Virgin vegetable oil, esterified oil or mineral oil?

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Virgin vegetable oil, esterified oil or mineral oil?

How to understand the difference between the different types of oils.

A virgin vegetable oil is an oil obtained by cold pressing. No transformation, no refining, it's 100% natural quality, 100% effective for the skin. It thus retains all the composition of fatty and unsaponifiable acids which make it its richness and is recognized by its smell and color.

An esterified oil is a processed oil but it is of natural origin. Often extracted from palm oil and sometimes from coconut oil, they are inert despite their naturalness because they have undergone a transformation of their chemical structure. They are widely used in formulas for their low cost, their stability and their dry feel on application (we speak of dry oils). They are not harmful to the skin and organic labels allow it today. They just lost their unsaturated fatty acids and their unsaponifiables during processing, and it's a shame because these fatty acids are so beneficial for the skin.

A mineral oil comes from petrochemicals , it is an inert fatty substance derived from minerals (distillation of coal, petroleum or certain shales). For their use in cosmetics, these oils undergo a complex and strict refining process which makes them pure and allows their use without risk. In conventional cosmetics, they are found in the form of paraffin and under the name “paraffinum liquidum” in the INCI * list. If they are widely used by manufacturers, it is for their low cost, their stability in a formula and their harmlessness on the skin. They are occlusive, they prevent the active ingredients from penetrating, leaving a film on the skin. If they bring a feeling of comfort, they do not interact with the physiology of the skin. They also have a disastrous impact on the environment.
* INCI: International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients: detailed list of ingredients on product packaging.