Pricey oils like Rosehip and Prickly Pear seed oil get love from beauty blogs, but there's another oil sensitive skin will love, and it costs way less.

Is Sunflower Oil Good for Your Skin?

We consider Sunflower Seed oil to be one of the unsung heroes of natural skincare for some very good reasons.

Sunflower oil is good for skin because it strengthens your skin barrier and improves skin hydration.

Sunflower seed oil is not an expensive or "precious" natural skincare oil largely because sunflowers are super easy to grow. They aren't finicky and they produce a huge head of seeds that are rich with oil. The abundance of something can make it easy to overlook the true value, though.  Sometimes great things are literally right in our backyards!

Sunflower seed oil doesn't have the exotic marketing appeal of ingredients from faraway places, so the skincare industry doesn't sing its praises constantly.  Most skincare manufacturers like to evoke mystery and magic in their sales copy, and since everyone knows Sunflowers they don't grab that kind of attention.  They're like the girl or boy next door - friendly and familiar. 

Sunflower Oil For Eczema

Because of its barrier building properties Sunflower Seed oil is a mild and protective natural skincare oil that is often used alone and in skincare formulas to moisturize skin suffering from eczema. It can help make your skin less reactive to environmental stress.  The fatty acid composition and Vitamin E content of Sunflower oil are part of why this oil is great for skin with eczema

Sunflower Oil Fatty Acid Composition

Sunflower seed oil's skin benefits come partly from its fatty acid composition.  Different varieties of Sunflowers will also yield very different fatty acids, so if you're buying this oil to use in DIY skincare it's important to know what you're getting.

Sunflower oil is made up of mostly Linoleic and Oleic fatty acids, also known as Omega 6 and Omega 9.

The Best Sunflower Oil for Skin

The type of Sunflower oil that is best for skin is high in Linoleic fatty acid.  Many varieties produced for food use are high in Oleic fatty acid, so you'll want to look beyond your grocery store shelf if you want to put Sunflower oil on your face.

The variety of Sunflower oil that is best for skin will have approximately the following fatty acid composition:

• Linoleic Fatty Acid (Omega 6) - 60-66%
• Oleic Fatty Acid (Omega 9) - 22%-27%
• Palmitic Fatty Acid - about 6.5%
• Stearic Fatty Acid - about 2%

Sunflower oil has almost no Linolenic fatty acid, which is Omega 3.  You'll have to look to other oils to get that.

Human skin has a lot of Essential Fatty Acids like Linoleic fatty acid in it, and an adequate amount of Linoleic fatty acid is important to having a healthy skin barrier. In fact skin conditions like rosacea, eczema, and acne are often associated with reduced Linoleic fatty acid levels in skin.  Supplementing your skin with topical Sunflower oil can help replenish your levels of this crucial protective compound!

The Vitamin E Benefits of Sunflower Oil On Your Face

Sunflower Seed oil carries a serious load of Vitamin E with it. Vitamin E is not just one compound, but a suite of related nutrients called tocopherols and tocotrienols.

Vitamin E part of having healthy skin, and your body is supplies Vitamin E to skin through sebum. The levels of Vitamin E are greater in the epidermis than in the dermis. 

Should You Get Vitamin E From Food Or Skin Care?

If you ingest Vitamin E in supplement form or in your foods it will take 7 days for that Vitamin E to reach your skin, which means that topical application is the fastest way to supplement your skin's natural levels if you need immediate support. Vitamin E production levels decline with age as well, so mature skin types may wish to supplement natural levels on a consistent basis.

One tablespoon contains 6.1 milligrams of Vitamin E, or 40% of our daily dietary requirement.  Vitamin E is actually not just a single chemical compound but a family including tocopherols and tocotrienols.  Some are better for human health than others.

Sunflower seed oil contains 6 times the amount of Alpha-tocopherol as Olive Oil.  Alpha-tocopherol is the most beneficial chemical form of Vitamin E for humans.  Other forms of tocopherols include beta, gamma, and delta tocopherols.  Soybean and Canola oils are both very high in gamma tocopherols, which have been noted as having the effect of causing increased inflammation in the body.  Conversely high content of Alpha-tocopherol has an anti-inflammatory effect on the human body.

Using Sunflower oil on your face in your skincare routine boosts your free radical protection because of its high Vitamin E content. Vitamin E is particularly good for protecting other oils in your skin's barrier because of its antioxidant action.  That helps keep your cells from sustaining damage and showing the signs of aging.  Vitamin E also works with Vitamin C synergistically to renew it and put it back to work in your system, which means even more antioxidant activity.

Vitamin E also has an anti-inflammatory effect, and has been shown to help improve eczema.

Even More Skin Care Benefits from Sunflower Oil

Sunflower seed oil also contains healthy plant sterols and squalene, plus lecithin and carotenoids. Plant sterols are a still-emerging area of research and some studies have shown anti-cancer properties and improved collagen maintenance.  Lecithin is a penetration enhancer as it has the ability to bind both water and oil, and helps other nutrients travel more deeply into the skin.  Carotenoids can have age defense benefits.

Sunflower Seed Oil in Skin Care

Sunflower oil can be a major ingredient in natural creams, cleansers, and oil blends.  To get the benefits of Sunflower oil for your skin make sure it is listed high up on the ingredients list, that it is organic, and optimally unrefined so you get the maximum Vitamin E.

Try this creamy, moisturizing natural face cleanser including Sunflower oil or this skin barrier building Hand & Body Cream to see if it can help your skin.

More Cool Sunflower Facts

Another really cool thing about sunflowers is that they have a potent ability to remediate contaminated soil! This means these healers of the land can be planted to make land suitable for human farming again. The genotypes used for remediation and consumption vary, so you don't need to worry about contaminants in your skincare products.  Certified Organic Sunflowers such as those that are used for our skincare products are always grown on clean soil that has been tested and monitored by organic certification agents. 

After sunflowers are done being grown for soil remediation they are disposed of carefully. Using the naturally detoxifying and uptake properties of plants is a non-disruptive way to heal soil versus digging out contaminants.

Nature is so amazing, and these gorgeous flowers deserve a lot of respect for the role they play in skin care and environmental health.

Disclaimer: The information contained on this site is general in nature and for informational purposes. It is not meant to substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professional. None of the statements on this site are a recommendation as to how to treat any particular disease or health-related condition. If you suspect you have a disease or health-related condition of any kind, you should contact your health care professional immediately. Please read all product packaging carefully and consult with a healthcare professional before starting any diet, exercise, supplementation or medication program. Cosmetic products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease.