Almond oil – who doesn’t know it? It is considered a blessing to a lot of people. Besides its obvious use for culinary purposes, almond oil is also valued for its extensive use in health and beauty.
But first off, some interesting facts about the almond itself. Do you know that the almond “nut” is not really a nut? It’s actually the seed of the almond fruit, a type of drupe which closely resembles a peach. The nut – or rather the seed – is encased in a shell.
The almond “nut” has provided useful benefits to man. The oil is made from hulled, dried and extracted almond nuts. There are two types of almond oils: refined and unrefined:
- Refined – oil that is extracted using certain processes such as heat and some chemical agents. While refined oil is the “cleaner” type of almond oil, most of its natural nutritional content is essentially destroyed because of such processes.
- Unrefined – this is the more “raw” type of almond oil, which is extracted without the use of high heat and chemicals. This type of almond oil retains much of its nutritional content, and thus it is the healthier oil between the two.
Uses for the skin
Many beauty enthusiasts love almond oil because it does real good to their skin’s health and appearance. Almond oil is an excellent source vitamin E that helps in restoring and maintaining your skin’s youthful glow. It is also a natural tonic, which helps in reducing the appearance of enlarged pores on the skin.
Almond oil for acne?
The question is: is almond oil also safe to use on acne-prone skin? The answer is, yes! Despite the fact that it is like that – an oil – it is otherwise safe to use even on oily and acne-prone skin. Almond oil’s fatty acids have the tendency to dissolve sebum, thus cleaning and unclogging the pores, which are the causes of pimples and acne breakouts. Almond oil feels light to the touch, so it won’t leave a greasy feeling on the skin.
With these benefits mentioned above, almond oil makes an excellent cleanser which prevents pimples and acne breakouts. In addition, almond oil has natural exfoliating properties, which help in removing dead skin cells, making it ideal for minimizing those ugly acne scars on your face. Again, almond oil’s abundant vitamin E content helps in rejuvenating your skin at the same time, leaving it smooth, supple and youthful-looking. With almond oil, the moisture is also retained and absorbed by the skin which expedites repair of skin damage, resulting to improved texture.
How to use almond oil for acne-prone skin
Note: Always use sweet almond oil, not the bitter almond one. Sweet almond oil is excellent in cleansing and exfoliating, while bitter almond oil is typically used in adding fragrance to certain products.
1. Have a few drops of sweet almond oil.
2. Gently massage the oil on your face in a circular motion.
3. Leave it for about 15 to 20 minutes.
4. After that, wipe the oil off your face using cotton.
5. Wash your face with lukewarm water.
6. Do this procedure once a day, preferably during the evening.