On my continued quest to experiment with oils, my latest experiment has been with Emu Oil. But if you are vegan this product is not for you because it's actually emu fat. If that doesn't bother you...here we go!
***All items purchased by me. Links are non-affiliate links.***
Emu Oil $6.84/.5 oz @ Garden of Wisdom. There are usually 5 sizes available, but at the moment Garden of Wisdom is showing everything but the 4oz version as unavailable. I'm not sure if that means they will stop carrying the other sizes - I certainly hope not. Note: this doesn't come with the amber glass dropper bottle, I wanted to show it as an option if you would like to decant it into something else, especially if you get a larger size bottle.
I looked into a few other places to purchase the Emu Oil from, but they all were either mixed with something else or were not very forthcoming about where the oil came from. So I chose to stick with Garden of Wisdom since I get many oils from there, many on MakeupAlley get theirs from there and the description reads as follows (from the GOW site):
NOTE: Our supplier has informed us that the recent price increase is due to the fact that many suppliers are adulterating their Emu Oil with Ostrich Oil and even mineral oil, sometimes. Our supplier buys and tests other companies oil to keep some of them honest and they run analytical testing on every batch that comes to them before selling to retailers.
[obtained from the Emu bird, some say this does not smell at all, others that have a more sensitive nose say it smells gamey]
Grade 'A', Australian Emu Oil, produced under the Strict Australian Emu Oil regulations (equivalent to the USDA). The birds are totally free range, feeding on an all natural diet, which includes natural plants with antibiotic properties. No growth hormones or medicines are used, and they are not fed on corn, meat meal or hydrogenated oil feed. This is the real thing, as natural as you can get. All the natural fatty acids are preserved by low temperature refining processes and refrigerated storage.
Our emu oil is rendered at 160 deg F. During the refining process, the oil is taken to 480 deg F.
This ensures there is zero probability of bacteria surviving and also creates a stable product.
Definitely research other sources, but be sure you are certain there are no other additives and you are very comfortable with the retailer.
I've been decanting mine into a .5 oz amber dropper bottle, but have found I waste less product if I just keep it in its original .5oz flip top bottle. I had decanted it because I was afraid it would leak while traveling in the original bottle, but have since traveled with the original bottle (my 3rd!) and it travels like a champ! However, in the future if I'm unable to purchase the .5 oz size then I'll have to decant it for sure because I don't want to travel with anything larger than that. But for home it's not big deal.
As you might expect with a fat, this cloudy in color. The consistency isn't thick, but it's also not runny like a regular oil. Ok, wait I take that back...if the Emu Oil has been sitting in an environment that is too cold it will definitely be thick and actually be so thick that you'll have to find a way to warm it up to be usable. And vice versa, if it has been sitting in an environment that is too warm, it will be a lot more runny than usual.
I haven't found this smells, but some reviews say they can detect an odor that's not always so pleasant. But 3 bottles in and I don't notice anything that bothers me.
You can't just slap this on your face...it needs to be warmed up either between your fingers or your palms (depending on how much you use) prior to application. I find this sinks in much more quickly and more fully when applied over damp or lightly spritzed skin. I spritz with filtered water before application to lock in as much moisture as possible. On my oily areas (nose and chin), I blot with a tissue after application otherwise it seems to make me more oily and I break out. But as long as I blot, it seems to be the perfect amount to help heal blemishes and keep me less oily.
This sinks in very quickly, but start out with just a drop or so until you figure out your perfect amount. Much easier to add product than to subtract. You can also add it into your current moisturizer if you don't want to go the full oil route.
So all the blah blah blah stuff out of the way...how does this perform?!!
It absolutely says something that I'm on my 3rd bottle and have 2 more on backup. I thought Passion Fruit Seed Oil (review HERE) was fantastic, but I'm loving Emu Oil even more. It feels really soothing, keeps my skin soft, keeps my oily areas less oily (as long as I don't use too much on those areas), blemishes don't seem to stick around as long and I don't get as many clogs around my chin and lip line as I used to. Emu Oil also seems to be the most hydrating out of the oils I've tried, which means I don't have to layer as heavily on my dry spots (forehead and cheeks).
The most remarkable thing about Emu Oil is how it helps heal my skin. It's really hard to describe, but I'll try...it's almost like it forms a super thin, flesh tone 'scab' over areas that are healing. When it's ready to come off, new pinky skin is left underneath and the process seems to continue until the areas are back to normal. I haven't had any scrapes to test this out on, but I've had a few blemishes where this happened and I was really happy with the outcome. This hasn't happened with every healing blemish...seems to depend on the nature and size of the healing area. I remember reading something to this effect in a MUA review and thinking it was strange - nope, not strange because I experienced it! But in general with all my blemishes even if it didn't do the scabby thing, Emu Oil does help speed healing as well as lessen the time it takes for dark marks to fade.
Supposedly Emu Oil is an amazing cure all for a host of other ailments, including joint problems. I can't speak to those, and every site seems to list different ones. But I can say that I'm super happy I finally gave in and decided to try it because I've been reading about it on MakeupAlley forever! :-)