The Many Wonderful Beauty Benefits Of Rosehip Oil
Rosehip seed oil has become widely recognized as an effective skin and beauty care agent in the last decade, with great interest surrounding its scientifically-validated beauty-enhancing effects. The oil has been heralded as a miracle cure for skin, useful for a great myriad of conditions, from premature aging and sun damage to scarring and other damage. What is this wonderful red liquid, where does it come from, how does it work, and most importantly, can it work for you?
Rosehip seed oil is extracted from the seed within the fruit of the wild thorny rose bush. Native to Chile, the plant is now cultivated elsewhere in South America with many countries producing the oil. Also found under the name ‘Rosa Mosqueta’, the oil has been used by native people for hundreds of years, but only recently became known to the rest of the world.
The oil can be solvent extracted or cold-pressed, though pressing is the optimal method, as there is no chance of chemical traces being left in the final product. The cold-pressed oil is the most natural; the oil has an exceptionally high essential fatty acid content (‘essential’ meaning the body cannot make it on it’s own from other oils), and is considered quite delicate. Rosehip seed oil should be kept in a cool place, perhaps even under refrigeration, away from light, and should be used within one year of storage.
Rosehip is also now available as a “CO2 extract”. This is absolutely wonderful, as what this means is that a totally natural solvent (liquid carbon dioxide) has been used to extract all the highly regenerative components from the whole rose hip, not just the seed. This is basically the essential oil of rose hip, which you can use just like an essential oil — measuring it in your blends in drops instead of ounces. It will leave the skin a bit red while it’s absorbing when used in high concentrations, but it’s well worth it for its nearly magical healing powers.
Rosehip seed oil is an excellent source of natural vitamin E and natural vitamin A, or ‘trans-retinoic acid’. Retinoic acid, the acid derivative of vitamin A, is the active ingredient found in Retin-A or Tretinoin. Retin-A (a pharmaceutical preparation) has been heralded as a wrinkle cure because of its ability to increase skin cell proliferation – or speed the time it takes for your skin to regenerate. In fact, the oil has been extensively studied for many of the same actions attributed to Retin-A, and has been shown effective without side effects (like over-drying and peeling – though unlike Retin-A, it should not be used to treat acne).
The first major study on rosehip seed oil was performed in 1983 by a team of researchers at the University of Santiago, Chile. The study’s participants included individuals with diverse forms of skin damage: deep wrinkles and other premature aging, UV damage, radiation damage, acne scarring, burn scarring, dermatitis, and other problems of this type. The oil was shown to have significant, noticeable effects in regenerating the skin, reducing wrinkles and scars, and helping the skin to regain its natural color and tone.
A second major study was done with middle-aged women with noticeable premature skin aging. Again, Rosehip seed produced noticeable, significant effects in smoothing the skin, leading to a younger texture and appearance.
Besides its regenerative properties, rosehip seed oil is also an excellent moisturizer. This is most likely due to its high essential fatty acid content (fatty acids that the body cannot produce itself), which are necessary for healthy skin. The oil penetrates the upper layers of the skin quickly and, being known as a ‘dry’ moisturizer, does not leave the skin feeling greasy or oily.
Rosehip seed oil is very gentle – it can be used daily undiluted; because of it’s relative high cost, it may also be diluted in other oils like jojoba or shea nut, and will produce it’s regenerative effects in dilutions as low as 1 tenth of the total concentration.
To smooth scars on the skin, blend of fifteen drops each of helichrysum “italicum” and rosemary “verbenone” essential oils, plus twenty-four drops rosehip “CO2″, in a one ounce base of equal parts rosehip seed oil and tamanu oil. For a lovely beauty blend, experiment with this combination in four ounces of rosehip seed: five drops helichrysum, five drops lavender angustifolia, 3 drops sandalwood, three drops neroli (bitter orange flower oil), three drops carrot seed oil (a very moisturizing essential oil), three drops geranium (also for hydration), two drops roman chamomile (for it’s anti-inflammatory properties), two drops of jasmine absolute and one drop each of palmarosa and ylang ylang essential oils.
Using rosehip seed oil for healing your skin or just giving it a little needed nourishment will almost certainly produce positive, noticeable effects. This fantastic oil, with its wonderful range of uses, will likely take an important lace in your natural beauty collection.
For more on the therapeutic value of , and the many ways to employ these oils such as in , visit The Ananda Apothecary online.
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