Evening Primrose Oil, Yay Or Nay?
18th Sep 2017
We understand that on the constantly changing and extremely competitive beauty market it is extremely hard to keep up to date with all information about products and innovative solutions. Not always is a “noisy” marketing campaign enough evidence and confirmation that a product is suitable.
A number of products are sold under “the organic, healthy, paraben free” label and yet they contain ingredients which may be described as harmful to us. Bombarded with information & fierce marketing, it is harder and harder to feel comfortable with the decisions we make regarding skin care products.
In the “Yay or Nay?” blog series we will try our best to provide you with more information on ingredients that you can find in beauty products.
Among our YAY group there will be “hero ingredients” that are beneficial, safe and healthy for your skin. Whether these are natural ingredients or innovative and patented solutions, we will take a closer look to highlight their beneficial properties.
However, we will also try our best to demystify some of the ingredients we should avoid as they have a harmful effect. This is our “NAY” group.
In this week’s blog, we put EVENING PRIMROSE OIL on the Skinsider’s radar.
Evening Primrose Oil is obtained from the seed of the evening primrose plant.
This amazing ingredient has been used as a skincare product for thousands of years.
It is rich in (omega-6) fatty acids, including linoleic acid (LA) & gamma linoleic acid (GLA), which help maintain skin’s barrier and reduce water loss. Fatty acids have exceptional skin nourishing properties. That is why the oil is highly recommended for dry skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis.
Because of its ability to regulate sebum production, evening primrose oil is good at calming acne flare-ups. It soothes skin irritations and inflammations.
Evening primrose has high level of antioxidants, preventing oxidation in living tissue, which results in reducing fine lines and wrinkles and is also lightening dark circles around sensitive eye area.
But let’s list the most important beauty benefits of Evening Primrose Oil:
Helps with eczema
Eczema is a skin condition characterized by itchy & uncomfortable dry, rough and inflamed patches of skin. Primrose Oil is an incredible nourishing and soothing ingredient.
Treats acne
Evening primrose oil is renowned for treating hormonal acne.
It supports faster healing of acne and prevents the formation of acne scars.
Moisturizes skin
The oil is very often used in lotions and moisturisers as it leaves the skin feeling supple and youthful.
Reduces redness & inflammation
Evening primrose oil is very effective at reducing redness on the skin. It has anti-inflammatory properties which reduce inflammation, swelling soreness on the skin, itching, rashes and hives.
Reduces hyper-pigmentation
Evening primrose oil is also effective in reducing hyper-pigmentation. Hyper-pigmentation usually occurs on the face, neck and other areas such as elbows and knees. It is simply an excessive melanin production in only some areas of the skin. This results in some areas of the skin looking darker. The oil helps to even out the skin tone and reduce hyper-pigmentation.
Anti-aging properties
One of the best oils for anti-aging. As it has strong moisturizing qualities it helps to keep the skin supple, smooth and soft. It also has vitamins and other nutrients that help maintain skin barrier and prevent premature aging.
Evening primrose oil is a strong natural antioxidant. It prevents free radicals & other negative environmental factor from damaging the skin and reduce formation of wrinkles and fine lines.
It supports other age-related changes in skin tissues, such as redness, firmness, roughness and skin fatigue.