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From scalp to skin: Why oils are summer beauty’s holy grail
For years, beauty was obsessed with stripping things away. Oil-free skin. Matte finishes. Lightweight textures. Clean scalps. But somewhere along the way, we remembered something ancient: oil was never the enemy. It was the answer all along. And two Swedish, female founders are setting a new standard for beauty’s holy grail…
Words by Carin Hellman
This article contains advertising links
I remember my first body oil… And how it used to touch me. Not emotionally – although maybe a little emotionally too – but physically. The way it lingered on sun-warmed skin after late showers in the summer. The golden shimmer on collarbones. The unmistakable scent trail that somehow felt both expensive and comforting at the same time. It was Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse, of course. Back when every beauty editor, fashion assistant and impossibly chic woman seemed to carry that square little bottle in her bathroom cabinet. One drop and suddenly you smelled like salted skin, warm sand and a French pharmacy somewhere in Saint-Tropez. It wasn’t just body oil – it was a personality trait.
A few years later came my first grown-up face oil obsession: Rodin Olio Lusso. Before facial oils became mainstream, before every skincare brand launched twelve different barrier-repair serums, there was Linda Rodin’s little glass bottle sitting on vanities backstage during fashion week like some kind of liquid insider secret. It smelled of jasmine and neroli and costed a fortune, and at first you had to have someone to buy it for you from the US – to make it even more of a treasure.
At the time, oils still felt niche. Slightly mysterious, a little indulgent. Certainly not something the beauty industry considered essential. Now, they’re everywhere. From scalp oiling routines on TikTok to glossy “everything shower” rituals, oils have quietly taken over modern beauty — and honestly, it makes perfect sense. Few products can do as much, feel as luxurious or carry as much history in a single drop.
Why beauty oils became summer’s ultimate glow essential
This summer especially, oils have become the defining beauty essential — delivering the kind of effortless glow, nourishment and versatility modern routines crave. From glossy limbs and sun-soaked hair to deeply hydrated skin and healthier scalps, oils have evolved from niche wellness products into the ultimate multifunctional luxury.
And unlike many fast-moving beauty trends, oils carry something deeper than performance alone. They are rooted in rituals, heritage and generations of passed-down beauty wisdom. For founders like Gina Dirawi and Babba Rivera, oils are not simply products — they are deeply personal stories of identity, culture and care.
Today, more than ever in the world of beauty, oils have become the ultimate multitaskers – nourishing, healing, protecting and transforming everything from brittle hair to stressed-out skin. They soften, seal, strengthen and soothe. They are primal and luxurious at the same time. A single bottle can replace an entire shelf of products. In an era where consumers are craving fewer but better products, oils have quietly become beauty’s modern holy grail.
Gina Dirawi and Zëiyt:
Turning Palestinian olive oil into modern beauty rituals
For founder and creative force Gina Dirawi, oil has always been part of life – long before it became a beauty trend:
“When I was a child, my family brought olive oil back from Palestine,” she says. “My grandmother literally made me carry olive trees and litres of oil home. I didn’t understand it then, but oil was always there.” she tells at the press day for Zëiyt.
Her new beauty brand, Zëiyt, is built entirely around that philosophy: fewer products, few ingredients and oils that work from head to toe. At the center is Palestinian olive oil sourced from some of the world’s oldest trees – cold-pressed, deeply nourishing and rooted in generations of tradition. Dirawi describes oils not simply as skincare or haircare, but as something almost sacred. Her products are inspired by old rituals of anointing oils once used in Jerusalem, layered with rosemary, eucalyptus and peppermint oils chosen for their restorative and hair-strengthening properties.
“I’m an oil nerd,” she laughs. “I use oil for everything.” And honestly? So do we now.
Why multifunctional oils are replacing complicated beauty routines
Because the beauty of oils lies precisely in their versatility. A hair oil becomes a scalp treatment, overnight mask, beard oil or shine enhancer. A body oil becomes fragrance, moisture, glow and ritual all in one. Oils move effortlessly between beauty categories in a way few products can.
Consumers are also becoming increasingly ingredient-conscious. Instead of buying separate products for every possible concern, many are returning to fewer, more hard-working formulas that can nourish both skin and hair simultaneously. Oils answer that need perfectly – especially when they combine sensorial luxury with visible results.
Babba Rivera on scalp health, hair oiling and latin american beauty rituals
That same philosophy of heritage-meets-modernity also runs through Babba Rivera and her haircare brand Ceremonia that recently entered a bigger market here in Sweden, represented at both Kicks, NK och Lyko.
Rivera grew up with a Chilean father who worked as a hairstylist, surrounded by conversations about hair, texture and care from an early age. That upbringing would later become the foundation for Ceremonia — a brand rooted in Latin American beauty rituals and the belief that healthy hair begins at the scalp.
One of the brand’s hero products, the Aceite de Moska pre-wash hair oil, has become something of a modern ritual in itself:
“It rebalances a scalp that feels out of sync,” Rivera says. “I use it before showering or as an overnight treatment. It was the very first product we launched at Ceremonia and it really became the foundation of our entire scalp and haircare ritual.”
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Why hair oiling is trending on TikTok
But long before “scalp health” became a TikTok obsession, generations of women across Latin America, the Middle East and South Asia treated oils as an essential act of care: nourishing the scalp, protecting lengths and encouraging stronger hair growth through slow, intentional rituals.
Now, the beauty industry is finally catching up.
On TikTok, “hair oiling” has exploded into one of beauty’s biggest movements, with rosemary oil leading the conversation. Dermatologists talk about barrier repair. Facialists preach lipid-rich skincare. Fragrance brands are launching perfume oils. Even makeup artists are swapping highlighters for glossy skin balms infused with botanical oils that create skin that looks alive rather than perfected.
Why oil rituals feel so relevant right now
But beyond the trends, there’s perhaps a bigger reason oils resonate so deeply right now: they force us to slow down. There is no way you can rush an application of oil, it quickly becomes like a mediation, a routine after bath or shower that invites you to take it slow… And there is also something inherently sensual about oils. The warmth of them between your palms. The shine they leave on collarbones and limbs. The ritual of massaging a scalp before bed or drenching skin after a shower. Oils turn routine into ceremony.
And unlike many modern beauty launches promising instant miracles, oils ask for consistency, patience and touch – ancient beauty principles in a hyper-digital world.
Maybe that’s why they feel so timeless.
