Bio-Oil: Does it really Work? My Honest Review

Bio-Oil, what claims, what advertisements, what reviews…amazing. Who would not trust bio-oil blindly? I also did. When I got pregnant, I had no worries about stretch marks. I knew bio-oil is there, and I won’t have any stretch mark.

I ordered two bottles of Bio-Oil as soon as I completed 3 months of my pregnancy. Now let’s get into the detailed review and know how well it worked.

Packaging

I found the packaging classy. It is a transparent bottle with orange and white print. Cap is white in color. There is another small white stopper inside with a big hole in its center. So the product is dispensed very easily. In fact, product usually comes out in more than required quantities and so you have to be really careful. The bottle comes in an outer carton which is entirely white in color with same orange font. Overall, the packaging looks rich.

Price: Rs 450 for 60 ml

The product seems expensive. But if it really does what it claims, it would be worth. Stretch marks are something which are really difficult to prevent and almost impossible to fade away once they are there. So if bio-oil can actually prevent stretch marks, the price would not be too much.

Claims

It claims that Bio-oil skincare oil is specialist skincare for

• Scars,
• Stretch Marks,
• Uneven Skin tone,
• Ageing skin,
• Dehydrated skin.

Contains

Ufff… the list of ingredients is really long. Come, let’s have a look:

1. Paraffin Liquid (moisturizing properties)
2. Triisononanoin (a component of glycerin, viscosity enhancing property)
3. Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate (lubricant property, makes skin soft)
4. Isopropyl Myristate (emollient)
5. Retinyl Palmitate (a form of Vitamin A; good for dry skin)
6. Sunflower seed oil (antioxidant property, source of Vitamin E)
7. Tocopheryl acetate (a form of Vitamin E)
8. Chamomile Flower Oil (anti-bacterial)
9. Lavender Oil (several benefits for skin; anti-ageing, anti-acne, etc.)
10. Rosemary leaf oil (anti-inflammatory)
11. Calendula Extract (anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial)
12. Glycine Soja Oil (Soyabean Oil; Rich in Vitamin E, Skin firming property)
13. BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene; Anti-oxidant property)
14. Bisabolol (anti-inflammatory)
15. Perfume
16. Alpha-isomethyl lonone (for fragrance)
17. Amyl Cinnamal (for fragrance)
18. Benzyl salicylate (for fragrance)
19. Citronella extracts (for fragrance)
20. Coumarin (for fragrance)
21. Eugenol (for fragrance)
22. Farnesol (for fragrance)
23. Geraniol (for fragrance)
24. Hydroxyisohexyl-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde (for fragrance)
25. Limonene (for fragrance)
26. Linalool (for fragrance)
27. CI 26100 (Color)

Wow… These many amazing ingredients… Right?

Let’s see what magic they collectively did…

Color

Absolutely Transparent

Consistency

It is moderately viscous oil

Odor

Pleasantly fragrant

My Views

According to the label, this oil contains 26 different ingredients (excluding color). Now suppose you apply 5 drops of it on your face. Divide 5 by 26. This comes 0.2 approximately. That means one fifth of a drop. Now let’s say sunflower oil; no matter how good sunflower oil is for skin, what can it do if you apply just one fifth of a drop? I hope you are getting what I am trying to say. This oil contains so many ingredients that each ingredient is so much diluted. No ingredient is in enough quantity to be able to do any good to your skin.

Secondly, out of 27 ingredients, 12 ingredients are added only for fragrance. 12? Like really? Why? Why they have been so obsessed with the smell of the product? One or two fragrant oils would be enough. And even after adding 11 fragrant oils, they still added perfume. What’s the point?

They say they have added eugenol, but there is no trace of smell of eugenol (no one knows the smell of eugenol better than me because I used eugenol as herbal anti-cancer agent in addition to chemotherapy in my Ph.D project). They say they have added limonene and linalool, but there is no trace of citrus smell. The ingredients are so diluted to be able to claim their existence.

On the bottle, it is written ‘Contains the breakthrough ingredient PurCellin Oil’, but this name is nowhere in the list of ingredients. And PurCellin oil is only to adjust the consistency of the product to make it more readily absorbed (which too is not achieved). I wonder what is so breakthrough in this and why is it highlighted.

And they have mentioned the name of a coloring agent, but the oil is transparent. Where is the color? And what is the point of adding color? It would have made some sense if they added some clarifying agent, but color? Really?

I really want to talk to the person who has finalized the formula of this oil.

My Experience

As I said earlier, I had so much trust in this product and I started using it right from the fourth month of my pregnancy.

This oil is more towards viscous side, and I don’t know why several reviewers have said that it is non-greasy and gets absorbed instantly. No… It does not. It is greasy and it does not get absorbed until you massage for good 2-3 minutes. Even after that, if you touch your skin, you would feel oily and greasy. Owing to this fact, this oil seems to be a good option for dry skin, but it is greasy and it does not get absorbed into the skin easily.

Coming back to preventing stretch marks, I was so convinced about the efficacy of this oil that I neither consulted my doctor about stretch marks nor I applied anything else during my entire pregnancy.

And this oil… The Bio-Oil… Failed me like anything. I have stretch marks more than anyone can imagine.

It did not prevent stretch marks, not even by 1 percent. And if it could not prevent, I do not even want to talk about treating existing stretch marks.

But I really had so much trust in this product that later I thought, ‘okay, may be not for stretch marks, but it might work for skin’. So I used it on my face, and again it disappointed me. I felt no difference in my skin. My sister also used it on her face, and she too experienced no difference.

So this has been my experience with Bio-Oil…. No benefits, no difference, shear wastage of money.

But just look at my blind faith and my one sided love for this product. I was still not ready to accept that this product is absolutely useless. I wanted to give it the benefit of doubt. I considered that though it hasn’t worked for me but might have worked for others. I did not want this review to be biased and so I have worked really hard to write an unbiased and correct review about bio-oil. I asked several people if they have ever used bio-oil and what has been their experience. I also saw and read all the reviews online (only the genuine ones). But unfortunately, bio-oil has done no magic for anyone. Almost for everyone, the experience hasn’t been very good.

CONCLUSION

Here I am compiling my conclusion about bio-oil in points. These points are based on collective feedback of several people including me:

1. Bio-oil does not do what it claims. It in fact does not do anything in most of the cases.
2. If it gives you any result at all, you need to be very consistent and use it at least for six months. Few people have experienced some benefit after 6 months.
3. This is not suitable for oily skin.
4. Many people have experienced break-outs after using bio-oil.
5. It is a good oil for dry and dehydrated skin.
6. It is greasy and does not absorb easily.
7. In some cases, bio-oil has worked on fresh marks, but only after using it consistently for 6 months.

Does anyone really have the patience to wait for 6 months? Honestly, I would give up.

This oil contains so many ingredients that none ingredient is in enough quantity to show any result.

Instead of making this chaos, it would be better to mix only 2-3 oils and use. In fact, just one oil would perform much better than this bio-oil. For example almond oil; use it consistently and you will experience visible results in just one month. Read about it in detail here.

Pros

Good for dry skin

Cons

Useless product. Wastage of money

Though I said it is good for dry skin, but dry skin can be tackled in better and more economical ways. Read here how.

Does it fulfil its Claims

I don’t want to waste time in going point wise. It does not fulfill any of its claims.

Final Verdict

It is a useless product. Do not waste your money.

Rating*: 1/5

Will I buy it again: Never

Do I Recommend: Not at all

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Also read the reviews of Biotique Bio Fruit Whitening Lip Balm and Pond’s Vitamin Micellar Water

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