October brings in the change of seasons and of course at the end of it, we have the world-famous Halloween celebration. We start to see pumpkins everywhere around us along with pumpkin carvings, witches, ghosts and trick or treats. With all this witchery in mind and while preparing for my child’s halloween theme and costume this year, I started to think about pumpkin seed oil.
Did you know that pumpkin seed oil plays a trick with our eyes?
I had no knowledge of this until I bought a bottle for myself to try and let me tell you I was quite surprised by this odd characteristic.
Pumpkin seed oil of course comes from the very healthy pumpkin seeds that we snack on, and those are surely green in colour. With that in mind I was expecting to see a greenish coloured oil, and that was, in fact, exactly what I saw when I used a little bit of it to sample. Also, in Central Europe where pumpkin seed oil has traditionally been used for centuries not only for culinary purposes but also for its medicinal properties, it is named the “green gold”.
To my surprise though, while I was researching its skin benefits, I read that it was red in colour. My first thought was “Red?! What do you mean red? Its green! I saw it firsthand!”.
So I delved a little deeper into this matter and I discovered that pumpkin seed oil is one of some substances that have a characteristic called “dichromatism”. What this means is that when in a thin layer it appears to be green to our eyes, while appearing to be a very deep red when in a larger quantity.
Naturally I went back to that bottle again to confirm this phenomena and true enough as I kept pouring, it changed colour right before my eyes.
So what makes pumpkin seed oil special for your skin?
– It has a high percentage of Linoleic acid.
– It also has a high content of minerals like magnesium, selenium, potassium and zinc.
How does pumpkin seed oil benefit your skin?
– It is also loaded with high percentages of vitamins A, E, C and K.
– It has high levels of carotenoids, which gives it that deep red colour.
– In studies carried out, pumpkin seed oil has been shown to reduce inflammation and promote skin healing.
– Pumpkin seed oil also has antimicrobial properties that make it ideal for acne prone skin.
– Pumpkin seed oil is both soothing and firming for the skin making it ideal in age protective formulations.
– Pumpkin seed oil helps in the synthesis of collagen and elastin in the skin.
With all its good properties, pumpkin seed oil is indeed very hydrating and nourishing to both the skin and hair. It is surely as much a superfood for the skin as it is a superfood for our health when ingested.
If you enjoy learning about natural ingredients you might like to read about avocado oil.
