Before people got excited about kale, quinoa, and psyllium there was avocado. It’s the original superfood — delicious, versatile, and packed with nutrients.
Avocados are full of beneficial fatty acids and contain 20 vitamins and minerals. All those good fats keep your skin supple, springy and moisturized and, in combination with vitamins E and C, they help protect your skin from harmful UV rays.
Avocado oil can also be applied directly to your skin to provide a range of all-natural beauty benefits, which is why it’s the star ingredient in Okana’sAvocado Smash Body Butter.
Here are some of the ways avocado oil can help your skin every day:
1. Nourish and moisturize
The fatty accids in avocados can deeply penetrate the skin to nourish, soften and hydrate. At the same time, avocado oil delivers minerals like potassium and nutrients like lecithin that help keep your skin healthy and beautiful.
2. Relieve itchiness and irritation
Cold-pressed, unrefined avocado oil can relieve itchiness and irritation in dry or damaged skin This may be especially helpful if you suffer from a skin condition. Research has shown that eczema sufferers have lower levels of important fatty acids in their skin. Avocado oil can supplement that deficiency and reduce symptoms.
If you suffer from psoriasis, there’s solid research suggesting that avocado oil is an effective long-term treatment. However, you should always test a patch of skin before applying more widely in case of a rare negative reaction.
3. Heal wounds faster
If you work in a trade, do a lot of gardening, or just have an affectionate pet cat, you probably end up with cuts and scratches all the time. Avocado oil has many properties that help wounds heal quickly.
In particular, avocados are rich in vitamin B, which helps your immune system create antibodies to avoid infection. The plentiful vitamin C in avocadoes helps your body produce collagen, which is needed to grow the scar tissue and skin cells needed to repair injuries.
4. Reduce acne
Avocado oil is an amazing treatment for acne symptoms, and regular use can reduce or eliminate the occurrence of acne over time. Here’s how it works:
- Avocado oil has natural anti-inflammatory properties that reduce the redness and swelling that acne causes.
- Applying avocado oil directly to the skin accelerates skin cell renewal, clearing up acne faster. By helping your skin heal, avocado oil can also minimize acne lesions and scars.
- By improving overall skin health and keeping skin moisturized, avocado oil also makes it less likely acne will flare up again in future.
5. Soothe sunburn
Of course, avoiding sunburn is the best remedy, but if you do get a dose of UV, avocado oil can help. The vitamin E, beta carotene, vitamin D, protein, lecithin and essential fatty acids in avocado oil can all be beneficial in soothing and healing sunburned skin.
6. Avoid crepey skin
Ageing, loss of moisture from the skin, and rapid weight loss can all lead to something called crepey skin — skin that is thin, loose, and finely wrinkled.
The effectiveness of avocado oil in keeping skin moisturized and healthy makes it great for keeping crepey skin at bay. Consider expanding your moisturizing routine from your face, neck and chest to your whole body to maintain beautiful, healthy skin on your arms, legs, and torso.
Body moisturizers with avocado oil can also help improve the look of crepey skin by help helping to repair and plump up skin cells.
7. Get nice nails
The vitamins, folate, and plant proteins in avocados are all great for your nails. By applying raw avocado oil directly to your nails, cuticles, and the skin around your nails each night, you’ll get great results. The fatty acids in the oil will carry all that good stuff deep into your skin and nails, encouraging nails that are strong, healthy, and look great!
