Essential Fatty Acids
Essential Fatty Acids, often called EFAs, are the good fats that your skin cannot make on its own. In skincare they help strengthen the skin’s protective barrier, lock in moisture and keep it soft and supple. You’ll find them in many nourishing creams, oils and serums, especially those aimed at dry or mature skin.
How it works in skincare
In cosmetics Essential Fatty Acids work by integrating into the intercellular lipid matrix of the stratum corneum, reinforcing the skin’s natural barrier function and reducing transepidermal water loss. They help maintain healthy cell membrane fluidity, support the skin’s lipid bilayer and improve the overall texture and appearance of both skin and hair. Because the body cannot synthesise them, topical application of linoleic acid, alpha-linolenic acid and their derivatives delivers these vital lipids directly where they are needed.
Key benefits
- Strengthens the skin’s moisture barrier
- Helps prevent dryness and flaking
- Improves skin softness and suppleness
- Supports a smooth, healthy complexion
- Conditions and smooths dry or frizzy hair
- Helps calm the appearance of redness
Best for
dry skin, dehydrated skin, mature skin, sensitive skin, eczema-prone skin
Where it comes from
Essential Fatty Acids are naturally sourced from plant oils such as evening primrose, borage, flaxseed, rosehip and sunflower seeds. They are extracted from the seeds of these plants through cold-pressing or supercritical CO₂ extraction.
Products with Essential Fatty Acids
Not every product on UK Lips lists a full ingredient breakdown — so there may be many more formulas that contain Essential Fatty Acids than we can show here. These are the comparisons where we’ve confirmed it in the listed ingredients.
- Jan Marini Age Intervention Eye Cream (14g) Jan Marini