if you care about what goes in your body, you've probably heard that seed oils are bad for you. so when people see "safflower seed oil" at the top of our ingredient list, i get the question: why would you put a seed oil in a clean product?
it's a fair question. i ask the same kind of question about everything since my hormone diagnoses. here's the honest answer.
the seed oil debate is about eating them
the conversation around seed oils is about diet: how much refined oil people eat, mostly through fried and processed food. that's a nutrition debate, and it's a separate conversation from what a small amount of oil does on the surface of your skin. eating something and applying it are not the same thing.
what linoleic acid does for skin
classic safflower and sunflower oils are rich in linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid your skin uses to build and maintain its barrier, the outer layer that holds moisture in. a review of topical plant oils in the international journal of molecular sciences (lin et al., 2018) found that linoleic-acid-rich oils support skin barrier function and hydration. the same review notes that oils very high in oleic acid can be harder on the barrier, which is one reason the type of oil matters.
why safflower is our base
- it's light. it absorbs quickly, so your skin feels soft instead of greasy.
- it plays well with scent. a light base lets the fragrance wear close without feeling heavy.
- it's plant-based. no mineral oil, no silicones, no petrolatum.
it works alongside castor, argan, sweet almond, apricot kernel and jojoba oils, plus squalane and vitamin e. you can see every ingredient, and what each one does, on what's in it.
the short version
you can skip seed oils in your kitchen and still use one on your skin. they're doing two different jobs. i'm not a doctor or a dietitian, and this isn't medical advice. it's why i chose the base i did.
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