Apricot kernel oil

My new best friend?

I can put pretty much any oil on my skin - I'm quite lucky in that respect. And I did. For a long time, it was pure coconut oil, and that served me well. I would also blend other oils with predominantly coconut oil.   Jojoba and tamanu oil were used less frequently or in smaller quantities because of the exorbitant cost. In fact, cost was a huge factor in how I decided what to blend, along with what I had on hand.

Then I came across apricot kernel oil. This oil is truly

something else. When I first discovered it, it was the only

oil I would use for quite some time.

It ticked so many boxes.  

It's a light oil.

It absorbs quickly.

It has a very mild (and pleasant) smell.

It's great for sensitive skin.

It's antibacterial.

It's antifungal.

It's affordable (the price of 2 bottles of olive oil, not 7 like jojoba or tamanu).

It has even been reported as an effective anti-carcinogenic.

Plus, the traditional uses such as dry skin, eczema, wrinkles and blemishes.

I began experimenting with different blends. Coconut oil has always been a firm favourite due to its healing qualities, but I decided to give coconut oil a back seat in favour of apricot kernel oil.

Apricot kernel oil is the clear winner. Combined with cocoa butter and shea butter, and still of course coconut oil (although now in a much smaller percentage) the new blend is miles apart from the former.

It's a lighter, creamier mousse-like consistency. It absorbs faster, is less greasy on my skin and best of all my skin feels even softer after using it.

In a lip balm, it is equally effective in healing my stress-induced cold sores and keeping them at bay - a pimple-sized sore quickly begins to reduce and generally has disappeared in a day or so.

There are still quite a few specialty oils I haven't tried, like rosehip and pomegranate - but I am so happy with my current collection, I think it will be some time before I get the urge to adjust my formula.