Many of the plant-based culinary oils you use in the kitchen can play a dual role in promoting and maintaining skin health not only in the dead of winter, but all year long as well. Vegetable and nut oils such as high oleic coconut, safflower or sunflower, extra virgin olive, almond or avocado are not only healthy when consumed internally, but can also be very effective in moisturizing , moisturize and protect the skin when applied topically. Each of these oils is commonly found in natural skin care products where their unique characteristics and benefits are often combined to enhance or increase the effectiveness of a product. For the best possible results, I always recommend products that use these oils as the primary base because you can get their immediate benefits without exposing yourself or the environment to the harmful toxins found in products made with petroleum or synthetic ingredients.
Keep in mind that the oils that most closely resemble your skin’s natural oil (sebum) will produce the best results for your skin and overall health. They also tend to be more stable, with a considerably longer shelf life than most other oils.
Sebum, your body’s natural oil, is secreted by your sebaceous glands (sebaceous glands), which are usually found at the root of each hair, as well as other places on the body. This oil is very important for skin health. It softens and lubricates the skin and hair and prevents the skin from drying out and cracking. It also has antimicrobial properties that protect the skin from infection and damage.
Many factors—living in dry or windy climates or higher altitudes, for example—can lead to excessively dry skin, where the sebum you secrete simply isn’t enough to get the job done and extra moisturizers are needed. Similarly, overactive sebaceous glands that lead to excessively oily (and acne-prone) skin can sometimes be a sign of an oil deficiency in the body. As counterintuitive as it may seem, if your body doesn’t get enough essential fatty acids (EFAs) from food or supplements, it may respond by overproducing and secreting sebum to counteract the damage or potential damage to your skin that can come from this deficiency.
All fats and oils (including sebum) are made up of molecules called fatty acids. There are two ways to classify these fatty acids. The first is based on saturated vs. unsaturated fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated). The other is a classification system based on the molecular size or length of the carbon chain within each fatty acid. If I may be technical here for a minute… fatty acids often consist of long chains of carbon atoms with attached hydrogen atoms. Therefore, oils can have short chain fatty acids (SCFA), medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) or long chain fatty acids (LCFA). Tallow contains medium chain fatty acids, in the form of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), so oils consisting of MCFA are the most similar to tallow.
The two oils richest in antioxidants and most similar to your sebum are virgin coconut and EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil), which is what makes them excellent skin care ingredients, and the main ones to look into high quality natural lotions and creams. and cleaners. Here is a brief summary of each:
Coconut Oil: A Fat Like No Other
Coconut oil has wonderful antioxidant properties that protect the skin from free radical damage. In addition to its highly moisturizing properties, it also helps keep connective tissues strong and flexible so skin doesn’t sag or wrinkle. In some cases it can even restore damaged or diseased skin. While coconut oil applied directly to the skin does not have immediate antimicrobial action, when bacteria, which are always present on the skin, convert coconut triglycerides to free fatty acids (just like sebum), the The result is an increase in the amount of antimicrobial fatty acids in the skin, which provide protection against infection. By using a coconut oil-based cream, lotion, or just pure coconut oil, you can help quickly restore your skin’s natural acid and antimicrobial barrier.
At one time, coconut oil was mistakenly believed to be unhealthy due to its high saturated fat content (92%), but we now know that the fat in coconut oil is unique, different from most other fats, It has many healthy properties. As a saturated fat consisting primarily of medium-chain fatty acids (also known as medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs), coconut oil is more easily metabolized and not easily oxidized, so it doesn’t cause damaging free radical damage like polyunsaturated vegetable oils can often cause it. This is true whether the oil is ingested or applied topically.
Because coconut oil can help reduce chronic skin inflammation in a matter of days and soothe and heal wounds, blood blisters, rashes, etc., it is also an excellent ingredient to use in healing ointments and salves.
Olive Oil: Mother Nature’s Greatest Beauty Secret
Among all the natural lipids, olive oil is the one with the closest chemical composition to sebum, which gives it a great affinity for human skin. Completely safe and easily absorbed, it has exceptional penetrating ability and is high in well-documented antioxidant properties including tocopherols (vitamin E), beta-carotene (vitamin A), phytosterols, flavonoids (including quercetin and squalene), and phenolic compounds.
There are up to 5 mg of antioxidant polyphenols in every 10 grams of olive oil and 1.6 mg or 2.3 IU (international units) of vitamin E per tablespoon. This powerful combination of antioxidants neutralizes free radicals (unstable molecules created by exposure to things like cigarette smoke, pollution, alcohol, radiation, and the oxidation of trans fats) and repairs cell membranes, including damaged skin. for the Sun.
Additionally, olive oil has the natural ability to attack skin cells in the upper layer of the epidermis and can stimulate collagen and elastin synthesis, promoting firmer, healthier-looking skin. The rich emollients in olive oil allow just a little to go a long way.
Most commercial skin care products in the United States today are made from polyunsaturated oils, which oxidize and go rancid very quickly and cause free radical damage to the skin. So choose your oils wisely.
For optimal safety and efficacy, the oils you use on your skin, whether they are the primary ingredients in your products or applied alone, must be certified organic, raw, and unprocessed, or subject to minimal processing, as that the latter can destroy much of the oil. nutritional value and increase the probability of rancidity. This applies whether the oils are for internal consumption, topical application, or both.
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