Avocado Oil for Skin: Anti-Inflammatory and Soothes Dry Skin

You may have already enjoyed avocado oil in a stir fry or homemade salad dressing, but have you ever considered the benefits of avocado oil for skin health? Throughout history avocado oil has been renowned for its healing and regenerating properties.

Whether consumed or used topically, avocado oil is a rich source of beneficial nutrients that can help to improve the state of your skin. For starters, this fruit-derived oil (yes, avocado is a fruit!) is rich in oleic acid, a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid, and linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid. There are a wide range of avocado oil benefits for skin whether you’re dealing with basic dryness or a more serious skin concern like psoriasis.

Warning: you’re likely going to want a bottle of avocado oil for both your pantry and your medicine cabinet after reading this article!

Skin Benefits

You’re probably wondering, how exactly is avocado oil good for your skin? There are many ways, including:

1. Moisturizes Dry Skin

In general, avocado oil is a great moisturizer for the skin. It’s a rich source of nutrients like vitamin E and fatty acids like oleic acid.

Is avocado oil good for your face? For starters, many people love using avocado oil for face wrinkles and dry skin. In the cosmetic industry, avocado oil is often used in face and body products because of its ability to penetrate the skin and absorb quickly. It’s also considered to be highly stable and a rich source of vitamin E, which is a natural preservative.

If you have dry skin then avocado oil can really help to improve its texture.

2. Anti-Inflammatory

Can you use avocado oil for skin if acne is a concern? If you have a skin condition that involves inflammation such as acne, avocado oil may be able to help since it has natural anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties.

Many acne sufferers think they need to strip their skin of oil to improve their breakouts, but this can actually make acne even worse. This can go either way. Some people find that avocado oil helps to moisturize their skin which decreases the likelihood of sebum overproduction which can be a root cause of acne.

Related: Top 12 Home Remedies for Acne

3. Anti-Aging

Unfortunately, as we age, our natural oil as well as collagen production decreases making skin dryer, rougher and less youthful.

You may want to consider using avocado oil for face wrinkles. When used topically, it’s known to combat skin dryness which increases the signs of aging. Using avocado oil on the skin may also boost collagen production.

According to scientific review of plant oils, research using animal subjects has shown that the topical application of avocado oil increases collagen synthesis. In addition, it reduced the amount of  inflammatory cells during the wound healing process.

Including healthy fats in your diet like those found in avocado oil can also help the skin to be less dry and maintain its elasticity. So using avocado oil in recipes as well as topically is a great way to keep your skin glowing and youthful.

4. Fights Free Radicals

When it comes to skin health as well as the internal health of our bodies, reducing free radicals and free radical damage is a wise goal.

Free radicals not only contribute to disease, but they also contribute to all kinds of unwanted skin changes including age spots, wrinkles and more serious concerns like skin cancer.

With its rich content of nutrients and antioxidants, avocado oil may be able to help fight free radical damage when used internally and externally.

5. Helps Soothe Sunburn

According to a scientific review published in 2011, avocado (Persea americana) oil is rich in vitamin E, beta- carotene, vitamin D, protein, lecithin, and fatty acids making it a great addition to natural after-sun products to help soothe the skin and reduce the negative effects of sunburn.

6. May Improve Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic, autoimmune skin disease that causes inflammation and scaling of the skin. The results of a clinical trial published in the journal Dermatology reveal how a vitamin B12 cream containing avocado oil had steady beneficial effects on psoriasis patients over a 12-week observation period.

Overall, the study concludes that the use of a B12 avocado oil cream “has considerable potential as a well-tolerated, long-term topical therapy of psoriasis.”

Uses

Avocado oil is a potent natural beauty treatment for the skin and makes a great addition to any natural skin care routine. The word is spreading on avocado oil for the health of our skin, with uses ranging from improving dry skin to eye makeup removal.

Simply apply a small amount of avocado oil to a cotton ball and swipe across the eyes to remove makeup. Leaving a little of the avocado oil behind is nothing to worry about since the remaining oil can help to diminish crow’s feet.

You can also apply avocado oil to fine lines, wrinkles, cracked heels and dry cuticles as well as any other area of the body or face that is in need of moisture. 

Some people also use avocado oil for skin lightening, but that’s not a proven benefit.

Olive Oil vs. Avocado Oil (for Skin)

Avocado and olive oil are both edible oils derived from fleshy fruit pulp rather than seeds. These are two healthy oil options that can be used similarly in the kitchen. You can also use both olive oil and avocado oil for hair and skin.

You’ll commonly see both oils landing on a list of “best skin foods.” Which one is best? When it comes to using them topically, that can depend on your skin type and your personal preference.

Oleic acid is a key aspect of both of these oils and it is a main reason why they are both helpful for skin that is dry, inflamed or showing signs of aging. Around 70 percent of the fat content found in avocado oil is typically monounsaturated oleic acid while up to 83 percent of the fat found in olive oil can be oleic acid.

Both oils also contain antioxidants, like vitamin E, that can fight free radical damage internally and externally. Studies show that olive oil has more vitamin E than avocado oil.

When used on the skin, olive oil feels a bit thicker and has more of a scent compared to avocado oil. For some people, this is a reason to choose avocado oil over olive oil for topical use.

If you’re prone to breakouts, olive oil may be a better choice since it scores lower on the comedogenic scale (0-5) with a “2” compared to avocado oil’s score of “3.”

Risks and Side Effects

There are many potential benefits of avocado oil for skin and hair, but if you’re allergic to avocados then you’ll likely have to steer clear of avocado oil both in food and for external use.

If you’re allergic to latex, then you are likely allergic to fruits that contain the same allergens as latex including avocado, banana, kiwi and passionfruit.

Can avocado oil clog pores? Avocado oil scores a 3 on the comedogenic scale. This scales goes from 0–5 and a 3 typically means it has a “moderate” tendency to clog pores.

Depending on your individual skin type, avocado oil may or may not work for you. If you struggle with acne or have oily skin, you may just want to use it on your body, but not your face or other breakout-prone areas.

Final Thoughts

• Avocado oil is an edible oil that can also be used topically. It comes from pressing the pulp of an avocado fruit.
• You’ll often find this oil in cosmetic products because of its stability, high vitamin E content and ability to moisturize the skin.
• Avocado oil benefits for skin include reduction of wrinkles and fine lines, dryness, inflammation and free radical damage.
• Using avocado oil topically may even help to improve chronic skin conditions like psoriasis.
• If you’re comparing olive oil vs avocado oil for skin, their potential uses for skin and hair as well as cooking are very similar.
• If you have acne-prone or oily skin, avocado oil may not be the best pick for you and olive oil may work better. However, if you have normal or dry skin, you may find that avocado oil agrees with you and really improves the health of your skin.