Part 2-Avocado Seed Oil Benefits in Focus
By: Mohammed Abu
After consuming fresh avocado fruits many think they are done and they condemn its seeds to the dust bean as garbage worth only being discarded and nothing more.
An afterthought approach is needed for one to come to appreciate the hard fact that, one is actually not discarding waste, but rather throwing away a nutrition power house that offers uncountable goodies albeit, out of nativity.
The avocado seed like many other fruit seeds, is never a waste material that should be left to waste and to become an environmental hazard but should rather be best appreciated as an important raw material that could be put to good use for the benefit of humanity.
It is indeed an invaluable raw material that could be used to manufacture edible cooking oil, health and beauty care products, food supplements, organic medicinal products for hypertension (supported with scientific research studies results by Ethiopian scientific researchers on avocado seed use).
From the emerging Circular economy perspective, the world must strive towards ensuring resource use efficiency and that, nothing should be fancied as waste but rather as raw materials for setting up additional industries in order to generate employment and wealth in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGS)
Indian organic beauty care producers and their counterparts in other parts of the world, have since unlocked the benefits of avocado seeds oil and therefore aren’t treating the seeds as waste as many still do in Ghana, Africa today.
For them and many others, avocado seeds are an invaluable raw material for manufacturing useful products with immense benefit to humanity.
Juicy Chemistry, an Indian organic beauty care products manufacturer producing avocado seed oil based products through a blog article, provides some insights, your favourite, the Ecoenvironews Africa magazine, wish to share with you today. Now read on:
10 Benefits of Using Avocado Oil for Hair and Skin
The avocado fruit has various health benefits and its oil is often used in salad dressings, smoothies, and cooking. Avocado oil is rich in β-carotene, lecithin, minerals, and vitamins A, C, D, and E which make it a beneficial addition in your skin care and hair care routines too.
Cold pressed avocado oil is extracted from the pulp of the avocado fruit which contains about 60% of oil content, making it an abundant source of essential fatty acids such as oleic acid, palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid, linoleic acid, and alpha-linolenic acid. The fruit is first dried and then mechanically pressed to extract the rich oil.
Since it contains high amounts of essential nutrients, antioxidants, and fats, you can use organic avocado oil for hair care and skin care to utilize its wonderful benefits. It provides emolliency to your skin and is especially nourishing for dry skin and scalp.
10 Avocado Oil Benefits for Your Skin
- Moisturizes Dry Skin –
Using organic avocado oil on your face helps keep it soft and moisturised. It is a rich emollient that helps prevent moisture-loss and keeps your skin’s suppleness intact by forming a protective barrier on the outermost layer.
- Soothes Inflammation –
Organic avocado oil has anti-inflammatory properties. It helps reduce signs of inflammation such as itching caused due to eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis, or dry skin.
- Heals Wounds Faster –
Studies show that avocado oil can accelerate the wound-healing process. It increases collagen synthesis and reduces skin-irritation which helps your wounds repair faster.
- Protects Skin from Environmental Damage –
Daily exposure to ultraviolet radiation, smoke, and pollutants can lead to the formation of free radicals in your skin. Cold pressed avocado oil is rich in antioxidants such as carotenoids, vitamin C and vitamin E that minimise environmental stress on your skin.
- Soothes Sunburns –
Cold pressed avocado oil is a rich source of oleic acid, an essential fatty acid that soothes, protects and repairs sunburnt skin. It strengthens your skin’s barrier function, reduces redness, and promotes skin repair to minimise the symptoms of sun damage.
- Anti-Aging Benefits –
One of the many benefits of using organic avocado oil on your face is reduced signs of ageing. By fighting off free radicals and increasing collagen synthesis in your skin, it helps reduce fine lines, wrinkles, and dark spots. It also helps retain your skin’s elasticity.
- Nourishes Chapped Lips –
If you have dry, chapped lips, cold pressed avocado oil can prevent moisture loss by keeping them well-moisturised. Avocado oil also forms a protective barrier over your lips and protects them from environmental stressors.
- Improves Scalp Health –
Using organic avocado oil in hair care helps keep your scalp healthy. Its nutrients nourish the hair follicles while the antioxidants prevent oxidative stress promoting healthy hair growth. Its fatty acids deeply moisturize your scalp to reduce dryness, itching and flaking.
- Tames Frizzy Hair –
You can use organic avocado oil in your hair care routine if you have dry, frizzy, and unmanageable hair. The oil forms a protective coating over your hair strands and seals the cuticle to prevent moisture loss. This helps tame flyaways and frizzy hair and makes your hair softer and shinier.
- Reduces Hair Breakage –
The nutrients from cold pressed avocado oil repair, protect and strengthen your hair. Using it as a hair oil makes detangling easier and reduces breakage and split ends by moisturising and smoothening dry, brittle hair.
Different Forms of Avocado Oil
Avocado oil is a carrier oil and can be applied directly to your skin and hair. It has a light green or emerald green colour and can have a nutty aroma. There are different types of avocado oil available due to variation in extraction techniques, choice of fruits, and levels of processing.
- Extra virgin avocado oilis considered the best avocado oil in terms of quality since it is made by cold-pressing superior-quality avocado pulp, and no chemical solvents or processing is involved here.
- Virgin avocado oilis also made through the cold-pressed extraction technique and without any chemical solvents or processing. But the quality of avocados used to extract the oil is lower than the previous variety.
- Plain avocado oilis the least beneficial for skin care and hair care needs since it is refined. It goes through a deodorisation and bleaching process to alter its colour and smell which deteriorates its nutrient level
Credit (Juicy Chemistry Blog Article on Avocado Oil)
Photo: Credit: Modern Ghana Online
