There are many oils labelled as “NATURAL” but “how much natural” are they “really” ??? What does the word “natural” really mean, and what can be labelled and sold as “natural” ? ... Let’s see, but first ... lets starts with some BASICS.
Natural vegetable oils are obtained from either Seeds, Nuts, Kernels, Beans, or the Flesh/Fruit of the plant from which the oil will take its name, ... like the avocado oil, jojoba oil, sesame oil, apricot oil, hazelnut oil, and many more. All these oils will have their own specific natural compounds (like vitamin, minerals, omegas, ...) that will give them their colour, smell, viscosity, and of course, their therapeutic properties. The “natural therapeutic quality” of the oil produced will vary upon the “quality” of the plant material used (which is affected by its environment/cultivation, the time of harvest, the freshness, etc.), and very important, by the extraction process needed to obtain the oil and any other process that the oil will go through before reaching your skin.
To keep it simple, ... Good Natural Vegetable Oil for the skin should BE at best:
1) From natural BIO-ORGANIC raw materials ... or at least, the most bio-organic as possible !!!
2) Not obtained by solvent extraction but ... COLD PRESSED by Traditional Mechanical Extraction possibly carried “throughout” the below 50°/60°C temperature to preserve vital ingredients alive that higher temperature might destroy. ... Please be aware that “cold pressed” temperature “limits” do vary quite a lot from different countries and still the oil can be labelled as such, therefore do check the oil country of extraction and the producer to make sure it is carried to a temperature suitable for your purpose.
3) NOT REFINED ... which means, that the vegetable oil obtained after extraction did not go through all those industrialised process that “refined oils” go through like:
- De-gumming (carried at about 60°C with phosphoric acid, it will remove most lecithin, chlorophyll and some minerals),
- Refining (carried at 75°C, the oil will be mixed with caustic soda and other chemicals to remove many of the fatty acids also known as Omegas, plus other minerals),
- Bleaching (carried at about 110°C that will remove most pigments and beta-carotene, plus destroy more of the few survived fatty acid),
- Deodorisation (carried at high temperature between 240°C - 270°C for 30-60 minutes, that will ... ... ... I guess by now there is not much left in the oil of those “precious vital therapeutic ingredients” from that original “natural” oil obtained just after extraction !!! ,
- and not even last ... the Preservation process where mainly anti-oxidants (like Vitamin E) will be added to help prevent oil oxidation.
The REFINING process will allow a much wider distribution thanks to the more “standardised" composition and lighter scent/colour of the final oil, that would be accepted as suitable by the most public, SPA and cosmetic business companies, and therefore make it easier to sell. These refined oils can be sold as “natural” and even “bio-organic” if made from bio-organic natural materials.
SO, ... if you do buy and use a “natural cold pressed” and even “bio-organic” oil that has gone through the refining process, “how much natural” is still that oil “for you” ?! ... But don’t get me wrong, that “oil” however extracted and being refined is “natural” as it is not synthetic but made with/from “real” natural even organic oils/ingredients !!!
Unfortunately, many of the “natural” oils in shops, used in Wellness SPA and by massage therapists, or used as ingredients in creams/lotions/serums by cosmetic companies, have all gone through the refining processes. The price of all this is paid by YOUR SKIN not having a “more complete” natural oil with ALL the beneficial and “alive” therapeutic compounds that would have had if not gone through all those processes ! ... Well, there are still some of them, but surely not as much as before !!!
Some Un-refined Natural Oils might be more difficult to find than others, and if you work within the wellness and cosmetic field, you know that often clients prefer oils and products with a “pleasurable” or a more “light/neutral” smell, in which case ... you might have to opt for natural oils that have gone through the refining process, ... so that cosmetic products will be more “easy to sell” and massage oils more "accepted and easy to mix” with other ingredients like pleasurable scents, aromas and essential oils.
When searching for a good Un-Refined natural oil, do look at smaller companies (even locally) that value quality above profit and prefer to use good quality of plant materials to produce their oil (Nuts/Seeds/Kernels/Flesh/Beans), that will still use traditional mechanical methods of extraction at lower temperature, and that are passionately careful to preserve the vital therapeutic ingredients within the oils they produce. Their oil might cost much more but the “value” of that oil is much higher than the others, and your skin will be grateful.
Natural oils are precious natural products, a “golden” gift from the vegetable world. In the past “oils” were considerate highly “precious” and often used in ceremonies. Even in the bible Jesus had oils poured on his feet to “wash” them, ... a highly meaningful gesture.
So, when you finally manage to find that great bio-organic unrefined natural oil, keep it safe, be careful on its storage/conservation requirements in order to prevent its deterioration and oxidation, ... and then enjoy it on your skin !!!
Now that you know more, choose wisely as your skin will absorb the oil that you will use on it !!!
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Promoting Wellness ... by MMH.
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