Palm oil is not only useful in food; it’s good for your skin and hair too. It’s found in many soaps, shampoos and cosmetics, where the nutritional profile makes it an essential source of vitamins for the body.
What’s in Palm Oil that is Good for Our Skin?
Before palm oil is processed, it is yellowish red in colour, which indicates a high carotenoid content. Carotenoids are one of the most potent substances in protecting your skin from the sun and preventing exposure to UV radiation.
According to the US National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), palm oil is one the most abundant natural sources of tocotrienols and tocopherols, part of vitamin E.
Red palm oil also contains Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), a natural antioxidant in every human body cell that declines with age. Therefore, increasing the intake of CoQ10 in skin care can help prevent premature aging and make skin look healthy.
Research has shown that CoQ10 can also protect the skin and increase elasticity and collagen content in the skin, which is why it’s a popular ingredient in body and facial skincare products.
Taking Care of Your Skin and Hair with Palm Oil
Palm oil has been used for beauty treatments for thousands of years, and is found in many products today, from soaps and shampoos to cosmetics and lotions.
If you’re interested in natural skincare at home, you can apply red palm oil directly to your skin while doing a light massage. You can mix a little water to make the substances in it work optimally.
Regularly massaging your body and face while applying red palm oil can also help lock in moisture.
However, remember that red palm oil could leave yellowish stains on clothes or furniture in your home, so you should be careful when using it.
In addition to body and facial skincare, you can also use red palm oil for hair care. You can apply a spoonful of red palm oil to your hair and use it as a mask before shampooing, as it can help protect your hair from sun exposure and exposure to chlorine, salt, or other harmful substances.
Apart from being used as a mask, you can also use red palm oil and the conditioner you use after shampoo or hair vitamins that you apply when your hair is half dry.
This treatment can also make your hair feel soft. If you have curly hair, red palm oil is also great for your hair.
