Frankly Speaking Friday- Sea Buckthorn Oil

Although this post would nicely fit into a "Teaching Tuesday", I have been deeply rooted in the study of oils as of late, since I am reformulating many of my recipes and inventing a few new ones. While I have posted about this oil in the Exotic Oil series, it bears an additional look imho! 

Sea Buckthorn, botanically known as Hippophae Rhamnoides, is a small, scrubby shrub, native to Russia and the northern parts of China and Mongolia. It produces a fruit berry, which is then used to make the oil. The oil is made by cold pressing the shrub's berries, or the berry seeds, or a combination of the two.  A small layer of oil is isolated within a vat of pressed material, which is then vacuumed off and separated as the "pure oil". It takes around 10 pounds of berries, maybe more, to produce 1 pound of this pure oil. 




The oil itself is a deep orangish red color, and has the consistency and the viscosity of syrup. It posesses  large amounts of Phytosterol, Vitamin E, Beta-Carotene, Anti-Oxidants, and Carotenoid, which are responsible for its success as a skin repairing and conditioning oil.


Traditionally, sea buckthorn has been used to treat a wide range of skin ailments. It is known for its nourishing, regenerative, and restorative properties. Superficially, this oil is used to assist in the healing of skin injuries, burns, wounds, eczema, lesions, sun damaged skin, and abrasions. This oil is known for softening skin, regenerating skin cells, moisturizing, and also for its anti-inflammatory properties. Additionally, this oil is great for helping to restore the skin's barrier function, and reducing the transepidermal water loss. Studies are currently being performed to determine Sea Buckthorn oil's ability to combat wrinkles, acute dryness and other symptoms of premature skin ageing.


Aside from being vey popular as a skin tretament, sea buckthorn oil has also been studied and tested for internal use, as a dietary supplement. The sea buckthorn berry is the least publicized of all the super fruits, but this tiny orange jewel delivers more than 190 bioactive nutrients, is packed with antioxidants, and offers twelve times the vitamin C of one orange. Studies have shown that it helps in promoting blood circulation, in the treatment of colitis, stomach ulcers, and is even a soothing agent for the intestinal tract.




This oil generally has a shelf life of about 6 months, and will solidify when it is exposed to low temperatures, so it should be stored at room temp. In its undiluted, concentrated form, this oil will stain the skin, surfaces and even your clothing, so exercise  caution when using, make sure to spread evenly and to dilute it appropriately.