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Oils and Butters to Nourish Your Skin

Apricot Kernel Oil – this oil comes from the nut inside an apricot stone. Next time you eat an apricot, crack the stone (not with your teeth!) and inside you will find a small almond-shaped kernel. This is in fact very similar to an almond, and is often used in almond products such as Italian amaretti biscuits and other almond-based products. They are good to eat and taste like almonds, and are high in vitamin B17 which is thought to help prevent cancer by attacking cancerous cells. From these kernels a light emolient oil is produced. This oil is both skin softening and moisturising. It is easily absorbed by the skin and, when used in soap making, creates a conditioning, stable lather.

Avocado Oil – the avocado originated in Mexico where it was prized by the Aztecs as a health enhancing fruit due to its high nutritional content, and also as a skin care ingredient for its emollient qualities. The oil is produced from the oil-rich fruit of the avocado, and extracted using either solvents or a centrifugal method – the oil produced through the centrifugal method is of a higher quality and more natural. Avocado oil is cholesterol and trans fatty acid free, and contains the omegas 3 and 6 which the body needs as building blocks for everything from your brain to your skin and hair. The oil has nourishing, hydrating and regenerating properties and penetrates the epidermis, leaving no oily residue on the skin

Castor Oil – this oil is made from the castor bean, and was valued almost as highly as olive oil by the ancient Egyptians as a lamp oil. Castor oil was a popular laxative in the 1950’s, often feared by children who seemed to quite frequently be given a dose for their health, and I remember it best from being featured in Tom & Jerry cartoons as a practical joke. The castor bean is rich in ricinoleic acid, an acid unique to the castor bean which has analgesic and anti-inflammatory qualities. On the skin this oil is very moisturising due to the fact that it is a humectant (attracts moisture to itself and holds it), sealing moisture in and thus retaining moisture in the skin, scalp and hair. A great addition to shampoo bars and dog soaps as it helps hair retain moisture, so acting as a conditioner while the soap cleanses. This oil also gives soap a slightly translucent quality. Oh, and apparently if you have a problem with moles in your lawn you should stick castor beans in their burrows!

Coconut Oil - this tropical oil, which is solid at room temperature and therefore also known as coconut butter, is usually produced from the dried flesh of the coconut. When it is produced from the fresh flesh, it is known as virgin coconut oil. This oils is commonly used in the food industry for making products such as margarine, non-dairy ‘creamers’ and for cooking as it has a high smoke point. In India coconut oil is often used to condition the hair and scalp too. In soap making, it makes a nice firm soap with a good lather and loads of suds. These suds are what helps water to clean our skin, so coconut oil gives soap a wonderful cleansing quality. Even though this oil gives us a great fluffy lather, and so we might be tempted to use a lot and have a wonderful foamy soap, be careful not to add too much as it can be drying for your skin.

Hemp Seed Oil – this oil is extracted from raw hemp seeds and contains beneficial fatty acids. There are numerous remarkable benefits from this rich but light oil – hemp seed oil is high in essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals which feed you and your skin. It is moisturising, naturally anti-inflammatory, aids healing and skin conditions such as acne, eczema and psoriasis, encourages hair to repair and is rich in anti-oxidants. In soap making it creates a very gentle and nourishing soap which is often great on the face as well as the body. This oil is also great for you to eat, and makes a delicious salad

Neem Oil – this oil is made from the seeds of the neem tree. It is used a lot in India where it is renowned for its healing properties and has been termed the ‘oil of wonder’. Neem oil is known for its antiseptic qualities and for its effectiveness in treating skin conditions such as acne, eczema, psoriasis, burns and ulcers. Due to it’s antiseptic, antibacterial and anti-fungal qualities, it is very effective at fighting infection and can ease chronic skin conditions. It is also an effective natural insecticide, and can be used when mixed with water and sprayed on house-plants as a safe alternative to chemical pesticides to keep greenfly at bay!

Olive Oil – this oil is made from the fruit of olive trees (olives). It is one of the best known in natural soap making, and a soap with an olive oil base is referred to as castile soap, from the area of Castille in France where this type of soap originated. Great for the skin, in my grandmother’s time mothers in Europe used to cover their babies with olive oil before putting them in the bath to protect the skin from the drying effects of soap and water on new, sensitive skin. It was used much like we use baby oil today except that baby oil is a mineral oil so is actually drying to the skin, working through trapping moisture rather than replenishing the skin’s natural oils (as well as being extremely dangerous if taken into the lungs and potentially harmful to children if consumed), whereas olive oil, as a vegetable oil, is moisturising and nourishing to the skin. In fact, I’ve heard that olive oil may be making its way back into hospitals as the oil of choice for new born babies once again. It was also commonly used to make hair and eyelashes grow thick.

Palm oil - this solid oil is made from the fruit of the oil palm tree, and should not be confused with palm kernel oil which is made from the kernel of this fruit and has different properties. It is an oil commonly used in the production of foods, such as margarine and chocolate to name a couple. In soap making it creates a good hard bar with a stable lather, and is often used instead of its traditional equivalent, tallow, for this purpose – in fact, it is sometimes referred to as ‘vegetable tallow’.

Sweet Almond Oil – this oil is obtained from the dried kernels of the almond tree, or what we commonly eat as dried almonds. The plant is closely related to the peach and apricot, and apricot kernel oil and sweet almond oil have very similar properties. It is a light emolient oil which is skin softening and moisturising. This is a popular oil for aromatherapy massage as it has a fine, light texture which is easily absorbed by the skin, but not quickly absorbed so that there is time to complete a massage before the oil sinks into the skin, leaving it smooth and non-greasy. In soap this light and versatile oil creates a conditioning, stable lather.

Thistle or Safflower oil – traditionally this plant was cultivated for its seeds which were used for colouring and flavouring foods, and making red and yellow dyes. More recently it has been used for its oil, which is used in the food industry in similar areas to sunflower oil. Packed full of essential fatty acids – they make up 80% of the oil’s content – this is a wonderfully skin nourishing oil. It is good for oily skin and generally good for skin conditions due to its ‘dry’ nature. It keeps for up to two years (out of direct sunlight), and is light and easily absorbed into the skin. This is an oil, like hempseed oil, which is great in salad dressings too, so good for you both inside and out. The pretty yellow flowers are sometimes used in cooking as a poor man’s substitute for saffron, so sometimes referred to as ‘bastard saffron’. The seed is also a popular alternative to sunflower seeds for bird tables as the qualities are similar but apparently squirrels don’t like the taste of them!

Cocoa butter – this butter is obtained from cocoa beans, the bi-product of this process being cocoa powder. Cocoa butter is used in the confectionery industry, to make chocolate and other sweets and cakes. In skin care, it is an extremely moisturising butter which is easily absorbed by the skin. All over the world it is often used as a skin softener, although it can be pretty hard if not mixed with some softer butters or oils. One of its most well-known properties is as an easer of stretch-marks and other skin blemishes. When used in soaps, this butter creates a rich, nourishing, firm bar which lasts and lasts.

Shea butter - this butter comes from the shea nut, which is inside the fruit of the karate or shea tree – it is sometimes also referred to as karite butter. As well as being a beneficial to the skin as a moisturiser and to soften and soothe the skin, it is also edible and is sometimes used in the confectionery industry to replace cocoa butter in chocolate. This soft butter has great moisturising properties, feeds the skin and is also used in products to help ease marks such as scars, stretch marks, burns and rashes. It is also said to be UV protective, although this quality varies.

Mango butter – this butter is extracted from the seed kernels of the tropical mango fruit. It is non-greasy and absorbs easily into the skin, has emollient properties and can speed up healing and, like shea butter, it is said to provide a natural protective effect against UV radiation. Mango butter has been traditionally used in the rainforests and tropics for its skin softening, soothing, moisturising and protective properties and to restore flexibility and reduce degeneration of skin cells.