Prickly Pear Seed Oil Benefits for Skin, Aging and Acne

 The prickly pear cactus is also known as "nopal" or "Nopales" in Spanish, derived from the native Nahuatl people's word "nohpalli", or the scientific name of "opuntia".  

The fruit and pads contain many dietary health benefits, so it's no surprise the seed oil would have amazing topical benefits for skin, aging and acne.

Acne and Barrier friendly fatty acids

Prickly Pear Seed Oil is very high in non-pore clogging linoleic acid.  Studies show that oils high in linoleic acid when used in skincare are anti-inflammatory, and barrier restoring. 

Also, people prone to breakouts and acne are deficient in linoleic acid in their skin's natural lipid barrier.  So adding high linoleic acid ingredients like prickly pear seed oil to skincare helps with inflammation and healing from breakouts.

Antioxidant superstar

Antioxidants help prevent cellular aging and protect skin against environmental damage.  Many antioxidants also provide visible anti-aging benefits.  

Prickly pear seed oil is one of the highest sources in beauty ingredients for vitamin E (It's even 150% higher than in argan oil).  This level of vitamin E provides the skin with protective benefits against sun damage.

It's high Vitamin K levels help decalcify capillaries and soft tissues, reducing redness and protecting elastin in the skin against aging.  This is also makes it a great ingredient for redness prone and rosacea type skin conditions. 

Prickly Pear oil is high in additional skin protective antioxidants called polyphenols and betalains often found in other antioxidant rich fruits like acai, and in fact has one of the highest sources of them.

Anti-Aging Amino Acids

Nearly half of our skin's natural moisturizing factor is made up of amino acids.  Our skin's collagen is also made up of amino acids, and so are peptides used in anti-aging skincare.  Prickly pear seed oil is high in various amino acids, helping to boost our skins moisture and radiance.

Now you can see why we love Prickly Pear Seed oil as it benefits the skin from pretty much every angle: It's anti-inflammatory, moisture protective, antioxidant rich and non-comedogenic, making it a powerful naturally derived skincare ingredient.