Avocado

What is avocado and how is it used in natural skincare products? 

Avocado is a fruit with a high fat content and lots of nutritional benefits for your body and your skin. Typically avocado is found as an oil in natural skincare which comes from crushing the central seed of ripe avocados. You can spot a high quality avocado oil by the greenish tint and natural botanical fragrance.

It's a carrier oil so is a stabilising ingredient that's frequently used to help active substances be transported into the skin because it has a high penetration rate.

What are the properties of avocado oil and how will they benefit skin? 

Avocado oil is a triglyceride which is an emollient that helps replenish the skin and prevent moisture loss. It contains many fatty acids such as omega 3 and 9 as well as palmitic acid which makes it a very effective moisturiser. Avocado oil is particularly good at combating the effects of light over or under exposure and is ranked highly by the Encylopedia of Chemical Technology for sun screening versus other plant oils.

It's great on dark circles (Vitamin K), but also minimising the damage caused by the sun (Vitamin PP). Not only this but it contains phytosterols, a plant compound similar to cholesterol, which may minimise the slowing down of collagen production which happens as we age. Then there's also vitamins A, D and E and carotinoids. 

What skin types is avocado suitable for?

Avocado oil is helpful to oily or blemished skin and can also soothe sensitive skin. 

What type of skin and bodycare products will you find avocado in?

Because avocado oil is great all round skincare ingredient because it is very stable, you'll find it in creamy cleansers, hydrating moisturisers, bath oils, lipsticks and body products due to its moisturising and bactericidal (bacteria killing) properties. 

What is the INCI Name for avocado? 

The INCI name for avocado is persea gratissima

Shop natural skincare products with avocado

Sources & disclaimer

• Winter, Ruth. A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients, 7th Edition. Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale.  

• Milady Skincare and Cosmetic Ingredients Dictionary 4th Edition; M. Varinia Michalun, Joseph C. Dinardo

• An Atlas of Natural Beauty: Botanical ingredients for retaining and enhancing beauty L'Officine Universelle Buly

• Practical Aromatherapy - The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Choosing, Massaging and Relaxing with Essnetial Oils. Penny Rich

Whilst we hope the pages are informative it’s important to remember we’re organic beauty enthusiasts not scientists so the information is detailed here to the best of our knowledge or research we have conducted from third parties.  Whilst we are continually updating our content based on new research, it may not always be up to date and as such it is the readers’ responsibility to conduct their own research in order to independently verify the information and make an informed decision on their beauty regime/lifestyle. Any opinion expressed on the efficacy of a product is based on tests performed by our team. As everyone has different skin types and concerns, please be advised that what works for them might not work for you but we try to give as much subjective information as possible which we hope you will find useful. If in any doubt, please consult a medical professional.