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Prickly pear oil benefits for all skins

Bienfaits huile de pépins de figue de barbarie

Origin of prickly pear oil benefits

Maybe you’ve heard about prickly pear oil benefits? At Ayda, it’s one of our best references, but let’s tell you why. To sum up, prickly pear seed oil is one of the most precious vegetable oils. Therefore, it is rich in active ingredients, it has even more anti-ageing properties than argan oil !

Firstly, prickly pear is a fruity juice with many seeds. It can be yellow, orange, red and even green colored depending on where the fig tree is located. This cactus comes from Latin America, Mexico, which proudly bears a fig tree and an eagle on its flag. Therefore, it can also be found in the Mediterranean region (Italy, Sardinia, Spain, Corsica), North Africa (of which Maghreb) and South Africa. The seeds hidden in the figs are the guarded secret of this beauty potion…

Therefore, it’s a precious fig oil, this is why its price can be quite surprising at first glance.

Why is it so precious ? Because of its yield : to extract just one liter of oil, we almost need one tonne of figs. If you come across low priced prickly pear seed oils, it might mean that it’s not 100% pure oil. It might be mixed with other less expensive vegetable oils.

Don’t forget to check if the INCI list has the following ingredients : Opuntia ficus indica (latin name), Opuntia ficus indica seed oil (latin/english) or Prickly pear (english).

Prickly pear seed oil and prickly pear oil extract are two different things

You can come across prickly pear oil extract which is nothing more than the maceration of prickly pear flowers in vegetable oil. The maceration will contain less active ingredients than cold-pressed prickly pear seeds. How to recognize it ? First of all, the name of the product has to indicate if it’s pure oil or an oil extract. Seeds often macerate in sunflower oil, which you can easily recognize with the name “Helianthus annuus seed oil”.

figue de barbarie verte  figue de barbarie rouge

Prickly pear seed oil skin benefits

If this oil is so renowned and appreciated, it is because it has many benefits on the skin. Its high concentration of vitamin E (around 1000mg/kg), omega-6 and sterols (around 10g/kg) helps this oil fight against free radicals, which are responsible for skin ageing. Its exceptional concentration of sterols is actually higher than the one of argan oil, which is also reputed for preventing skin ageing. The antioxidant properties of this precious oil (due to vitamin E) are great to maintain skin firmness and elasticity.

Its high concentration of essential fatty acids (of which omega 6) gives to this oil regenerating and nourishing properties. Perfect for skin dehydration natural tendency !

prickly pear seed oil argan oil benefits

prickly pear versus argan benefits

Aside from the fact that it fights against skin ageing, it has protecting and healing properties. It can be used in winter to protect skin against cold or dehydration. But also in case of scars left by acne. It can be used by all skin types, and even by greasy skins, because it is not comedogene.

The 5 benefits of prickly pear seed oil

  • Antioxidant : thanks to the amount of sterols and vitamin E, it prevents the negative effects of free radicals on the skin

  • Healing : thanks to its regenerating properties it helps diminish blemishes or scars left by acne
  • Nourishing : emollient, it nourishes the skin and protects it against dehydration thanks to palmitic acid, naturally present in the oil
  • Regenerating : full of linoleic acid (omega 6), it tones the skin and stimulates skin regeneration
  • Revitalising : recommended for dull complexion, its unsaturated fatty acids have restructuring properties, which helps give tonus and radiance to the skin

Prickly pear seed oil can be used all over the body. It can be used on skin, nails and hair, but we advise you to use it mainly on your face, because of its price. It’s a precious oil, it is then better to use it wisely.

The best anti-ageing vegetable oil

If it’s so appreciated by all skin types, prickly pear seed oil is particularly recommended for mature skin. It’s a vegetable oil particularly reputed for its anti-ageing properties. Thanks to the essential fatty acids, sterols and vitamin E contained in this oil, it efficiently fights against the effects of time passing and against skin ageing. Wrinkles, fine lines, dark circles and skin sagging will soon be forgotten thanks to this magic oil !

It can easily replace anti-ageing classic skincare products thanks to its precious components. Vitamin E and sterols are natural antioxidants that help neutralise the effects of free radicals on the skin. Sterols also enable to preserve skin hydrolipidic film. Which helps having an hydrated, souple skin, naturally. Hydration actually plays an important role in preventing wrinkles.

The omega 6 that it contains helps repairing the skin, stimulating skin cells renewal and fighting against dehydration. Rare and precious, it gives firmness and elasticity to the skin. It is the perfect anti-ageing ally to have in one’s bathroom !

 

 

 

huile de figue de barbarie ayda

Benefits on under eyes

Above all, most vegetable oils are not adapted to under eyes’ skin, because they are too rich for this part of the face. Your under eye skin is very thin, it then needs special treatment. Vegetable oils are perfect to take care of your under eyes’ skin but you need to choose a suitable oil for this sensitive zone. Thanks to its light and non greasy texture, prickly pear seed oil is quickly absorbed by the skin. And without bringing a heavy feeling to the under eye.

When used under the eyes, prickly pear seed oil will naturally treat dark circles, wrinkles and bags ! Take one drop of oil, and tap under your eyes without pulling on your skin. Massage gently doing circles, from the outside corners to the inside corners of your eyes. It will smoothe the under eye and diminish dark circles and fine lines.

How it is made?

Finally, you are eager to know how this magic oil is made? You will find here its production secret. Fig trees grow in arid countries, such as Morocco. To obtain this precious oil, we pick the prickly pear fruits to extract their seeds. The production process of this oil is rare and precious, so is prickly pear seed oil ! To extract 1 liter of oil, we need almost 30 kilos of seeds, contained in 1 tonne of figs. Each seed contains more or less 5% of pure oil.

To obtain this precious oil, there is first a meticulous picking process. Maybe you’ve spotted the spines around the fruit ? They make workers’ task harder, and slow the process of seed extraction. It is thanks to the know-how of our moroccan women’s cooperative that we obtain the precious seeds. They pick with care the figs that they open to extract the seeds.

The seeds are then washed and dried under the sun, before being cold-pressed. At Ayda, organic prickly pear seed oil is made from generation to generation by our women’s cooperative partners. It is in the heart of south Morocco, that we collect an exceptional and organic prickly pear oil extract from seeds. We guarantee you a slow extraction to obtain a 100% pure and natural oil. Actually, an oil of high quality is generally green or yellow and its smell is more or less notable.

To preserve its cosmetic properties, we pack our oil in glass bottles.