it to a pump bottle. It has sweet smelling fragrance, as it contains bitter orange and jasmine. I like this oil a lot but it isn't my favourite scent. It costs £9.50 for 100mls and is on 3 for 2 on the website at the moment.

The next oil in the budget range is the Garnier Body Ultimate Beauty Oil. This retails for £7.99 but is quite often on offer in Boots or Superdrug. It contains argan, macadamia, almond and rose oils, and comes in a plastic spray bottle, which is not very easy to use as it quickly becomes slippery with the oil and is then difficult to hold. The label on the back also starts to disintegrate and you end up with glittery bits off that all over you. I transferred this one into another spray bottle. I like this oil, and think it is very nourishing but I can't stand the smell! I'm not sure what it is that I object to, but the first time I used it I could smell it on my skin for quite a long time afterwards and I really wasn't keen on it. I ended up mixing this one with the Body Shop Satsuma Beautifying Oil, which contains marula and nut oils and has a gorgeous orange scent. It costs £9.00 for 100mls and comes in a plastic bottle, with no pump. So the two of these oils mixed together were nice and the orange smell of the Body Shop one masked the scent of the Garnier. I wouldn't get the Garnier one again, purely because of the smell, but I would repurchase the Body Shop Satsuma oil.

The next three oils are higher end. The first is Origins Ginger Gloss Smoothing Body Oil, which retails at £17.00 for 100mls and comes in a plastic spray bottle. It's a nice oil and smells of the Origins Ginger fragrance, which is spicy ginger with a hint of citrus and bergamot. I love the whole Ginger range, so I love the smell of this oil. It contains jojoba oil, which is good, but the only thing I'm not keen on is that it also contains silicones. This makes it feel really nice on the skin and gives that smoothing effect, but I'm not sure about silicones in body products, and especially whether they are any good for my skin.

The last two oils, which are my favourites, are both French Pharmacy brands. The first is Caudalie's Divine Oil. This contains grape oil, extra virgin argan oil, extra virgin hibiscus oil and sesame oil, and comes in a beautiful amber-coloured glass spray bottle with a wooden top. It is my absolute favourite as the scent certainly is divine - described as "a subtle fragrance that will make you swoon as it caresses your skin". This is definitely true, as it is made up of two kinds of rose, pink pepper, grapefruit, cedar, vanilla and white musk. It smells so expensive and luxurious and has such a lovely moisturising effect, without being at all greasy. It leaves my skin with a gorgeous sheen and a fabulous scent. I can almost imagine that I am a French woman when I'm spraying this on. It retails at £27 for 100 mls from John Lewis, but you can also get it online in the UK for £24.30 from Feel Unique.  I picked up a 100 ml bottle when I was in Paris recently for 20 Euros, so if you are heading over to France I recommend getting one there. Caudalie seems to be stocked in even the tiny pharmacies, so it's easy to find. There is also a candle with this same fragrance, which is also gorgeous.

The final oil, which comes a close second to the Caudalie, is Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse, which is a combination of plant oils and vitamin E and comes in a 50ml glass bottle without a spray, or a 100ml with spray. It is also available in a Golden Shimmer, or "Or" variety, which leaves a lovely golden sheen on the skin and is especially lovely in summer. You can get this oil at Marks and Spencer's Beauty Hall, or on their website, starting from £17.50. They are also doing some really good Christmas gift sets, which come in a lovely gift box with a picture of the Eiffel Tower and "Love from Paris" on them. The oil in the sets is 50 mls and the bottle is also embossed "Love from Paris", which is a nice touch. I particularly like the body care set which includes this oil, the famous Reve de Miel lip balm pot and a Reve de Miel hand cream.

All of these oils can be used on your hair as well as your skin. I have never used them on my hair but I love them for my skin. You could also use them for your facial skin and for your cuticles. They really are multi-purpose and a bottle lasts a long time.