What is a Zombie Oil?
A Zombie oil is a product that does very little for your skin’s health or worse, is actually damaging your skin by, initiating inflammation, oxidative stress and altering your skin’s natural fatty acid profile that can result in skin barrier breakdown and contact dermatitis over time.
If you have ever bought a plant-based face oil that’s perfectly clear liquid, packaged in clear glass, and stamped with a use by date of 12 months or more, it is highly likely to be a Zombie.
How a Living Plant Seed Becomes a Zombie Oil.
To keep plant oils stable for mass production and distribution they undergo intense industrial & chemical processing. This extends shelf life but destroys the phytonutrients most beneficial to your skin.
Here is how typical large-scale plant seed oil processing works:
1️⃣Solvent extraction. Seeds are soaked in an industrial solvent. Most bio-refineries use the known carcinogen hexane to increase oil yield and some of this hexane remains.
2️⃣Degumming. Natural gums and phospholipids are removed with the use of phosphoric acid and heat.
3️⃣Neutralisation. The oil is treated with sodium hydroxide to remove free fatty acids.
4️⃣Bleaching. Bleaching clays strip away natural pigments such as chlorophyll and beneficial polyphenols.
5️⃣Deodorising. Steam treatment at temperatures between 200-250 °C remove undesirable odours but where fragile compounds like linoleic acid, carotenoids, tocopherols and phytosterols are degraded and oxidised. Forming unwanted by-products that lower the oil’s nutritional and functional value.
6️⃣Hydrogenation (sometimes). To make oils even more shelf-stable, hydrogen is forced into the fatty acids, eliminating double bonds and turning polyunsaturated fats into saturated or partially hydrogenated fats (trans fats)
The result is a clear, odourless oil with a long shelf life but the removal of the phytonutrients your skin needs.
Have you ever stopped to consider that "luxury" face oil might be exactly the same highly processed plant oil you see bottled in clear plastic on a supermarket shelf for cooking, just with added fragrance, parfum and/or essential oils.
It is the same crop, the same solvent extraction, high heat refining the same industrial processing to strip out nutrients just repackaged for your face instead of your frying pan.
We know to avoid highly and ultra processed foods. We need to think the same way about skincare. For skin to function optimally, it requires nutrients. The very phytonutrients that nourish, fortify, boost, and protect your skin are exactly what industrial processing removes in plant seed oils in the quest for yield and extended shelf life.
Short Shelf Life = More Skin Benefits
The fatty acid profile and antioxidant status of any plant-based oil and how it has been produced determines the shelf life.
The more polyunsaturated fatty acids an oil contains, the shorter its shelf life. Polyunsaturated means the fatty acid has multiple double bonds, which makes it more chemically reactive but prone to oxidation (the transfer of electrons or oxygen that changes its structure).
The more components susceptible to oxidation the shorter the shelf life.
The same compounds that affect shelf life are also the same compounds that have the most benefit to your skin. So be very suspicious of a plant-based face oil with a long shelf life.
Note Jojoba is not an oil, it is a wax.
In commercial fruit and seed oil production, refinement, bleaching and deodorising strip out these beneficial nutrients and antioxidants. The result is a clear, yellow neutral-smelling oil that bears little resemblance to the living plant it came from — which is why we call it a Zombie Oil.
Linoleic Acid: Your Skin’s Essential
One of the many casualties of industrial processing is linoleic acid a polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid — an essential fatty acid our body cannot make. Linoleic acid is critical for building a healthy, fully functioning and resilient skin barrier, maintaining hydration, and producing ceramides. It keeps our sebum fluid instead of becoming thick, pore-clogging and acne prone and is a structural component of all cells including skin cells. Youthful skin is categorised by a higher levels of linoleic acid.
Cold-pressed grapeseed oil is one of natures richest sources of bio-available linoleic acid, but only if it's left unrefined, unfiltered and protected from heat and light. Once exposed to industrial processing, this fragile fatty acid is degraded and by-products form.
Not All Fatty Acids Are Equal
It’s not just about losing linoleic acid in industrial processing. Many commercial seed crops are bred to be high in oleic acid because oleic-rich oils resist oxidation and have a longer shelf life. But when used continuously, high oleic oils disrupt the skin barrier, and can cause contact dermatitis.
Knowing your face oil's fatty acid profile and how it is made really matters. Fatty acids are actives and signalling molecules playing a crucial role in skin cellular responses and regeneration. Oils rich in polyunsaturated linoleic acid strengthen the skin barrier, while oils dominated by monounsaturated (one double bond) oleic acid can weaken and damage it. This is why you should never use olive oil on your face, it is a skin penetration enhancer, it increases the permeability of the skin.
The Fragrance Trap
Once an oil has been stripped bare, fragrance, parfum and/ or essential oils are added to mask stale or unpleasant odours created during refining and/or storage, to create a face oil. The term “fragrance” or “parfum” on a label can hide hundreds of synthetic chemicals. Essential oils, although they sound natural, these volatile oils are known skin irritants, that disrupt and damage the skins protective barrier, and cause photosensitivity, inflammation, and/or allergic reactions.
Skincare brands know that scents are evocative and emotive, but the compounds that produce them can compromise your skin’s protective barrier, trigger inflammation and oxidative stress. If you want fragrance, bring flowers into your but home but keep your skincare pure, unscented and fragrance free.
A antioxidant, usually synthetic alpha-tocopherol, a single form of Vitamin E is then added to prevent the face oil from going rancid. Usually petrochemical-derived (as its cheaper to produce) it helps the oil last longer on the shelf but does little for your skin’s antioxidant needs.
Vitis V Face TonIQ: Alive, Not Lifeless
At Vitis V, we do none of this. We cold-press Australian unfermented grape seeds and keep the oil unrefined and unfiltered, retaining the entire phytonutrient entourage. We bottle it fresh in dark Miron glass to protect it from light oxidation. Small batches ensure maximum freshness and potency. Our short shelf life of six months is your guarantee of purity, exactly as nature intended.
You will notice our Face TonIQ has a natural nutty, toasty, grapey aroma and is slightly hazy with flecks of brown. These flecks are visible polyphenols, super antioxidants you can see. It is unscented with no added fragrances, essential oils or hidden synthetics. Just pure, whole real plant oil as a foundational ingredient.
The Power of Cold-Pressed Grapeseed Oil
When you choose true cold-pressed, unrefined unfermented grapeseed oil, you get more than essential linoleic acid. You get the full spectrum of naturally occurring antioxidants, polyphenols and fat-soluble vitamins that industrial processing and refining destroys.
Below is a typical analysis of Vitis vinifera L. (grape) seed oil
Typical Analysis of Grapeseed Oil
Essential Linoleic Fatty Acid 66–75%
Component Quantity per 100 g
Flavonoids 59.7 mg
Epicatechin 130.4 mg
Catechins 414.0 mg
Procyanidins 2.5 mg
Phenolics 73.0 µg
Gallic Acid 77.0 µg
Condensed Tannins 14.0 mg CE
Vitamin E (Tocopherols & Tocotrienols)
α-Tocopherols 86–244 mg
β-Tocopherols 38–48 mg
γ-Tocopherols 17–29 mg
α-Tocotrienols 216–319 mg
β-Tocotrienols 4–18 mg
γ-Tocotrienols 499–1575 mg
Vitamin A Precursors
Carotenoids 27.0–48.0 mg
β-Carotene 33.9–59.8 ppm
Note: These values are typical ranges. Natural variation occurs due to seasonal and environmental factors. This table is not exhaustive. Phytosterols and other beneficials not included.
Vitis V Face TonIQ
✅ Cold-pressed, unrefined, unfiltered, unfermented grapeseed oil
✅ Bottled in dark Miron glass to protect against light oxidation without preservatives
✅ Natural colour, cloudiness, & flecks to prove the phytonutrient content
✅ Unscented and fragrance free. No added essential oils or fragrance
✅ A short shelf life that proves purity
✅ A fatty acid profile rich in essential undamaged linoleic acid
✅ The entire naturally occurring phytonutrient entourage including multiple antioxidants.
It is the entire synergistic phytonutrients that make Vitis V Face TonIQ so powerful and effective.
Your skin deserves and needs living, bio-essential nutrients — not a lifeless Zombie oil full of skin damaging pretty smells that sits on a shelf for years. Vitis V Face TonIQ: because your skin recognises what is real.
We are specifically referring to highly processed plant based oils as apposed to petroleum based oils and recommend never using petroleum based also known as mineral oils on your skin. Want to know more? Please use our contact us page to ask any question about the products you are currently using info@vitisv.com.au