Prickly Pear Oil

Prickly Pear is a powerhouse anti-aging plant that has been shown to moisturize and soften wrinkles, stimulate new cell growth, calm inflammation, help restore elasticity, fight photo-aging, and brighten skin. Prickly Pear Seed Oil is extremely rich in vitamins E and K, essential fatty acids and super antioxidants.

The reason it has such an impressive list of benefits for the skin is because the plant contains rich components that repair UV damage, assist in collagen and elastin production, reduce inflammation and leave the skin looking healthy, soft and glowing. Cell actives from this plant are some of the key components of our own PhytoCell Actives. 

While the oil is just starting to be noticed in the US skincare industry, it has a cult following in other parts of the world, it has been widely research in the last 10 to 15 years and used for centuries.  

The key oil components with skin benefits include:

• Fatty acids essential to the skin barrier function
• The highest concentration of vitamin E of all plant oils, 895mg/kg (150% of argan oil). Vitamin E protects against and repairs damage from sun UV rays, has anti-inflammatory properties, and protects collagen and elastin production 
• The highest levels of Betalains of any known plant (more than Acai, Pomegranate, Blueberries, Gogi, and Beets). Betalains are super antioxidants that help to protect skin against aging from various types of damaging radicals which would otherwise encourage wrinkle formation.
• Polyphenols that are antioxidants and anti-inflammatory
• Water-binding phytosterols help the skin retain moisture, making for a strong, healthy skin barrier. They also assist in collagen production, keeping skin youthful and soft, and have even been found to reverse the effects of aging as well as reducing inflammation
• Vitamin K that brightens the skin, helps to strengthen weakened capillaries that are responsible for dark circles and bruising, moisturizes and increases skin elasticity as shown below.

All these phyto-chemicals have allowed the plant to survived in the most arid deserts of Africa, Australia, the American Southwest and Mexico for centuries. 

Not surprisingly, this is one of the most expensive oils in the marketplace today because of the large number of seeds required to extract the oil and its many desirable benefits. 

What we like the most about Prickly Pear Oil:

• An amazingly potent antioxidant and skin repair agent that fights photo-aging
• Highly emollient and hydrating leaving the skin feeling soft and velvety with suppleness and a healthy glow
• Low comedogenic rating making it suitable for oily skins as well as dry and normal
• Absorbs rapidly leaving no greasy residual
• Has skin brightening components
• Is rich in amino acids that stimulate collagen production to help refine, brighten, and tone skin
• Contains vitamin K that has been shown to even skin complexion by decreasing darkness and discoloration,
• Reduces in the appearance of dark under-eye circles and lines around the eye
• Protects the skin self-renewal capacity to repair environmental skin damage and prevent premature wrinkle formation
• Due to its low comedogenic rating (as shown below) Prickly Pear oil is great for all skin types and particularly good for mature skins, but also for Oily/Combination skin types