There are many benefits of apple seed oil for dry skin.
Apple seed oil can nourish your skin, soften your skin, strengthen your skin barrier and prevent free-radical damage.
- What is apple seed oil?
- Apple seed oil can nourish your skin
- Apple seed oil can soften your skin
- Apple seed oil can strengthen your skin barrier
- Apple seed oil can protect your skin against damage
- Summary
- References
What is apple seed oil?
Apple seed oil (Pyrus malus) is an oil obtained by crushing apple seeds and collecting the oil.
Apple seed oil is cold-pressed from seeds that would otherwise go to waste in the juice industry and is considered a ‘zero waste’ seed oil.
Cold-pressed apple seed oil is packed with essential nutrients, including fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants (Walia et al, 2014; Górnas, 2015).
Apple seed oil has the most delightful aroma.
Top notes of real apple - sweet, complex and mouth-watering, with hints of marzipan. Fresh, warm and comforting. It smells divine.
1. Apple seed oil can nourish your skin
Apple seed oil is nutrient-rich, and contains essential fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants.
Apple seed oil is rich in essential nutrients including n-6 linoleic acid (omega 6) and vitamin E.
These nutrients are essential for skin health and can strengthen your skin barrier and improve the appearance of your dry skin.
These essential nutrients cannot be made by the body, and must be supplied through the diet, supplements and skincare.
2. Apple seed oil can soften your skin
Apple seed oil is a light oil and quickly absorbed into your skin.
Apple seed oil is an emollient and can soften your skin.
Apple seed oil is rich in beneficial fatty acids, including n-6 linoleic acid, n-9 oleic acid and palmitic acid. These fatty acids act as emollients and can soften your skin and smooth your skin.
What are the benefits of emollients?
The function of emollients in skincare is to soften the skin, help the skin retain its moisture and to support the skin’s barrier function.
Skin that does not have sufficient lipid content on its surface can appear dull, dry and rough. Emollients "fill in the gaps" in the skin barrier and soften it along with giving it a healthier look
The role of emollients in the treatment of dry skin conditions is often underestimated. Emollients promote optimal skin health and prevent skin breakdown, and their use can improve quality of life (Moncrieff et al, 2013; Newton et al, 2021).
Emollients are skin conditioning – the give skin a soft and smooth appearance, restoring suppleness and improving elasticity (Brown et al, 2005).
Emollients:
- Make your skin feel soft and smooth.
- Help reduce flaking and roughness from dry skin.
- Help assist the skin barrier by filling in gaps between cells.
Learn more: What are Emollients? Benefits for Your Dry Skin
3. Apple seed oil can strengthen your skin barrier
Apple seed oil contains 60% linoleic acid, the major essential n-6 fatty acid found naturally in our skin. Linoleic acid is a precursor for ceramides, which are bioactive lipids that play a role in keeping our skin barrier firm, smooth and healthy.
Apple seed oil also contains 30% oleic acid and 9% palmitic acid, fatty acids which are found naturally in the protective outer layer of the skin, and help the skin retain moisture.
Learn more: Beneficial Fats Found Naturally in Your Skin Barrier
What is your skin barrier?
The skin barrier includes the outermost layers of skin, called the stratum corneum.
Your skin barrier is essentially what you can see and touch on the surface of your body.
When your skin barrier is healthy, it feels and appears smooth, soft, and plump.
In contrast, a damaged skin barrier looks dry, rough, dull, and dehydrated, and may become irritated and inflamed.
The stratum corneum can be thought of as a brick wall that protects you.
The "bricks" are the skin cells, called corneocytes, and the "mortar" that holds the bricks together is the lipids or fats, that together create the outer barrier.
The stratum corneum is the most outer layer of the epidermis and is the layer directly exposed to the external environment.
The structure of the stratum corneum can be described as a ‘brick and mortar’ model, in which the protein-rich corneocytes are the bricks, and the mortar is the lipid‐rich matrix containing ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids.
Learn More: What is The Skin Barrier?
4. Apple seed oil can protect your skin against damage
Apple seed oil is rich in various forms of vitamin E and polyphenols and has strong antioxidant activity and can protect your skin against free radical damage.
What is an antioxidant?
Antioxidants protect your skin by preventing free radical damage.
Free radicals are unstable molecules or atoms that can damage skin cells.
Free radicals are generated from normal aging, and by daily environmental damage - such as UV radiation from the sun and air pollution. Free radicals cause destruction to your cells and tissues, and accelerate skin aging (Masaki et al, 2010).
Antioxidants protect your skin by neutralizing unstable free radicals.
Apple seed oil is rich in vitamin E
Apple seed oil has high levels of vitamin E, including β-tocopherol and α-tocopherol and these vitamins have strong antioxidant activity.
Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that can protect your skin from stress and environmental damage.
The largest body of scientific evidence for a beneficial role of topical vitamin E exists for photoprotection. Numerous topical studies have shown that applying vitamin E prior to sun exposure significantly reduces skin damage, such as erythema and edema, sunburn cell formation, and lipid peroxidation. Chronic skin reactions due to long-term ultraviolet exposure, such as skin wrinkling were also diminished by topical vitamin E (reviewed by Thiele et al, 2007).
Vitamin E is used in skincare mainly as anti-ageing and emollient and to prevent oxidation in both cosmetic formulations and ingredients.
Summary
There are many benefits of apple seed oil for dry skin.
Apple seed oil makes your dry skin feel nourished, soft and protected.
Apple seed oil is rich in key nutrients that play a critical role in maintaining skin barrier and protecting against oxidative stress and damage.
Dry Skin Love Wild Orange Oil to Milk Cleanser is made with organically crafted, cold-pressed apple seed oil.
References
Brown A, Butcher M. A guide to emollient therapy. Nurs Stand. 2005 Feb 23-Mar 1;19(24):68, 70, 72 passim.
Górnas P (2015) Unique variability of tocopherol composition in various seed oils recovered from by-products of apple industry: rapid and simple determination of all four homologues (α, β, γ and δ) by RP-HPLC/FLD. Food Chem 172:129–134.
Masaki H. Role of antioxidants in the skin: anti-aging effects. J Dermatol Sci. 2010 May;58(2):85-90.
Moncrieff G, Cork M, Lawton S, Kokiet S, Daly C, Clark C. Use of emollients in dry-skin conditions: consensus statement. Clin Exp Dermatol. 2013 Apr;38(3):231-8; quiz 238.
Newton H. Using emollients to promote safe and effective skin care for patients. Nurs Stand. 2021 Oct 6;36(10):77-82.
Thiele JJ, Ekanayake-Mudiyanselage S. Vitamin E in human skin: organ-specific physiology and considerations for its use in dermatology. Mol Aspects Med. 2007 Oct-Dec;28(5-6):646-67.
Walia M, Rawat K, Bhushan S, Padwad YS, Singh B. Fatty acid composition, physicochemical properties, antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of apple seed oil obtained from apple pomace. J Sci Food Agric. 2014 Mar 30;94(5):929-34.
