Navigating the world of oils can sometimes feel like trying to decipher exactly which pasta shape is best paired with your favourite sauce or deciding which new TV series will satisfy both a desire for something exciting and a post-workday need for brain-massaging lightness. It’s complicated.

Whether it’s rosehip, jojoba, avocado or evening primrose, each one has a different Top Trumps-style list of benefits to align with particular skin types – but there’s one relatively unsung oil that can bypass almost all of this negotiation thanks to its universally moisturising appeal.

A staple of Central American diets for thousands of years, this fibre-rich ingredient has taken the UK food scene by storm, thanks to its gut health-boosting powers and protein-dense benefits.

Now, there’s an equally beneficial use for chia. Rich in fatty acids and antioxidants (the credentials that originally gave them their superfood crown), it turns out chia seeds can bring just as much to skincare as they can to overnight oats.

Chia seed oil, in particular, is where skin and body care formulators are turning their attention. Intensely moisturising, it’s emollient-rich, leaving skin feeling soft and with its barrier function restored. Plus, studies have proven it to be effective at treating certain kinds of eczema. If you have dry skin on your face or body – or if you’ve overdone it with active ingredients and are due a week of skin rehab – here are the best chia seed products that are designed to nourish…

Images: courtesy of brands