Lipid oils comprise 85% or more essential fatty acid chains of different lengths and saturations. Their structure, in many cases, resembles the skin’s surface, making them a valuable addition to any skincare or wound care product.

Knowing the iodine value can also help in formulations where sometimes it is required to heat up elements to create a product or an emulsion. The order of heating should go from saturated to unsaturated components.

• Bee or plant waxes

• Saturated butter

• Mono-unsaturated oils

• Polyunsaturated oils (sometimes with no additional heating required)

Essential fatty acids (EFAs)

There is a group of fatty acids called “essential” as they can not be produced by the body but are required to maintain healthy body cells and skin. Many of the most healing and protective lipid oils are rich in these EFA.

Linoleic Acid (LA)

is the parent compound of the n-6 PUFAs; α-linolenic acid (ALA) is the parent compound of n-3 PUFAs. The body synthesises longer chain derivatives from these two parent compounds, which also have important functions in healthy skin. (1) Applying certain oils rich in essential fatty acids is an effective way to deliver it to the skin and eventually the rest of the body; internal consumption can also work, but a lot of it is metabolised and lost while it passes through the liver internally.