Mother nature cooks in a dirty kitchen. It uses everything at its disposal to produce what is required, in ways that are most efficient and sustainable. Oils in plants seeds, bark, stem, and other parts are basically to store energy for the long term. This oil helps plants for seasonal resilience, germination of new life, and protection from long-term senescence.

The use of plant oils in skin wellness rituals is as old as human history itself. Oils are not only the source of essential lipids needed by the skin, but they also act as a transportation medium for actives like ceramides and squalene.

Our journey of selecting oils began with the intent to provide the most skin-identical lamellar lipid matrix to the skin. We evaluated more than 80 oils from plants, animals, and synthetic origin and kept the ones we loved based on our rigorous qualification criteria.

Eluxier uses only unrefined natural oils. To our surprise, most of the oils we sourced from markets for evaluation, were significantly adulterated with cheaper carrier oils. We had to, therefore, establish our own oil mill at one of our trusted ingredient suppliers, to freshly cold press oils for us and provide us only the first press, decanted without heat, pressure, or any clarifying agent. Unrefined oils are more than just a lipid fraction, they also contain glycosides, saponins, alkaloids, and polyphenols.

 

Coconut Oil:

Coconut oil, extracted from the matured kernels of coconuts, is renowned for its versatility and brilliant emollience. Its efficacy stems mainly from lauric acid which constitutes about 50% of its content. Lauric acid imparts antimicrobial properties, making coconut oil a potent preventive and therapeutic against various skin conditions such as acne, dermatitis, and fungal infestation.

Coconut oil also contains caprylic and capric acids, contributing to its antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. These acids are also responsible for soothing inflammation and reducing oxidative stress on the skin, promoting a healthier texture.

Furthermore, coconut oil's medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) facilitate quick absorption into the skin, providing instant hydration. This characteristic makes it suitable for all skin types, including sensitive and oily skin.

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Karanja Oil:

Karanja oil, extracted from the seeds of the Pongamia tree (Pongamia pinnata), is a lesser-known, yet effective oil, especially for sun care. Karanja oil mainly contains 3 ingredients, pongamol, karanjin, and flavonoids. Pongamol is a strong antioxidant and antimicrobial, effectively combating free radicals and microbial pathogens that jeopardize skin integrity. Karanjin, is an anti-inflammatory bioactive constituent, primarily contributing to the anti-inflammatory effects of the oil. It is the Karanjin that makes Karanja oil a natural sunscreen. It increases photoprotection and broadens the UV spectrum of sunscreen products, especially in UVB. An SPF of about 20 was measured in vivo for pure oil. Exceptionally active, it also has anti-aging, soothing, and antimicrobial properties. Flavonoids are one of the most efficient natural antioxidants, shielding the skin from environmental aggressors and oxidative stress. Karanja oil's fatty acid profile imparts superior emollience, that promotes hydration, softness, and suppleness, making it an ideal choice for incorporation into sunscreen products.

 

Buchanania Oil:

In Ayurveda, Buchanania or also known as Chironji oil is considered one of the most precious oils for skincare rituals. It is derived from the seeds of the Buchanania lanzan tree. It is a valuable asset in skincare due to its rich composition of oleic acid, linoleic acid, and palmitic acid. Oleic acid, a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid, helps maintain the skin's natural barrier function, preventing moisture loss and promoting softness and suppleness. Linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid, possesses anti-inflammatory properties, aiding in soothing irritated or sensitive skin. Palmitic acid, a saturated fatty acid, contributes to the oil's occlusive properties, forming a protective layer on the skin's surface to lock in moisture and shield against environmental stressors.

Additionally, buchanania oil is rich in vitamins E and A, which help combat free radical damage and promote skin repair and renewal. Vitamin E, in particular, tocopherols and tocotrienols, nourishes the skin, while vitamin A supports cellular turnover, enhancing skin texture and tone. With its nourishing, protective, and rejuvenating properties, buchanania oil offers hydration, soothing relief, and antioxidant support for healthy, radiant skin.

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Moringa Oil:

Moringa oil is a wonderful remedy for skin nutrition. The oil contains more than 10 types of fatty acids, at least 12 types of plant sterols, 3 forms of tocopherol (vitamin E), and significant levels of polyphenols and flavonoids.

Oleic, Palmitic, stearic, and behenic acids provide the emollience while the flavonoids scavenge the free radicals and provide the anti-oxidation activity. The phytosterols act as natural ceramides and help in the repair of the barrier function of the skin. We included moringa oil in our deep moisturizer for immediate recovery of skin deformation, enhanced elasticity (over 4 weeks), reduced erythema, sustained moisturization (up by almost 77% after 4 weeks of consistent use)

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Nigella Oil:

Oil from the seeds of Nigella sativa is rich in terpenes, a class of compounds that have been used for centuries for its slow aging and skin-brightening benefits. The oil is made of around 40% fixed oils, mainly arachidonic, eicosadienoic, linoleic, linolenic, oleic, palmitoleic, palmitic, stearic, and myristic acid. The oil also contains plant sterols like beta-sitosterol,  cycloeucalenol, cycloartenol, sterol esters, and sterol glucosides. Additionally, around 0.5% of volatile oils, mainly Thymoquinone (TQ), thymohydroquinone (THQ) are found in Nigella seed oil, both of these terpenoids have been scientifically proven for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, antibacterial and antifungal activities.

 

Castor Oil:

Castor oil is a fixed oil of the seeds of Ricinus communis. The oil mainly contains glycerides of ricinoleic acid (the reason behind the unique high viscosity of castor oil), iso-ricinoleic, stearic, and dihydroxy stearic acids. Clinical studies have suggested significantly reduced melanin levels, wrinkles, and skin laxity when used for under eye region, a particularly thin skin region on the face. When it comes to barrier repair castor oil is one of the most preferred choices.

The high content of ricinoleic acid helps restore the lipid barrier of the skin and acts as an anti-inflammatory in acne and dermatitis. Research in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences suggests that castor oil may accelerate wound closure and promote tissue regeneration, possibly due to its anti-inflammatory and moisturizing properties.

 

Grapeseed Oil:

Grapeseed oil is extracted from the seeds of Vitis vinifera. Grape seed oil is rich in polyphenolic compounds such as proanthocyanidins, resveratrol, and flavonoids, which exhibit potent antioxidant activity. These antioxidants neutralize free radicals, reducing oxidative stress and protecting skin cells from damage caused by environmental aggressors like UV radiation and pollution. These polyphenols also make grapeseed oil a suitable choice for sunscreen application.

Proanthocyanidins in grape seed extract trigger the release of vascular endothelial growth factor and its topical application causes wound contraction and closure, this finding is particularly useful in wound healing and acne.

Grape seed oil has a very high content of vitamin E, up to 53 mg per 100 g of oil, and 148–358 α-tocopherol equivalents, which is higher than that of soybean oil and olive oil. Some phenolic compounds of grape seed oil have anticancer activities and act in cell cycle modulation, being cytotoxic selectively to tumor cells without compromising healthy cells. Proanthocyanidins are polymers of flavan-3-ol with antiproliferative effects on cancer cells.

 

RiceBran Wax:

Rice bran wax is a by-product of rice bran oil manufacturing. The main fatty acids in Rice Brand Wax are oleic, linoleic, palmitic, and stearic acids. Rice Bran offers prominent anti-skin aging activities and melanogenesis inhibition by suppression of tyrosinase and tyrosinase-related protein-2 enzymes, antioxidant activity by cellular protection against cell damage and cell death, collagen stimulation, the matrix metalloproteinase-1 and matrix metalloproteinase-2 suppression, and the anti-inflammation. Ceramides found in Ricebran wax have a close biomimic profile and help with improving the elasticity of face skin. Above all, rice bran is a UV blocker and 1.5% addition has an SPF value of 23.

 

Mango Butter:

The butter is extracted from the seed kernels of fruits from different species of the Mangifera family, also known as mango. Plants. The seed contains roughly 10-13% oil which is rich in stearic and oleic acid(together they make around 75% of all fatty acids present), which makes the mango butter more stable than polyunsaturated fatty acids containing oils. Also, the antioxidant profile of 1% mango butter is better than several other seed butter. Mango butter is also a good source of tocopherol, Phytosterol, and triterpenes, which are important for UV protection (SPF 3-4). The total tocopherol and tocotrienol content of mango butter is approx 128ppm

 

Ceramides:

We have discussed Ceramides more elaborately in the "Meet Our Actives" section.

 

Isoamyl Laurate:

The non-sticky, light-skin-feel emollient, made from natural raw materials. It is made through a single-step process of enzymatic esterification using green chemistry. It is an ester made of isoamyl alcohol and fatty acids of a vegetable oil. It is used to provide a light, non-sticky feel to the skin. Mainly used in sunscreens to solubilize minerals, due to its brilliant wetting ability.

 

Tocopherol (Vitamin E):

It is readily absorbed by the skin and performs a few critical functions in the epidermis. It inhibits the lipase enzyme responsible for the excretion of arachidonic acid from the cell membrane. Arachidonic acid is the precursor of inflammatory eicosanoids, such as leukotrien B4. Vitamin E has a critical role in water retention by the skin. Repeated topical application of Vitamin E, significantly reduces wrinkle amplitude and skin roughness. It also increases blood flow to the skin by reducing platelet adhesion and stimulating the synthesis of certain prostaglandins and prostacydins.