Ever wondered how the Australian aborigines healed their cuts and wounds?
Their secret’s emu oil.
According to legend, this unique oil can do pretty much anything, from moisturising skin to reducing wrinkles and even busting acne.
But what’s the truth? Can emu oil really do all these miracles or is it just another hyped up ingredient with an intriguing marketing story behind it?
Let’s find out:
What Is Emu Oil?
You know that weird-looking, awkwardly cute flightless bird from Australia? The big one? That’s the emu (or Dromaius Novaehollandiae to use its full name).
Yep, emu oil comes from the fat of the emu. This fat contains several unsaturated fatty acids, including oleic (20%), palmitic (20%), linolenic (1-2%) and linoleic (20%) acids.
These are the fatty acids naturally present in your skin. They help strengthen its protective barrier and keep skin moisturised.
Related: How To Strengthen Your Skin’s Protective Barrier (And Why It Matters)
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Can Emu Oil Moisturise Skin?
I know a lot of you hate mineral oil BUT, it is one of the most moisturising things on this planet. FACT.
Emu oil is even better. A study published in the Australasian Journal of Dermatology compared the two. The verdict?
“It appears that emu oil in comparison to mineral oil has better moisturizing properties, superior texture, and lower incidence of comedogenicity, but probably because of the small sample size (the study was conducted on 11 people only) these differences, were not found to be statistically significant.
“Neither of the oils were found to be irritating to the skin. Finally, emu oil fatty acid composition was studied by gas chromatography and was found to have high concentration of nonpolar monounsaturated fatty acids, which may explain emu oil’s ability to penetrate easily through the stratum corneum barrier.”
In plain English, the fatty acids in emu oil allow it to easily penetrate the skin and deeply moisturise it.
Related: Does 60% Of What You Put On Your Skin Really Penetrate It?
Can Emu Oil Soothe Skin?
Is your skin irritated or inflamed? Emu oil can come to your rescue.
Scientists compared emu oil with other oils – including olive, flaxseed and fish oils – and discovered they all have anti-inflammatory properties.
BUT emu oil works that little bit better at reducing inflammation (it does the job within a few hours!).
Related: 9 Soothing Ingredients That Calm Down Redness And Irritations
Can Emu Oil Reduce Wrinkles?
So far, emu oil has an excellent track record. It’s super moisturising and reduces inflammation to boot. But can it treat wrinkles, too?
We don’t know yet. Some people swear emu oil is the secret to their youthful complexion, but I couldn’t find any studies in the scientific literature that proves it.
This doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. Maybe no one has bothered to do a study about it yet. But I’m sticking to retinol for now. That’s proven to work, you know.
Related: The Complete Guide To Retinol
Can Emu Oil Treat Acne?
Some people swear emu oil isn’t comedogenic. It won’t clog your pores and give you pimples. It’ll treat them and make them disappear instead.
These people usually sell emu oil. Usually.
Again, I scoured the scientific literature but found no proof that emu oil can treat acne.
Related: Salicylic Acid VS Benzoyl Peroxide: Which One Is Best To Treat Your Acne?
Is Emu Oil Comedogenic?
Emu oil can clog pores – but that doesn’t mean it will.
One of the main fatty acids in emu oil is oleic acid – and THAT is comedogenic. If you have oily or acne-prone skin, I’d steer away from emu oil. Just in case.
Dry skin? It’ll be harmless for you.
Related: What Skincare Ingredients Are Comedogenic?
The Bottom Line
If you’re looking for a nourishing moisturiser for dry skin or a natural way to calm down irritations, emu oil will do the trick. Just don’t ask it anything more than that for now.
Have you ever tried Emu Oil? Share your experience in the comments below.
Though I’ve never tried emu oil (still can’t cross the psychological barrier of applying a bird’s fat on my face) but I’m much piqued by all I’ve heard about it. Someday I’m going to give it a go 🙂
Amanda, it’s an intriguing oil indeed but I agree that the thought of putting bird’s oil on one’s face is quite offputting..
No matter how miraculous it might be, I’ll never use a cosmetic with animal oil. 🙁
La Bisbetica, I can see where you’re coming from. Poor emus. And the thing is that so far, emu oil hasn’t been proved to be as miraculous as claimed so I don’t see any reason to use it at the moment, unless one has very dry or inflamed skin..
I find it depends on the grade. Some emu oil are great but others can work adversely and clog up pores. Quite hard to tell. I’ve used emu oil successfully to reduce inflammed acne but otherwise, prefer to have it mix in my oils.
Sesame, thanks for sharing your experience. I’m glad it worked well for your acne but it’s a shame it’s hard to tell if the emu oil you’re using clog pores or not as it is quite expensive and you wouldn’t wanna end up with a wrong bottle..
I bought a bottle of it because I read it’s good for hair loss, but it’s super greasy, so I have to wash it off before I can leave the house. I haven’t used it enough to really determine if it does anything positive for hair. I would never buy a product like that otherwise, because of where it comes from, but when it comes to hair stuff I get desperate! And I would try it on my face, but am afraid of it clogging my pores.
Jeni, emu oil is claimed to do pretty much everything but I haven’t found any scientific reference showing it works for hair loss. Of course it may just be that noone has studied that yet. I hope it works for you but it’s a shame it’s so greasy. Must be so unpleasant to use.
My mom gave me a jar of emu-oil cream many months ago and I still have it. I barely used it and when I did, I felt like I was putting on a baby bird and I felt bad haha despite emus being quite large. 😛 It worked really well to moisturize my skin though.
Janessa lol. It can be strange using it at first, but I’m glad it works well for you. 🙂
I mix emu oil, argan oil, a variety of ceramides, and a copper serum into my Curel moisturizer. Absorbs without feeling greasy and my skin feels so nourished and supple. It’s a great mixture that is helping my mature, sun damaged skin look healthy.