7 Next-level oils for oily and acne-prone skin worth checking out

If you’ve read my other pieces on specialist oils, you’ll know I like going past the usual jojoba-and-rosehip advice. My most recent one covered marula, prickly pear seed, raspberry seed, neem and tamanu oil, five oils that mostly leaned oleic rather than linoleic and still earned their place through solid research.

This time we’re going further off the beaten track again. These seven oils rarely make it into mainstream “best oils for oily skin” roundups, mostly because a couple of them look, on paper, like they should be reserved for dry or mature skin. Stick with me, because the fatty acid chemistry tells a more interesting story than the marketing does.

In this post:

• Hazelnut oil
• Kukui nut oil
• Evening primrose oil
• Rice bran oil
• Pomegranate seed oil
• Kakadu plum oil
• Moringa oil

I’m Patri Hernández, a certified organic skincare formulator and dermocosmetic technician with a background in health coaching. I specialise in botanical ingredients and evidence-informed natural skincare, which mostly means checking the fatty acid profile and the actual research before anything gets a recommendation on this site.

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend ingredients I genuinely think are worth your money.

Wait, why put oil on oily skin at all?

Fair question, and one I get asked a lot. Oily skin isn’t caused by too much oil landing on the surface. It’s caused by the sebaceous glands underneath overproducing sebum, often triggered by hormones, a compromised barrier, or over-stripping the skin with harsh cleansers.

Strip the skin too aggressively and it tends to produce even more oil to compensate. A well-chosen lightweight facial oil can actually help calm that cycle down, rather than add to it. The key word there is well-chosen, which is exactly what this post is for.

1. Hazelnut oil: the astringent oleic outlier

Hazelnut oil breaks the usual “high linoleic equals oily-skin-friendly” pattern almost immediately. It’s dominated by oleic acid, sitting somewhere around 78 to 83 percent, with linoleic acid making up a much smaller share. That fatty acid profile normally belongs in the dry-skin camp.

So why does it turn up on so many oily-skin lists in French skincare traditions in particular? Tannins. Hazelnut oil carries a natural astringent quality that most other carrier oils simply don’t have, which is thought to be behind its long-standing reputation for toning and mattifying oily skin.

• Comedogenic rating: 2
• Texture: light, quick-absorbing, slightly tightening on the skin
• Best for: oily and combination skin that wants a toning, refining feel rather than pure hydration

Worth flagging: the astringent effect is well documented in traditional and cosmetic formulation use, but it hasn’t been through the kind of rigorous clinical trials I’d want before calling it proven. Treat this one as a well-established traditional favourite rather than a clinically confirmed treatment.

How to use it:

• Two to three drops after cleansing, used alone or as a base oil
• Pairs well with a higher-linoleic oil like safflower if you want more oil control alongside the toning effect
• A good choice for anyone who finds pure linoleic oils feel too thin and wants a slightly more substantial finish without heaviness

Get organic hazelnut oil here.

2. Kukui nut oil: the omega-3 rarity

Kukui nut, also known as candlenut, comes from Hawaii and has a long history in traditional skin and wound care there, particularly for skin exposed to sun and salt air.

What makes it genuinely unusual is its fatty acid make-up. Most carrier oils lean heavily on omega-6 linoleic acid. Kukui nut oil carries a meaningful amount of alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3, alongside its linoleic content, which is a fairly rare combination among commonly available carrier oils.

• Comedogenic rating: 2
• Texture: light, glossy, absorbs quickly without a heavy after-feel
• Best for: oily skin that also deals with occasional redness or reactivity

Worth remembering: the omega-3 content is genuinely interesting from a formulation standpoint, since omega-3 fatty acids are generally associated with calming, anti-inflammatory activity in the body. Most of what’s said about this specifically for skin is extrapolated from that general reasoning rather than from dedicated topical trials on kukui nut oil itself, so I’d class it as plausible rather than proven.

How to use it:

• Two to three drops as a facial oil, morning or night
• Works nicely mixed with camellia or safflower for a balanced, non-greasy blend
• A reasonable pick post-sun exposure, given its traditional use for sun-exposed skin, though it’s not a sunscreen substitute

Get organic kukui nut oil here.

3. Evening primrose oil: the GLA specialist

Evening primrose oil is one of the very few widely available carrier oils containing gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), a fatty acid your body can technically produce on its own but often not in great quantities, particularly under stress or with certain dietary patterns.

GLA has a genuine research trail behind it, though it’s worth being precise about what that research actually looked at.

The most relevant study here looked at oral supplementation, not topical application: a pilot study by Jung and colleagues, published in Acta Dermato-Venereologica in 2014, found that people with acne who took omega-3 and GLA supplements over ten weeks saw a reduction in inflammatory acne lesion counts.

That’s an important distinction. Swallowing a GLA capsule and applying GLA-rich oil to the skin are not the same intervention, and the strongest data we have is for the former, not the latter.

• Comedogenic rating: 2
• Texture: medium weight, slightly slower to absorb than the very light oils on this list
• Best for: inflammatory, breakout-prone skin, used as one part of a wider routine rather than a stand-alone fix

How to use it:

• One to two drops mixed into a lighter carrier oil, since it can feel a touch heavier on its own
• Best applied at night
• Store in the fridge once opened. Its GLA content is polyunsaturated and prone to going rancid faster than more oleic-stable oils like hazelnut or moringa

Get organic evening primrose oil here.

4. Rice bran oil: the antioxidant workhorse

Rice bran oil has a long history in Japanese skincare, most famously in the tradition of using bran-filled cotton bags as a gentle facial wash. It has a fairly balanced fatty acid profile, roughly split between oleic and linoleic acid, which is part of why it tends to suit a wide range of skin types.

Its real point of difference is gamma-oryzanol, a plant compound found almost exclusively in rice bran, alongside a good dose of vitamin E in the form of tocotrienols. Both are potent antioxidants, and oryzanol in particular has some research behind it for photoprotective and skin-soothing properties.

• Comedogenic rating: 1
• Texture: medium, silky, slightly cushioned finish
• Best for: oily skin that’s also dealing with dullness or early signs of environmental damage

Worth remembering: oryzanol having photoprotective properties in a lab setting doesn’t mean rice bran oil replaces sunscreen. It’s a genuinely useful antioxidant to have in a routine, but it isn’t SPF, and shouldn’t be marketed or used as one.

How to use it:

• Two to three drops after cleansing, before moisturiser
• A good layering oil under a mineral sunscreen
• Pairs well with pomegranate seed oil below for an antioxidant-focused blend

Get organic rice bran oil here.

5. Pomegranate seed oil: the rare fatty acid

Pomegranate seed oil is where things get genuinely unusual on a molecular level. It’s dominated by punicic acid, a conjugated form of linolenic acid that’s barely found in any other commonly available carrier oil.

Alongside punicic acid, it carries a good amount of polyphenol antioxidants, which is fairly typical of pomegranate as a plant overall, given how much attention the fruit itself has had in antioxidant research.

• Comedogenic rating: 1
• Texture: light, dry-touch finish, absorbs quickly
• Best for: oily skin, particularly if you want an antioxidant-forward oil rather than a purely mattifying one

Fair to flag: the punicic acid content sounds impressive, and there is genuine interest in its bioactivity, but I’d treat most of the specific skin-benefit claims attached to pomegranate seed oil as promising rather than firmly settled. A lot of the pomegranate research base is on extracts from the peel or juice, which are different preparations to the cold-pressed seed oil itself.

How to use it:

• Two to three drops, morning or night
• Keep it in a dark bottle, away from heat. Punicic acid is highly polyunsaturated and this oil oxidises faster than most others on this list
• Buy in small quantities rather than stocking up, given the shorter shelf life

Get organic pomegranate seed oil here.

6. Kakadu plum oil: separating the fruit hype from the oil itself

Kakadu plum has become something of a marketing darling, largely thanks to genuinely remarkable vitamin C figures in the fruit pulp, often quoted as dramatically higher than oranges. That part is accurate for the fruit and its extracts.

Here’s the important clarification most product listings skip: vitamin C is water-soluble, and the seed oil is a fat-soluble extraction. The eye-watering vitamin C statistics belong to the fruit pulp and water-based extracts, not the cold-pressed seed oil. If a bottle of Kakadu plum oil is being marketed purely on those vitamin C numbers, that’s worth a raised eyebrow.

What the oil does genuinely offer is a lightweight, linoleic-leaning fatty acid profile that suits oily skin well on its own merits, vitamin C claims aside.

• Comedogenic rating: 1
• Texture: very light, fast-absorbing, minimal residue
• Best for: oily and combination skin wanting a genuinely lightweight everyday oil

How to use it:

• Two to three drops after cleansing
• Fine for daytime layering under sunscreen thanks to its light finish
• Works well as a base oil if you’re blending your own facial oil at home

Get organic Kakadu plum oil here.

7. Moringa oil: the shelf-stable oddity

Moringa oil, sometimes labelled Ben oil, is another high-oleic outlier on this list, sitting in similar territory to hazelnut. It’s rich in oleic acid and unusually high in behenic acid, a long-chain saturated fatty acid that isn’t common in carrier oils.

That behenic acid content is exactly why moringa oil has a genuine historical claim to fame: perfumers used it for centuries specifically because of its resistance to oxidation, since it holds delicate fragrance oils without them turning rancid.

• Comedogenic rating: 1 to 2, depending on the source and refinement level
• Texture: silky, close to the skin’s own sebum in feel, absorbs at a moderate pace
• Best for: oily skin that’s also barrier-compromised, whether from over-exfoliating, harsh actives, or weather

Worth remembering: much like hazelnut, this isn’t the one to reach for if oil control alone is the goal. It earns its place here for oily skin that also needs some genuine barrier support, and its oxidative stability means it holds up well in DIY blends without needing refrigeration.

How to use it:

• Two to three drops at night
• A good stabilising base oil if you’re blending several of the more delicate, fast-oxidising oils above into one bottle
• Consider pairing with a higher-linoleic oil like Kakadu plum if oil control is still a priority alongside barrier repair

Get organic moringa oil here.

The seven, side by side

Oil	Comedogenic rating	Best for	Texture
Hazelnut	2	Toning, oil control	Light, astringent finish
Kukui nut	2	Oily skin with redness	Light, glossy
Evening primrose	2	Inflammatory breakouts	Medium
Rice bran	1	Dullness, environmental damage	Medium, silky
Pomegranate seed	1	Antioxidant support	Light, dry-touch
Kakadu plum	1	Everyday lightweight use	Very light
Moringa	1-2	Oily and barrier-compromised	Silky, moderate

A quick note on comedogenic ratings

It’s worth knowing that most comedogenic rating scales in circulation trace back to older rabbit-ear studies from decades ago, not modern human trials on real faces. They’re a useful starting point, not gospel.

Your skin’s response to any oil depends on the whole formulation, how much you use, how often, and your individual skin chemistry. This is exactly why patch testing matters more than chasing the lowest possible number on a chart.

Storage and shelf life, because it matters more than people think

Several of these oils are rich in polyunsaturated fats, which makes them more prone to oxidation than something like coconut oil or shea butter.

• Evening primrose oil and pomegranate seed oil oxidise fastest. Keep them refrigerated once opened and buy small bottles.
• Hazelnut and moringa oil are more oxidatively stable thanks to their oleic and behenic acid content, so they hold up well at room temperature in a cool, dark spot.
• Rice bran oil and Kakadu plum oil sit somewhere in between, best kept away from direct light and heat.
• A rancid oil smells noticeably different, sharper and slightly waxy or crayon-like. If it smells off, it’s time to replace it, since applying oxidised oil to the skin does more harm than good.

If you’re not sure where facial oils fit into the rest of your routine, my simple natural face routine guide covers the order everything should go on, which matters just as much as which oil you choose.

Frequently asked questions

Can I mix several of these oils together?
Yes, and it’s often a smart approach. Blending a fast-oxidising oil like pomegranate seed with a more stable one like moringa or hazelnut can extend the blend’s usable life while giving you a wider range of benefits.

How many drops should I actually use?
Two to three drops is plenty for most faces. More isn’t better with facial oils, and overdoing it is a common reason oily skin feels weighed down or breaks out after starting a new oil.

Should I patch test these?
Yes, always, particularly with less common oils like these. Apply a small amount to your inner forearm and wait 24 to 48 hours before using it on your face, especially if you have reactive or sensitised skin.

Will any of these actually reduce oiliness?
Some, like hazelnut and the higher-linoleic options, may help with a more balanced, less shiny feel over time. None of them are a substitute for addressing the underlying causes of excess oil production, which can include hormones, barrier damage, or an overly stripping routine.

Seven oils, all with genuinely different strengths, and none of them the obvious pick you’d find on a generic “best oils for oily skin” roundup. That’s rather the point. Once you get past jojoba and rosehip, this is where the interesting formulation choices actually live, and a little chemistry knowledge goes a long way toward picking the right one for what your skin is actually asking for.

Love, Patri xx

This post is for educational purposes and isn’t a substitute for advice from a dermatologist, particularly if you have persistent or severe acne.