The 12 Best Natural Face Oils for Anti-Ageing: What Actually Works After 40
There's a specific morning where it clicks...
You've done everything the way you've always done it – cleanse, moisturise, foundation – and by eleven o'clock the foundation has settled into the lines around your mouth like rainwater finding a crack in the pavement. Your skin looks tired. Not because you are tired. Because something underneath has changed, and the routine that carried you through your thirties has quietly stopped holding up its end.
Most of us respond by buying a heavier moisturiser. It works for about a week. Then you're back where you started, with an expensive jar you'll never finish and a vague sense that you're doing something wrong.
You're not. You're just solving the wrong problem.
The best natural face oils have been quietly outperforming half the 'breakthrough' serums on Instagram for, oh, a century or so. This 2026 guide breaks down the 12 plant and essential oils worth knowing – which genuinely help with the look of fine lines, loss of firmness and that dull, 'I look tired' look, and how to choose between them. Three of them do the heavy lifting. We'll get to those first.
What actually changes in your skin after 40
Two things. Both of them are about oil.
1. Your skin stops making its own
Sebum production peaks in your teens – which is why teenagers have the skin problems teenagers have – and then declines steadily for the rest of your life. By your mid-forties you're producing a fraction of what you did at 25.
We spend our twenties treating sebum like the enemy: mattifying powder, oil-free everything, blotting papers in the handbag. Then it leaves, and it turns out sebum was never the enemy. It was the sealant.
2. The mortar between your skin cells thins out
The outer layer of your skin works like a brick wall – skin cells are the bricks, and lipids are the mortar holding them together and keeping water in. As oestrogen falls through perimenopause and beyond, that mortar thins. The wall gets leaky. Water escapes faster than your skin can replace it, which dermatologists call transepidermal water loss – a very dry name for a very visible problem.
Skin looks dull rather than lit from within. It feels tight by three in the afternoon. And fine lines look deeper, because dehydrated skin creases the way a dry leaf creases, while plump skin doesn't. If you want the full picture of what oestrogen decline does to skin, we've written about that separately.
The drier months make this worse – low humidity pulls water out of skin that's already struggling to hold it. If your skin feels fine in February and awful in July, this is why.
Why a face oil does something your moisturiser can't
Turn your moisturiser around and read the ingredients list. The first one is almost certainly aqua. Water.
A conventional moisturiser is mostly water, plus emulsifiers to hold the water and oil together, plus a preservative system to stop the water growing things, plus a comparatively small amount of the oils and actives you're actually paying for.
It's a delivery system, and a lot of what it's delivering is water that evaporates off your face within the hour.
A face oil contains no water. No water means no emulsifiers, no preservative system, and no filler. Every drop is the active part.
It does two jobs your moisturiser can only gesture at:
it replaces the lipids your skin has stopped making, and
it slows the evaporation – a layer of oil sitting on the surface, doing the job the mortar used to do.
Which leads to something most beauty brands won't say out loud: you might need fewer products than you think. If your face oil is nourishing and sealing, the $180 cream you're layering under or over it may be doing very little except adding a step and a smell. Try the oil on its own for two weeks before you assume you need both.
What to look for in the best face oil for mature skin
Not all face oils are useful for skin over 40. Four things separate the ones that earn their place from the ones that are marketing.
1. A high linoleic acid content
This is the single most useful number, and almost nobody publishes it. Linoleic acid is an omega-6 fatty acid your skin uses to build its barrier, and it's the fatty acid that declines most as skin ages.
Oils high in linoleic acid – prickly pear seed, rosehip, evening primrose – absorb quickly and feel light. Oils high in oleic acid instead – coconut, olive, marula – are heavier, sit on the surface longer, and are more likely to congest skin that's still occasionally breaking out.
If you're over 40 and your skin feels dry but you're still getting the odd hormonal spot, this distinction is the whole ballgame.
2. Cold-pressed, small batch, and genuinely fresh
Plant oils oxidise. An oil pressed with heat, shipped in bulk and sat in a warehouse for eighteen months has lost a meaningful share of the antioxidants you're paying for – and oxidised oil doesn't just underdeliver, it can irritate.
Cold-pressing preserves the fragile compounds. Small batches mean the bottle you're holding was pressed recently.
This is unglamorous, but it matters more than any hero ingredient on the front of the box.
3. No synthetic fragrance
Fragrance is the most common cause of irritation in skincare, and skin over 40 is measurably more reactive than skin at 30 – thinner barrier, slower repair. A good face oil smells like the plants it's made from. If it smells like a candle, ask why.
4. Concentration, not filler
Plenty of oils marketed as “prickly pear” or “rosehip” contain a token amount of the expensive oil floating in a base of cheap sunflower or grapeseed. There's no legal requirement to disclose percentages. What you can do is read the ingredients list in order – if the hero oil appears after the cheap carrier, you know where you stand.
The 12 best natural oils for anti-ageing, one by one
If you're building a shortlist, these are the oils actually worth looking for on a label.
1. Prickly pear seed oil
If we had to recommend just one face oil for skin over 40, this would be it. Sorry, we don't make the rules. It carries around three times the vitamin E of any other plant oil used in beauty – more than argan – and vitamin E is one of the most studied antioxidants in skincare. It's also about 60% linoleic acid, which makes it unusually light for how nourishing it is, plus a hit of vitamin K.
On skin, it reads as brightness: tone looks more even, skin looks plumper, the under-eye area looks brighter, and it absorbs without leaving anything behind. Here's the catch – most 'prickly pear oil' on the market isn't from the seeds at all. It's pressed from the fruit (fine for jam, useless for skin). Real seed oil takes roughly a tonne of fruit to yield a single litre, which is why so few brands use it at any real concentration.
Ours is sourced from Berber women's cooperatives in Morocco, cold-pressed from the seeds only. It's the hero in Illumino Youth Serum, and you'll also find it in our Signature Night Recovery Oil and Prickly Pear Eye Roller.
2. Argan oil
Famous for hair, criminally underrated for skin. Argan is high in vitamin E and saponins, and its fatty-acid profile happens to mirror what your skin naturally produces – so it's recognised, not rejected. It helps replenish the lipids skin uses to hold onto moisture, so skin feels softer and looks smoother almost immediately, without any deep-fryer shine. It's more oleic than prickly pear, which makes it a well-suited supporting oil in a blend rather than the whole story.
Like our prickly pear, it's ethically sourced from Berber women's cooperatives in Morocco. We use it in our Signature Night Recovery Oil and Hair Renewal Oil.
3. Rosehip oil
The one your friend who's 'really into skin' will mention at dinner. She's not wrong. Rosehip is naturally rich in vitamin A and carotenoids and high in linoleic acid, which is why it has a reputation for the look of smoother texture and more even tone – without the sensitivity stronger vitamin-A actives can bring.
It's particularly useful for skin that's both ageing and reactive, a combination that becomes weirdly common in your 40s and 50s. It's also one of the fastest-oxidising oils here, which is exactly why freshness and cold-pressing matter. You'll find it in our Signature Night Recovery Oil, working overnight while you're (theoretically) asleep.
4. Tamanu
If your skin has gone reactive in your 40s – stinging, redness out of nowhere, products you've used for years suddenly not playing nicely – tamanu is the one to look at. Pressed from the nut of the tamanu tree, it's rich in omega-9 and antioxidants, and it's a soothing, comforting oil that helps skin look calmer and more even. We use it in our Signature Night Recovery Oil.
5. Pomegranate seed oil
Pressed from the seeds of the fruit, pomegranate oil is around 75% punicic acid – a rare omega-5 – plus a high concentration of ellagic acid. Both are antioxidants, which makes this a useful oil against the look of sun-related ageing. Skin looks brighter and more even for it. It's one of the botanicals in our Signature Night Recovery Oil.
6. Sea buckthorn
The oil to know if your skin has lost its bounce. Sea buckthorn is unusually rich – omega-7 alongside vitamins C, A, E, K and a long list of minerals – which makes it a deeply nourishing antioxidant oil that helps skin look plumper and more supple. Its natural colour needs formulating around, which is part of why it belongs in a night oil. Ours is in the Signature Night Recovery Oil.
7. Immortelle (helichrysum)
A cousin of the sunflower, and known as 'immortelle' because the flower resists wilting. Its compounds – gamma-curcumene and neryl acetate among them – are why it has a reputation for helping skin look less dull and for the look of softened lines. It brings a glow many people notice, and it's a lovely inclusion in our Signature Night Recovery Oil.
8. Rose
The calming, plumping all-rounder – particularly useful if mature skin and redness have decided to gang up on you. Astringent and hydrating, rose oil helps skin look plumper and calmer, and makes it more receptive to whatever you layer with it. Another inclusion in our Signature Night Recovery Oil.
9. Jasmine
Derived from fragrant white jasmine blooms, jasmine oil is prized for its scent and its moisture-locking. It helps soften the look of rough, dry patches, hydrating troublesome areas and holding that moisture for long stretches – which makes it well-suited to face and neck. Found in our Signature Night Recovery Oil.
10. Neroli
Distilled from bitter-orange blossom, neroli is gently astringent – the reason a well-made face oil can leave skin looking firmer rather than simply softer. It's also one of the loveliest natural scents in skincare, and it's in our Illumino Youth Serum.
11. Carrot Seed
Carrot seed oil is rich in carotol and in vitamins A, K, C and biotin. It's an antioxidant oil that helps skin look brighter and more even over time, and offers some antioxidant defence against the everyday effects of sun and pollution on how skin looks. It's part of our Signature Night Recovery Oil.
11. Frankincense
Frankincense is known for the look of more even tone – helpful on the appearance of sun spots and age spots – and its boswellic acids are often chosen for a firmer-looking finish. You'll find it in our Signature Night Recovery Oil.
The best face oil for dry skin over 40
Worth separating two things that get muddled constantly. Dry skin lacks oil. Dehydrated skin lacks water. After 40 you usually have both at once – which is why you can slather on a hydrating serum and still feel tight an hour later. A face oil solves the first directly and the second indirectly: it replaces the oil, and the oil holds the water in.
If dryness is your main complaint, look at your cleanser before you blame the oil – a foaming sulphate cleanser strips more oil in ninety seconds than any face oil can put back overnight, and that's far and away the most common reason a genuinely good oil 'isn't working'. Go richer at night, don't skip the morning oil (dry skin feels worst by mid-afternoon, which is a morning problem), and give it the full eight weeks. For the deeper dive, here's our guide to choosing a face oil for dry skin.
| Oil | Best for | Key actives | Found in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prickly Pear Seed Oil | Brightening, fine lines, dark under-eye circles | Vitamin E (3x other plant oils), vitamin K, linoleic acid, betalains | Illumino Youth Serum, Signature Night Recovery Oil |
| Argan | Postmenopausal firming, hydration | Vitamin E, saponins, omegas 6 & 9 | Signature Night Recovery Oil, |
| Rosehip Seed | Texture, scarring, natural retinoid effect | Trans-retinoic acid, beta-carotene, phenolic acid | Signature Night Recovery Oil |
| Tamanu | Healing, reactive and irritated skin | Omega-9, antioxidants, antibacterials | Signature Night Recovery Oil |
| Pomegranate Seed | Anti-inflammatory, sun-related ageing | Punicic acid (omega-5), ellagic acid | Signature Night Recovery Oil |
| Sea Buckthorn | Collagen-rebuilding, plumpness | Omega-7, vitamins C, A, E, K | Signature Night Recovery Oil |
| Immortelle | Dullness, fine lines | Gamma-curcumene, neryl acetate | Signature Night Recovery Oil |
| Rose | Plumping, calming redness | Anti-inflammatories, astringents | Signature Night Recovery Oil |
| Jasmine | Moisture-locking, scars | Anti-inflammatory compounds | Signature Night Recovery Oil |
| Neroli | Cell turnover, elasticity | Bitter orange compounds | Illumino Youth Serum |
| Carrot Seed | Detoxifying, UV-related ageing | Carotol, vitamins A, K, C, biotin | Signature Night Recovery Oil |
| Frankincense | Sunspots, skin tightening | Boswellic acids | Signature Night Recovery Oil |
All formulas: Australian-made. PETA certified.
Which face oil should you buy?
Here's the honest version of the recommendation, in the order most people should approach it.
Mini Day and Night Face Oil Set
$74.00 $83.00 BEST PLACE TO START
Travel sizes of both hero oils, same formulations as the full bottles, roughly four weeks of each. Long enough to know whether your skin agrees with an oil, and cabin-friendly. 30-day money-back guarantee.
Illumino Youth Serum – Organic Prickly Pear Seed Oil | 30ml
$129.00 MOST POPULAR
The morning oil, and the one to buy if you're only buying one. Certified-organic prickly pear seed oil with neroli and argan – light enough to sit under makeup, concentrated enough that four to five drops covers your whole face. One bottle lasts around 90 days, roughly $1.40 a morning.
Signature Night Face Oil | 30ml
$84.00 MOST LOVED SCENT
The night oil. Eighteen botanicals including sea buckthorn, pomegranate and rosehip – richer than the morning oil, because at night you're not layering anything over the top. Winner, Best Overnight Facial Oil, The Beauty Shortlist Awards (Global), 2023.
Morning & Night Face Oil Set | Anti-Ageing Duo
$179.00 $213.00 BEST VALUE
Both full-size oils together, saving $34 against buying them separately. This is where most of our long-term customers land, because the two oils do different jobs at different times of day and the results come from doing both consistently. Around three months for the pair, with free standard shipping.
All Indagare products are made in Australia, PETA-certified cruelty-free, and free from parabens, sulphates, synthetic fragrance and mineral oils. Every product carries a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can see the best face oils Australia has for skin over 40 together in one place, or if you'd rather build the whole thing out, here's a full skincare routine for skin over 40.
How to use a face oil so it actually works
Most people who say face oils don't work for them are applying them wrong. Three things:
Apply to damp skin. This is the one that changes everything. Oil doesn't hydrate – it seals. If you apply it to bone-dry skin you're sealing in nothing. Apply it while your face is still slightly damp from cleansing and you're sealing in water. Same oil, completely different result.
Warm it in your palms first, then press. Four to five drops, warmed between your hands, pressed into your skin with upward pressure rather than rubbed. Pressing helps it absorb. Rubbing mostly moves it around and drags at skin that's already lost some of its bounce.
Oil goes on top. It's occlusive, so it seals in whatever you've applied underneath – if you're using a water-based serum or a moisturiser, the oil goes on last to lock them in. The one exception is sunscreen, which needs to go over the top with its own uninterrupted layer, so give the oil a couple of minutes to absorb first.
And give it eight weeks. Skin texture and hydration usually shift inside two to four weeks. Firmness and the look of fine lines take longer, because you're waiting on your skin's own renewal cycle, and that cycle slows down with age. This is not the category where you get a verdict in three days.
The honest bit: what a face oil won't do...
It won't fill a deep line. It won't lift what's descended. It won't undo thirty years of Australian sun in a fortnight, and any brand telling you otherwise is either lying or hoping you won't check.
What it will do is address the specific problem that makes skin over 40 look older than it is: dryness, dullness, and a barrier that's stopped holding water.
Of course, that's not the whole of ageing. But it is the part you can actually change, it's the part that shows up in photographs, and it's the part that responds fastest.
If you want to reverse gravity, we're not your brand. If you want your skin to look like the best version of your own skin at your own age, this is exactly what our face oils are made for.
What women over 40 say
We don't run consumer trials, so we won't quote consumer-trial statistics at you. What we have is what customers write, unprompted, after they've bought and used the products.
Across over a thousand verified purchase reviews of our three face oil products, 95.6% are five-star, with an average rating of 4.93 out of 5. Every one of those reviews is unprompted and tied to a verified order. (Figures as at the the date of article publication.)
A few of them, in their own words:
"Having dry mature skin I researched oils and found prickly pear was a "winner" the Indagare range contains this plus more. I purchased the travel size to try, plus (I love the size to pack for travels) & love both oils so much I purchased the Luminesq Dust face cleanser & hair oil which I also love & plan on purchasing the full size of each plus the eye roller! My skin is glowing & soft, the oils absorb beautifully, highly recommend - my new go to skincare range. A+++++"
"My skin looks and feels amazing since I have been using the Organic Face Oil Duo. My skin feels softer and plumper, and looks a lot less tired. Friends have commented on how lovely my skin looks, it is positively glowing."
“I'm a first time user with 59 year old fair skin. At first I was a little worried about using an oil in case my skin was left greasy especially at night time. But I have been using it now for a few weeks and I really love it. The night time oil leaves my skin smooth and it leaves no marks on my satin pillowcase, and the day time one allows for a lovely smooth foundation.”
"Best face oils I've ever used – smooths the texture of my skin, evens skin tone and moisturises beautifully… I've tried others and they just don't compare."
“I have very sensitive dry skin and I found the day and night oils have moisturised and evened out the texture of my skin. Best I've ever used, and with no reaction.”
Frequently asked questions:
What's the best natural face oil for anti-ageing in Australia?
For most people over 40, prickly pear seed oil offers the strongest all-round result – around three times the vitamin E of any other plant oil used in beauty, plus vitamin K for a brighter-looking under-eye area and linoleic acid for the look of plumper fine lines. For an Australian-made option, Illumino Youth Serum uses ethically sourced Moroccan prickly pear seed oil as its hero.
Which is better – argan or prickly pear seed oil?
Both are excellent, and they're better together. Prickly pear is the brightening, line-smoothing one, best in the morning under sunscreen. Argan is the deeper-nourishing one, best at night. If you can use both, do – it's the pairing behind our Day & Night Face Oil Duo.
Will a face oil make my skin oily or cause breakouts?
Usually the opposite. Skin that's dehydrated often over-produces oil to compensate, which is why so many women over 40 have skin that's simultaneously dry and breaking out. The caveat is which oil: high-linoleic oils like prickly pear seed and argan are non-comedogenic (they rate 0 on the 0–5 comedogenic scale), while heavier high-oleic oils like coconut are far more likely to congest. Patch-test on the inside of your wrist first if you're prone to reactions.
Do I still need a moisturiser if I use a face oil?
Possibly not. Try the oil alone for two weeks – many people find it's enough on its own, particularly the richer night oil. If your skin still feels tight, layer a moisturiser underneath and the oil on top, never the other way around: oil can't penetrate a cream, but a cream can absorb under an oil.
How long before I see a difference?
Texture and hydration typically shift within two to four weeks. Changes to the look of firmness, tone and fine lines usually show at the 60-to-90-day mark with consistent daily use. All full-size products carry a 30-day money-back guarantee, so there's no risk in finding out.
Is a face oil suitable for sensitive or reactive skin?
Often better tolerated than a conventional moisturiser, because there's no water in the formula and therefore no preservative system and no emulsifiers – two of the most common triggers. What matters is that the oil is cold-pressed, fresh and free of synthetic fragrance. If reactive skin is your main concern, here are the natural face oils we'd point you to for reactive or sensitive mature skin.
Are Indagare's face oils made in Australia?
Yes. Every product is formulated and manufactured in Australia and independently certified cruelty-free by PETA. The prickly pear and argan oils are sourced from Berber women's cooperatives in Morocco, where they're cold-pressed using traditional methods.
