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 made from the seeds of the fruit of wild thorny rose bushes native to mountainous regions of South America. Also known as 'Rosa Mosqueta', the oil has been used by native people for hundreds of years.
Rosehip seed oil is produced via solvent extraction or pressing of the seed. The cold-pressed oil is the closest to nature and likely the healthiest variety - it has a high essential fatty acid content, and is considered more delicate than other common seed and nut oils. Because of it's delecate nature, Rosehip seed oil should be refrigerated, or at least kept in a dark, cool place, and used within one year of purchase.
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, rosehip seed 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. Rosehip seed 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.
In addition to its skin healing effects, rosehip seed oil is also a perfect moisturizer due to it's high content of essential fatty acids (EFAs). The oil penetrates the skin quickly and 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 shae nut, and will produce it's regenerative effects in dilutions as low as 1 tenth of the total concentration.
For improvement of scarring, a simple blend of 20 drops of Helichrysum Italicum per 1 ounce of rosehip seed oil, applied daily to the area, can be helpful. Helichrysum is known for its content of regenerative 'ketones'. For a more luxurious beauty blend, try the following in 4 ounces of rosehip seed: 5 drops Helichrysum 5 drops Lavender 3 drops Sandalwood 3 drops Neroli 3 drops Carrot Seed 3 drops Geranium 2 drops Roman Chamomile 2 drops Jasmine 1 drop Palmarosa 1 drop Ylang Ylang. Even simply the Helichrysum and Lavender will go a long way - Lavender oil is very gentle, and is also known to have regenerative properties.
Using rosehip seed oil for healing your skin or just giving it a little needed nourishment will almost certainly produce positive, noticable effects. This fantastic oil, with its wonderful range of uses, will likely take an important place in your natural beauty collection.
Every once in a while you'll stumble across an expert whose words and passion sink right into your soul and so it was the day I listened to Dr. Joseph Hibbeln of the National Institutes of Health on a radio broadcast as he explained why we have chronic inflammation and what it all means. Dr. Hibblen is a psychiatrist and lipid biochemist known as one of the world's leading authorities on Omega 3.
When you cut your finger and it turns red, that's inflammation of the good kind that rushes in to heal the wound. But when it gets out of control from the very food we eat (Omega 3 Seed Oil), inflammation turns in and attacks the body in dreadful ways. See TIME cover story, 2/04, Inflammation, The Secret Killer, Missing Link Between Heart Attacks, Cancer, Alzheimer's and other Disease and What You Can Do About It.
What is Omega 3 seed oil? Dr. Hibbeln defines seed oils as ?literally vegetable oils that have been squeezed from seeds and primarily those seeds are soybean oil overwhelmingly and to some extent, corn oil, safflower and other oils and the big deal is that in these oils the ratio of Omega 6 to Omega-3 fatty acids is about 10 to one, whereas in our diets and evolution that ratio was about one to one. So you had a one to one balance to inflammation when we were evolving and now it's a 10 to one balance in favor of inflammation because of the predominances in the seed oils.?
So, we have Omega 3 from fish oil, and we have Omega 3 from seed oil, which correctly should be labeled Omega 6 but without making a fuss over the confusing distinction, when you see Omega 3 on products in your grocery store, ask yourself one question. Is the source of the Omega 3 on that product seed oil? You can't very well put Omega 3 from fatty fish in cereal now, can you? And what do we need less of? Dr. Hibbeln explains why it is so critical to know the difference.
?Omega-3 fatty acids, (from fish oil) when those fats are swimming around in your blood stream and your immune system, they produce compounds which reduce inflammation and help to prevent heart disease; and the American Heart Association now recommends that people eat fish three to four times a week or take fish oil supplements to help prevent the progression of heart disease. It's more than 38 peer-reviewed studies which have been systematically reviewed.
Omega -3 fatty acids are one of those two polyunsaturated fatty acids. Polyunsaturated simple means that it has many double bonds. The key here is that there's two families of polyunsaturated fatty acids, the Omega-3 fatty acids which you find primarily from fish oil, and the Omega-6 fatty acids from seed oils ? eventually the body converts them into a compound called arachidonic acid and arachidonic acid is good in low amounts, but in high amounts it makes a lot of inflammatory compounds. It makes compounds that make your joints ache, compounds that increase the inflammation in your blood stream and leads to arterial sclerosis.
How big a deal is arachidonic acid? It is such a big deal we've created billion dollar industries for the production of Vioxx and Celebrex and Ibuprofen, all of which their main purpose is to keep arachidonic acid from being converted into these inflammatory compounds. But remember, the origin of arachidonic acid is from what you eat. It's from seed oils. Take away the seed oils or swap them out, your body will not be full of so much arachidonic acid and will not have a pro-inflammatory predisposition.?
And that makes me very glad I discovered the healing benefits of Omega 3's From Fatty Fish (capitalized intentionally) a long time ago. I won't buy an Omega 3-laced grocery store product today and add more of the wrong Omega 3 to the inflammation level in my body.
Both Misty Allen & Lois Smithers are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Misty Allen has sinced written about articles on various topics from Omega 3. More on the healing effects of essential oils can be found at .. Misty Allen's top article generates over 590 views. to your Favourites.
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