Rosehip oil for acne: no study in people

No study has tested rosehip oil on acne in people. The one record found that joins rosehip oil and acne is a 2025 laboratory study of a gel that also contained retinol and black seed oil. This page is part of Skinli's guide to home remedies for acne.

Skinli gives general education and is not a doctor. For this page, Skinli read the published summaries (abstracts) of the studies and one section of a full review. No source read for this guide gives a way to use rosehip oil on acne, so this page gives none.

What rosehip oil is made of

A rose hip is the fruit of a rose plant. A 2017 review of plant oils says: "Rose hip oil is extracted from seeds of rose hip (Rosa canina L.)." It adds: "The most abundant fatty acid is linoleic acid". The review gives these shares of the oil's fatty acids:

Fatty acid	Share
Linoleic acid	35.9 to 54.8 percent
Alpha-linolenic acid	16.6 to 26.5 percent
Oleic acid	14.7 to 22.1 percent

A 2018 review of plant oils makes a general statement about such mixes: "Oils with a higher linoleic acid to oleic acid ratio have better barrier repair potential". The skin barrier is the outer layer of the skin. The review adds that "oils with higher amounts of irritating oleic acid may be detrimental to skin-barrier function." By the figures in the table, rosehip oil has more linoleic acid than oleic acid.

The 2018 review is about dry and inflamed skin. Rosehip oil is outside the oils it covers, and its summary does not mention acne or pores. No study has tested whether the fat mix of rosehip oil changes anything for a person with acne.

The studies: a laboratory gel, animal wounds and surgery scars

Record	What was studied	What it reports
Drug Research, 2025	A gel made of tiny oil droplets that contained black seed oil, rosehip oil and retinol, tested on microbes and on skin cells in a dish	The summary credits rosehip oil with "sebum-regulating effects" and shows no measurement of oil on skin. Sebum is the skin's own oil. No person was treated
Planta Medica, 2019	Rosehip oil on skin wounds in an animal test	Faster healing and better scars in the animals
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024	A review of rosehip oil (RO) for scars after surgery	"From the two human clinical trials using RO, there is some evidence to suggest its potential as an active ingredient in topical formulations for the treatment of wounds." Topical means put on the skin
Phytotherapy Research, 2008	A review of rosehip products, most of it about a powder taken by mouth for joint pain	Rosehip products "were negatively monographed by the German Commission E due to insufficient evidence of effects and effectiveness." In plain words, an official body in Germany judged the evidence insufficient

The 2024 review is plain about the state of the research: "There is a scarcity of high-quality studies assessing the therapeutic potential of RO." Its conclusion reads: "At present, there is insufficient evidence to recommend the use of RO for the treatment of wounds."

The two human trials in that review were on scars from surgery. The searches run for this guide found no trial of rosehip oil on acne scars. Skinli's guide to home remedies for acne scars covers that question.

The 2017 review names one more human study, from 1967. It "has tested the efficacy of topical rose hip seed oil together with an oral fat-soluble vitamins on different inflammatory dermatitis such as eczema" and two other inflamed skin conditions. The oil was used together with vitamins taken by mouth, and acne was not among the conditions.

Pores, irritation and daily use: what is unknown

Pores. No source read for this guide gives rosehip oil a pore-clogging rating, and no study tested it on people with acne. The NHS acne page says to "use skincare and make-up products that are non-comedogenic (this means they will not clog pores)". NICE, which writes the acne guideline for England, says to "avoid oil-based and comedogenic preparations". The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) tells people to look for labels such as "Non-comedogenic" and "Oil free", and warns that "some of these skin care products may still cause acne in a few people".

Irritation. The summaries read for this guide report no skin reaction to rosehip oil, and none of them describes a safety test in people. The AAD says: "Even "natural" or "clean" skin care products can cause a skin reaction."

Cold pressed oil. The 2018 review says "cold pressing is the preferred method of oil extraction as the heat- and chemical-free process preserves beneficial lipids and limits irritating byproducts." Lipids are fats. No study compared cold pressed rosehip oil with other types on acne.

Daily use, and where it goes in a routine. No source read for this guide answers either question. The page on jojoba oil for acne covers the one plant oil in this hub with a study in people who had acne-prone skin.

What the AAD, the NHS and the FDA rule support, and when to see a doctor

The NHS acne page says to "try acne treatments you put on your skin such as salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide". For a pimple, the AAD says: "Choose a product that contains one of these acne-fighting active ingredients: adapalene, azelaic acid, benzoyl peroxide, or salicylic acid." The FDA rule for acne drugs sold without a prescription lists benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, sulfur, and sulfur combined with resorcinol. Rosehip oil is on none of these lists. The AAD's acne pages name a maker of prescription acne drugs as their supporter. Skinli's acne skincare routine guide sets out where each step goes.

If skin turns red, itchy or swollen after a product, the AAD says to "gently wash the product off as soon as possible, and don't use it again."

The NHS says to see a GP, which is a family doctor, if "you've tried treating it yourself but it's not getting better", or if "you have lots of spots, or the spots are deep, painful or causing scars". The AAD says to see a dermatologist when acne causes cysts and nodules, which are deep blemishes that can leave scars.