Avocados: arguably the most obsessed-over fruit of all time, or at least since the Victorians discovered pineapples. So how does avocado oil benefits for Skin or face?
Avo on toast, avo in smoothies, avo for cooking oils – you can’t escape the stuff. But the avocado and its oils possess many other powers that still remain lesser known. Avocados: meet the cosmetics industry.
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Table of Contents
What is Avocado Oil?
Botanical name: Persea gratissima
Mini science lesson: avocado oil comes not from the avocado fruit, but from its seeds.
The oil contains an impressively long list of vitamins, fatty acids and compounds that make it extremely promising for use in the beauty industry. They are: omega 3 fatty acids, palmitic acid, oleic acid, linolenic acid, minerals, potassium, antioxidants, and vitamins A, C, D and E to be exact.
So… you’re saying I should put it on my face?
Check the labels of some of your most premium beauty and skincare products. We bet you’ll find some of these exact ingredients listed. We also bet the bottle they came in carried a hefty price tag. Why not get the oil directly for a fraction of the price?
Look at it this way – antioxidants are coveted in the skincare world because they protect our skin from free radicals.
Vitamins A and E are emerging as fantastically effective, active ingredients in the fight against sun damage and ageing. Fatty acids in Avocado Oil Benefits our skin and face because they maintain the building blocks of the skin – collagen production and cell turnover.
These naturally-derived compounds work, but the big secret is, you might be able to find them for a fraction of the price. You might even have them already… in your kitchen cupboard. Click Here to see the most popular avocado oil on Amazon.
Avocado Oil Benefits for Skin and Face
We challenge you to find a drugstore moisturizer with as many merits as this natural oil. The rich benefits that can be found with avocado oil include, but are not limited to:
Fatty acids: fatty acids such as omega-3 moisturize, help to retain elasticity, and treat and prevent acne.
Antimicrobial properties: fights bacteria, soothes inflammation, and treats psoriasis and eczema. Lavender oil has similar antimicrobial effect.
Oleic acid, beta carotene and protein: these nutrients within avocado oil are all known for boosting skin collagen production.
Vitamins A and E: reinforce the skin against sun damage and photoageing, and reduce symptoms of ageing such as fine lines, stretch marks, dark circles and pigmentation.
Vitamins D and E as well as lecithin: these compounds support heating and cooling of the skin, and help to repair sun damage.
Antioxidants: known to fight ageing, ease symptoms of sunburn, and protect the skin from environmental damage and free radicals. Marula and rosehip oil have similar anti-ageing properties.
Plant sterols (sterolic acid): naturally moisturizes and nourishes the skin.
Which Skin Types can Use Avocado Oil?
The short answer: ALL
If you have dry skin, oils in skincare are your best friend, and you can explore them with a lesser risk of breaking out than other skin types.
Although drier skin tends to have fewer problems with spots and blemishes, it is at risk of ageing more rapidly, so avocado oil’s extra benefits make it an excellent choice.
Many people with more mature skin also swear by it.
If you have oily or acne-prone skin, you might shy away from oils in beauty products, but they may surprise you with their suitability for treatment. Avocado oil’s antimicrobial property makes it suitable for acne-prone skin.
Scroll down below to see our dedicated acne treatment section.
How Effective is using Avocado Oil as Acne Treatment ?
If your skin has more intensive requirements such as acne, eczema or psoriasis, it’s so worth turning to natural medicines before you seek out anything harsher or chemical-based.
As we mentioned before, avocado oil is antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and packed with omega-3 fatty acids. The first will work to discourage acne-causing bacteria, the second will reduce the redness associated with acne, and the third boosts skincare renewal, speeding up the healing process.
Avocado oil benefits your skin and face because it can be used in oil-cleansing. Counter-intuitive as it may seem, oil can actually dissolve other oils ‘by loosening the ‘bad’ oil that has hardened and lodged in the pores’.
Keeping the skin moisturizer is also essential in the management of acne. Dry skin can flake, further clogging pores. Avocado oil is a surprisingly light moisturizer that will keep your skin nourished and cared for.
If you’re unsure, try leaving it on for just 10 minutes then washing it off with warm water.
For avocado oil brands that are suitable for acne treatment, Click Here or see below dedicated section.
How to Use Avocado Oil in my Skincare routine?
Any skin type can use avocado oil as a cleanser, face moisturizer, body moisturizer or DIY mask, it’s just a case of finding the right balance for you.
If you have sensitive skin, or are a bit tentative about slathering on pure oil, start with a cream or serum that contains avocado oil. Just make sure it’s near the start of the ingredient list rather than at the end. (Ingredients lists are ordered by volume, and you want to make sure the avocado content is high enough to have an effect.)
On Face:
- Way #1: Add 1-2 drops of pure avocado oil to your existing moisturizer. Mix the oil with your moisturizer on palm and put the mixture on after shower.
- Way #2: Add a few drops to your face mask or DIY mask
On Body:
- Way #1: Add 5-6 drops of pure avocado oil to your body moisturizer. mix the oil with the body lotion well before applying to your body.
- Way #2: For luxurious all-over body moisturization, add a splash of avocado oil to a warm bath.
Why Use Avocado Oil for Hair?
Your skin isn’t the only thing that reap the benefits of this wonder oil. Many of the avocado’s properties can be adapted for hair, too.
Unless you’ve spent the last couple of years in a very remote location, you’ll have encountered the coconut craze. Coconut oil has been having a moment for a couple of years now. The internet went crazy with homemade hair masks, coconut oil toothpaste, coconut oil cooking, even coconut oil as a sunscreen replacement.
But the shine of coconut oil is starting to wear off – in some cases, quite literally. People with finer hair have found it sat too heavily on the hair shaft. It did not penetrate deeply enough for long lasting nourishment.
Avocado Oil Benefits for Hair:
In comparison to coconut oil, Avocado oil has a less greasy feel. It contains protein and fats that strengthen the hair, for longer lasting shine. As well as adding moisture, avocado oil is effective at treating a dry or flaky scalp, and dandruff.
Moisturize & Nourish hair:
Its rich oleic acids, high protein content, and polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats penetrate the hair shaft and deliver moisture directly, rather than sitting on top of it.
Help Repair Damaged hair & Prevent Breakage:
In a study conducted in 2015, researcher has noted that the minerals presence in avocado oil would be effective in strengthen the hair and prevent breakage.
Calm Dry, Flaky Scalp and Reduce Dandruff:
The high content of Vitamin B and E will penetrate in the deep layer of scalp and repair it with moisturization.
Promotes Hair Growth:
The presence of Vitamin D in avocado oil aids in generating new hair follicles.
How do I use Avocado Oil for hair:
Way #1: Direct application. You can simply massage avocado oil between your fingers and then directly onto your scalp and hair.
Way #2: Add to conditioner when shower. If you have hair that’s fine or oily in nature, you can avoid over oiling by adding a few drops of avocado oil to your conditioner. Experiment with the amounts – you can increase or decrease it as needed. The perfect ratio may be 80 / 20 or 50 / 50 – it will depend on your hair type, and how frequently you wash or condition.
Way #3: Night Mask. It is particularly good at retaining moisture. You can rub a few drops of pure avo oil at the tip of your hair at night. US organic is an avocado oil brand that come with a dropper which allow easy application on hair. Or add the a few drop of avo oil to your existing hair mask , to lock in the goodness.
Best 3 Pure Avocado Oil Brands
Now that skincare brands are catching on to this fantastic and versatile ingredient, the choice of avocado-related products is getting steadily broader, and more overwhelming. So to finish, we’ve created this section to give you some practical pointers on where to start with your avocado oil exploration.
#1 US Organic
One of the prettiest oil tinctures you can have on your bathroom shelf, US Organic’s 100% Pure Avocado Oil comes with a colour and scent that’s just as appealing as the packaging.
It is made with pure unrefined avocado oil only – if you buy a refined product, you’ll find the scent and natural dark green colour are mostly lost. It’s also cold pressed, meaning the extraction process retains all the nutrients.
US Organic’s avocado oil is light enough for all skin types, and won’t overload combination skin.
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Brooklyn Botany’s avocado oil offering also checks the boxes of being cold-pressed and unrefined, the two key elements you should look for when oil shopping. The labelling is somewhat utilitarian, but the product has a lovely natural green colour, and it’s a good quality, no-nonsense all-rounder for hair, face, and body.
Top tip: ensure your oils always come in brown or amber glass. Clear glass will allow UV rays to penetrate the bottle and destabilize the product inside.
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Maple Holistics 100% Pure Unrefined Avocado Oil has a slightly different applicator to the previous two examples – it’s a dropper bottle, rather than a tincture, meaning less product will come out at a time. This makes it ideal for facial use, especially around the delicate eye area, where you only need a tiny amount.
It also allows you to target specific problem areas in the treatment of acne – and check out the reviews for some serious praise of this product’s effectiveness in spot and blemish treatment.
Most Popular Products that contain Avocado Oil :
#4 Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment
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Many users report its efficacy in diminishing fine lines and age spots. Its extremely thick texture reflects the richness of blended avocado. Besides avo oil, it also contains other goodies such as shea better and beta carotene. Beta carotene is known for it’s anti-oxidant properties.
So although Kiehl’s products are higher up on the expense spectrum, a little bit will go a long way.
#5 Origins Drink Up Overnight Mask
Origins describe this product as ‘like drinking a tall glass of water for your skin’.
A stripped-down saviour for all skin types, the Drink Up mask is an all-natural, super hydrating mask that champions avocado butter with an added boost of hyaluronic acid.
Designed for overnight use, this is another rich product that those with dry, sensitive or flaky skin might find especially nourishing. There’s nothing in it to cause breakouts, just pure hydration for softer skin.
Types of Avocado Oil:
There are a few different types of avocado oil you might come across in health food or cosmetics stores:
Cold pressed: Cold pressing is a common form of extracting oil, where fruit is crushed under extreme pressure at below 35℃. This sanitizes the raw product, while helping to keep all the good stuff in. It’s very important to look for cold pressed avocado oil when selecting which brand.
Pure: ‘Pure’ means the oil has not been mixed with anything else. It does not contain any diluents. So the composition of the oil is 100% avocado oil.
Organic: Organic avocado oil is where the fruits used to make it have been grown without artificial pesticides or fertilizers. US Organic is a USA avocado oil brand that is 100% organic, cold-pressed and pure.
Unrefined: You do want to look for the word unrefined when shopping for avocado oil. If an oil has been refined, that means it has been bleached or deodorized. In this case, you lose some of the natural colour and scent. If an oil is unrefined, it will retain all the helpful fatty acids and vitamins. It’s still safe, as it will have been filtered to remove impurities.
Other Popular Uses:
Avocado oil is truly the gift that keeps on giving. Avocado oil benefits for your skin and face, but also in many other ways:
Nail care: massage avocado oil onto your nails and cuticles to nourish and strengthen them, and leave them super shiny. Especially helpful for nail rehab after getting gels or acrylics removed.
Make up remover: run out of cleanser? A few drops of avocado oil or jojoba oil or almond oil on a cotton ball will do the trick. This is particularly effective (and gentle) with removing waterproof mascaras.
DIY beauty: mix together a teaspoon of avocado oil with the same amount of honey and an egg to create an intensively moisturizing hair mask. To make a super effective exfoliator, add a tablespoon to a small bowl of salt or sugar.
