When Avocado pulp comes to mind, we think about the following: organic, natural, fresh, green, forbidden fruit, healthy, earthy, gardens, seasonal, summer, buttery, conditioning, silky, yummy, shiny, soothing, cool, smooth skin, and quite a bit more if I continued to do this. It’s so refreshing both as a food and applied topically to help in alleviating occurrences of skin inflammation.
The oil of an Avocado is an edible oil obtained either through the cold pressed method or solvent extraction. Also known as Persea americana (Avocado); it is derived from the fleshy pulp surrounding the Avocado pit, making it one of the few edible oils not derived from seeds.
Cold pressed avocado oil is typically a beautiful green color; which is due to the amount of chlorophyll and carotenoids present in the oil. It has a comedogenic rating of 3; which is mainly due to its high Oleic Acid content, making this an oil that will most likely work well for dry skin, sensitive skin, and sometimes acne-prone skin. Acne-prone skin types will have to do a patch test before going all out in terms of using this product on their skin. Because of its excellent conditioning properties and natural ability to soothe and cool the skin, it works well as an anti-inflammatory ingredient. It can be compared to Olive Oil due to its similar monosaturated fat content and is growing in popularity as a culinary ingredient because of its flavor but also its high smoke point in both the refined and unrefined versions.
It was originally extracted for use as a cosmetic ingredient because of its ability to penetrate the skin well and how fast it is absorbed into the skin. “Following drying of the avocado flesh to remove as much water as possible (about 65% water in avocado flesh), avocado oil for cosmetics is traditionally extracted with solvents at elevated temperatures. After extraction, the oil for application in skin care products is usually refined, bleached, and deodorized, resulting in an odorless yellow oil. Like extra virgin olive oil, cold-pressed avocado oil is unrefined, so it retains the flavor and color characteristics of the fruit flesh.” We use the Virgin Organic Cold Pressed version of Avocado Oil in our products to retain as many of its original characteristics as possible.
We’re particularly glad this oil continues in popularity and is considered an excellent topical application for healthier looking skin. This means there will be more instances of it being used in our products. For example, our Liquid Hand Soaps; launching later this year, will feature Avocado Oil.
Sources:
https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/Crops/Avocado_oil.html
http://oilypedia.com/easy-avocado-oil-uses-for-natural-skincare-and-healthy-cooking
https://www.livestrong.com/article/256792-why-is-avocado-oil-good-for-the-skin/