10 Ways Magic Macadamia Oil Benefits Your Skin
BeautyMacadamia oil is the ultimate carrier oil for skincare products, which is why you'll find it in some of our products.
No matter what your age or skin type, oils are a wonderful skin food. When you're young, your skin exudes a luminosity and is nicely plump due to the abundance of naturally occurring oils. As we age, your cell turnover declines and so too does your skin's ability to produce oil.
A topical application of oils is an essential component of age defying skincare. Oils act as a carrier for other key ingredients, as well as improving the function of the lipid barrier, which keeps the skin moist and hydrated.
But not all oils are created equal. They have various ratings on the comedogenic scale (a measure of how heavy or light an oil is in relation to clogging the pores).
- Comedogenic rating of 0 – this oil does not clog pores.
- Comedogenic rating of 1 – slight chance oil will clog pores.
- Comedogenic rating of 2 – for most people, the oil will not clog pores.
- Comedogenic rating of 3 – some people will be fine using this oil, but many will break out in pimples or acne due to clogged pores.
- Comedogenic rating of 4 – most people will break out with this oil, depending on skin type.
- Comedogenic rating of 5 – virtually guaranteed to make you break out. Very few people can tolerate these oils on the skin.
Some people swear by using nothing but coconut oil on their skin and I have to wonder what’s going on there, because coconut oil is highly comedogenic (4 to 5 on the scale). It'll clog your pores and make you break out eventually if it’s all you’re using. If not, then you're lucky. It's an oil that is OK for daily use on the rest of the body, and as an added emollient in a facial formulation, but as the only form of hydration for the face, it's a no from me.
One of our favourite oils is macadamia, which is a fantastic oil extracted from the meat of the nut. It’s a 2 to 3 on the comedogenic scale, so most people find their skin tolerates macadamia well. Not only are macas delicious to eat, but our skin happily soaks up the beneficial properties of this oil.
The macadamia tree is an indigenous species to Australia and is over 60,000 years old. It’s believed it first began growing in the rainforests of northern NSW and there are now more than six million macadamia trees growing in Australia, many of them planted in order to cater to the high demand for macadamia nut oil in personal care products and cosmetics.
10 BENEFITS OF MACADAMIA FOR SKINCARE
- Other than jojoba oil (which is actually considered a waxy ester as opposed to an oil) it's the closest match to the naturally occurring sebum of the skin.
- It is hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic oil.
- It contains squalene and oleic acid that assists with cell regeneration, making this oil particularly useful for dry or chapped skin as it softens and moisturises.
- It contains omega 6 linoleic acid which is useful for balancing sebum production in oily skin and creates a natural protective barrier.
- The shell in which it is housed and added to the oil is rich in naturally occurring vitamin E.
- Oils extracted from macadamia contain omega 7 or palmitoleic acid, which is beneficial for wound healing, wounds, scratches and burns.
- It contains phytosterols that assist with itchiness and redness.
- It's highly emollient oil, yet light and penetrating that's excellent for dry and mature skins that have a reduced production of natural sebum.
- The oil extracted from macadamia has excellent spreadability, lubrication and penetration properties that imparts a smooth non greasy after effect.
- This oil also has a slight sunscreen effect.
When you eat it, this oil has the perfect balance of omega 3:6 ratio (essential fatty acids our bodies don’t manufacture). Omega-3 is a renowned anti-inflammatory and omega-6 is a pro-inflammatory, making it useful for any disease that is inflammatory in nature such as arthritis and cardiovascular disease.
Apart from all the goodies it delivers to your skin, the composition of oil extracted from macadamia is rich in phytochemical compound such as tocopherols, squalene and tocotrienols, which protect the oil against oxidation. While a lot of oils go rancid fairly quickly, macadamia oil is considered stable once harvested for a period of two years.
