Prickly pear seed oil is highly valued for it’s nourishing, antioxidant properties in skincare products. This potent, unique oil has a variety of benefits for the skin with anti-inflammatory properties and essential fatty acids rich in vitamin E. Its main advantage is that it can break through your skin’s epidermis to moisturize deeply and thoroughly.
A prickly pear is the fruit of the Opuntia family of cactus and grows in Mexico, South America, Africa, Australia, and the Mediterranean. It's also commonly known as cactus fruit, Barbary fig or Indian fig. Pharmaceutical grade prickly pear seed oil for skincare products currently originates from Morocco where they regulate production.
The prickly pear can grow up to seven feet in height and consists of pads that flower at the top with either red, yellow or purple blossoms. Each flower produces one round, red fruit with a short lifespan of around a week.
Inside a prickly pear, you’ll find up to 300 seeds. The seeds are picked by hand and then put through a machine to extract the oil. Eight tons of the fruit from prickly pear cactus plants will be required to make a single liter of oil, which is why this oil can be expensive to buy. Hence why skincare products that feature an effective amount of prickly pear seed oil tend to be more in the luxury range.
The benefits of prickly pear seed oil in your daily skincare routine will include a high level of moisture with anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties for all skin types.
The seed oil from the prickly pear is high in essential fatty acids, omega 6 and 9, vitamin E and amino acids.
Both of these Moroccan oils have fantastic properties, but slightly different benefits. There are quite a few similarities between prickly pear seed oil and argan oil. They have the same vitamins and minerals, but one main difference is that prickly pear seed oil has over 150% more vitamin E than argan oil.
The texture of prickly pear seed oil is silkier than argan oil, and comes with with the bonus of being more easily absorbed by the upper and lower levels of the dermis. Prickly pear seed oil far outweighs the abilities of argan oil to hydrate and heal.
There are many skincare products that claim they can restore skin’s elasticity, but not all of them have the natural ingredients included within its formulation to fulfill those claims. Prickly pear seed oil is a natural ingredient with all the benefits of a thick, satiny texture and the capability to heal skin cells by promoting collagen production.
Your skin is your outer layer of protection against harsh weather and chemical imbalances. As you get older, the elasticity in your skin becomes loose as the collagen production in your cells is reduced during aging. To protect against the breakdown of cell restoration and improve your skin’s elasticity, you must keep your skin hydrated and nourished with the essential vitamins and minerals it needs to stimulate collagen production.
Keeping your skin in peak condition requires turnover of old cells to make new ones and prickly pear seed oil can safely assist this process. The results of this renewal process will have you looking younger for longer, and your skin will be protected from inflammation and other common issues.
When skin is dry it can’t stretch effectively and may crack and form sore patches on the outer layer. Prickly pear seed oil has the correct amount of nutrients to keep your skin in its best, "stretchy" condition as you age, helping to delay the noticeable signs of aging.
Free radicals can cause the skin to age prematurely. These harmful molecules are in our environment from smoke, car fumes and chemicals present in the atmosphere. Antioxidants help to clear the skin of these free radicals, bringing it back to a healthy state.
Using prickly pear seed oil will help your skin to regenerate, killing off free radicals and keeping you on the path to healthy-looking skin. Protecting your skin before the onset of wrinkles and fine lines will prevent your skin from sagging and experiencing discoloration (due to an excess of oxidizing free radicals).
Moisturizing daily keeps your skin supple and slows down the effects of aging, thus keeping your skin plump and youthful looking. The benefits of prickly pear seed oil are that it has all these factors within the construction of the oil, facilitating anti-aging through anti-oxidation.
As we have seen, prickly pear seed oil is great for skin, but now let's look at how this luxurious ingredient is more versatile than a simple face oil. Read on to find an abundance of uses for prickly pear seed oil:
And there are even more uses for prickly pear seed oil for your skin! Cosmetics companies are discovering and adding this valuable, powerful seed oil to other natural ingredients to produce creams and serums.The high complexity of the combination of nutrients, minerals, vitamins, and essential fatty acids makes prickly pear seed oil a perfect addition to a skincare product.