Extra virgin oil is the king of food oils to get when it comes to enhancing health and beauty — virgin and refined just don’t cut it enough. Here’s why.
You’ve likely read it countless times on a label — refined, virgin, or extra virgin — but when you don’t know which from what, your cluelessness can cost you in the beauty department. It’s high time you educate yourself on what to look for and why, so that your skin, nails, and hair glow or shine by a mile, so long as you use drops of extra virgin oil.
The modifiers “refined,” “virgin,” or “extra virgin” refer to the process manufacturers use when producing oils. Extra virgin oils are the least processed by food factory machines and keep to the highest note of flavor, nourishment, and fragrance of the three categories. (Refined oils have zero taste or fragrance of the food it hails from, while “virgin” keeps to moderate levels of flavor, nourishment, and fragrance.) Extra virgin oils entail the most expensive category.
Processing the oil to a point of refinement means cleaning it with chemicals and then heating it. By doing so, the shelf life of the food oil is prolonged, which plays to the interests of the food industry, but strips away some of the food oil’s benefits that enhance health and beauty in men and women everywhere. In this way, highly processed oils do not directly favor body health as much as virgin or extra virgin oils, though the highly refined oil is known to be excellent for cooking.
Firstly, extra virgin oils have undergone the least processing, which means more nutrition per every bit you smooth over your skin, hair, or nails. Remember, it is a FOOD oil — one that naturally features a handsome gamut of food nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, and more. When it’s placed on clean (always clean!) skin, hair, or nails, it is absorbed by the body and provides nourishment so the cells of your skin grow optimally, and your hair and nails are steeped in this all-natural moisturizer.
In just a jiffy, your skin is less dry, your nails are healthier, and hair dandruff, flyaways, and split ends are kept at bay. Remember, your skin, hair, and nails absorb everything! With certain food oils containing even antimicrobial properties — like coconut oil and olive oil — a little bit of the fine stuff can go a long way in checking fugly microbes on your body.
Another pleasant benefit is the fragrance of some of the oils — extra virgin processing allows for the fragrance of the food oil to be preserved so that notes of the aroma can radiate from your skin, hair, or nails. In other words, it allows you to step out and smell wonderful to the world!
In addition, extra virgin oils contain fewer chemicals — the kind that are sometimes harsh for your skin, hair, and nails. Opt for unfiltered, cold-pressed, or stone-pressed oils when choosing which extra virgin oil to add to your beauty regimen. These processes ensure the oil has not undergone heating or filtering, which typically adds chemicals to the oil.
It’s true that slathering too much extra virgin oil can cause blockage of your skin’s pores, and make your hair and nails a little greasy. To completely avoid this and optimize your use of the edible beauty oils, remember to just use tiny amounts so that your skin, hair, and nails don’t get overwhelmed by the fatty content of the oil in question.
When there are so many oils to choose from in the vast universe of beauty care, which oils are most worthy of your attention?
For skin: When supple, glowing, and healthy skin is your goal, natural oils like olive, argan, and avocado are wonderful for soothing dry and tired skin, beating inflammation, and evening out skin texture/tone in the long run. The vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acid content in these oils help lock in moisture, big-time!
For hair: You have to take your hair type into consideration when shopping for the best natural oil for your hair. If you have dry hair, a deeply hydrating choice like argan oil will help your hair cuticles lay flat so that frizz is a thing of the past. Oily hair types do well with any hair strengthening blend of lemongrass and coconut oil that should definitely work magic! In turn, dandruff or dry scalp sufferers will find sigh-worthy relief with almond and peppermint oils.
For nails: The best natural oils to use on cuticles and nails have nourishing vitamin E, which strengthen nail beds so you’re less likely to suffer from nail splitting. These also heal cracked skin around the nails.
Look for oils like almond, coconut, and sunflower. Rub drops of the oils onto your nails and cuticles at bedtime so the moisture is absorbed — this way, the all-night beautifying process for your nails begins.
Persuaded? Add a bottle or two of extra virgin oil to your beauty cabinet and spring for the all-natural solution to your looks! So easy, it’s a breeze — a little a day on your skin, hair, and nails can go a stretch of a long way.
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