Natural lipids support the skin’s functions
The skin barrier is mainly controlled by three families of lipids – ceramides, fatty acids and cholesterol.
When incorporated into creams, plant-based natural lipids can help the skin fulfill important functions:
They can help strengthen the skin barrier and reduce moisture loss.
They can help stimulate cell growth or inhibit inflammation.
In natural cosmetics or organic cosmetics, they are therefore used as the “basis” for creams. With similar characteristics as the human sebum, these lipids come from different plants and can be optimally absorbed and processed by the skin.
Vegetable oils are rich in triglycerides, different fatty acids. The large molecules of the oils and fats remain on the surface of the skin and form a film, almost identical to our sebum. As a result, the skin can still breathe very well, but moisture can no longer evaporate as quickly.
Depending on what type of oils are used on the skin, thy can also act against bacteria, fungi or microbes. Lipids also have other important functions: they supply cells with energy and help them metabolize.
Vegetable oils and fats are obtained through various methods.
For example, almond oil is pressed from the ripe fruits of the Prunus dulcis tree. This oil has excellent moisturizing properties and is rich in antioxidants and unsaturated fatty acids.
Castor oil is obtained from the seeds of the Ricinus communis and consists of 80% triglycerides.
In addition to oils, there are also vegetable fats. These have a higher proportion of saturated fatty acids, but are also often referred to as “oils” due to their low melting points. Shea butter is one of them. It is obtained from the nuts of the African karité tree. The fat in the karité nut helps stimulate the collagen synthesis in the skin, so shea butter has an anti-aging effect. It can also provide moisture, antioxidants and suppleness.
You can find all these vegetable oils and fats in the products of our GREEN series – luxurious natural cosmetics with hyaluronic acid.