Alex asks: I read that Canola Oil
The Right Brain responds:
Before we talk about its benefits, we’ll explain why Canola is one of the most controversial of all the vegetable cooking oils.
What is Canola oil?
As you might guess, Canola oil comes from the seeds of the Canola plant. You might guess that, but you’d be WRONG. Canola oil actually comes from the rapeseed plant. For some strange reason, women didn’t seem inclined to buy a product called “Rape Oil,” so in the late 1970s, Canadian rapeseed growers renamed their product Canola, which is an abbreviation for “Canadian Oil, Low Acid.” Voila, sales of Canola oil took off. Then, disaster struck a few years later when Canola oil was hit with more bad press: it was found to cause glaucoma and Mad Cow Disease. Psych! That connection actually turned out to be just an urban myth. So despite a rocky start, Canola oil finally established itself as a popular cooking oil.
Can Canola condition skin?
Ok, so it’s good to cook with, but is it good for skin? The answer is yes, no, and maybe. First of all, whatever benefit Canola has on skin, it’s unlikely to be related to alphahydroxy acids. In fact, we can’t find any reference to alpha hydroxy acids in Canola, which makes sense since those acids are water soluble and generally come from fruits. (If you’ve seen any credible sources that say something different, let us know and we’ll check them out.)
Instead of AHAs, at least one study suggests that naturally high levels of sterols might give Canola oil the ability to soothe skin that is irritated by surfactants. But these studies showed little effect on normal skin. And other studies show no benefit at all. But even if Canola Oil
The Beauty Brains bottom line:
If you have irritated skin you may see some benefit from Canola oil. But for most people it probably doesn’t make enough of a difference to justify spending more money. A regular moisturizer will work just fine.
(By the way term “rape” in rapeseed is derived the Latin “rapum,” which means turnip. That’s because turnips, rutabagas, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts are related to the rapeseed plant.)
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Uh, spend more money? I cook with it, so I think it is pretty cheap. I bet that it is much cheaper than a regular moisturizer. Isn’t it?
You’re right Cindy, it is pretty cheap a cooking oil. But it wouldn’t surprise me if some cosmetic company came up with a Canola oil based product and tried to charge more because it contained “purified, low saturated fat oil” instead of nasty old mineral oil.
My skin can definitely be easily irritated but is it by “surfactants”? What are surfactants?
According to Wikipedia, “Surfactants, also known as tensides, are wetting agents that lower the surface tension of a liquid, allowing easier spreading, and lower the interfacial tension between two liquids.”
I still don’t get it.
Karen: Surfactants are a fancy term for detergents. Think of them as a type of soap, although that’s not exactly technically correct.
Read the articles that explain how harmful lotions actually are. Many of the ingredients cause cancer. You can just type ”is lotion harmful” in the search engine and you’ll find what your looking for. I would much rather put oil ( extra virgin olive oil) in replace to any type of lotion on the market. Oatmeal works wonders too look that up as well.
i’d rather put any kid of oil — even canola — on my dry skin than a cheap, commercial chemical soup lotion. canola oil is inexpensive, we keep it around to cook with anyway, and it’s odorless which is a plus when your boyfriend hates the strong nutty scent of richer oils like shea or olive. in a pinch, i’ll rub a bit on my hands after say, doing dishes since it’s in the kitchen anyway and it’s great for a light bit of conditioning to dry hair too.
I add salt and some essential oils and use it to make a great exfoliating scrub for in the shower. I agree that I’d rather use an oil that I can pronounce than a lotion full of parabens, mineral oil, and silicones. Olive oil is great, but canola is cheaper and lighter.
I actually use it on my kids right out of the tub and on their hair. It’s great for cooking and moisturizing!
read this:
Canola is at the heart of the gmo debate.
http://www.percyschmeiser.com/
Before buying any canola oil, verify if it is virgen, the processed one is not going to do any good to your skin as ot has become totally saturated and do not contains any more vit E. A good oil for skin especially for face would be one that penetrates quickly like Jojoba and is a good carrier for essential oils
Is “100% Pure Canola Oil” okay..? or is that what you would define as processed??
I used rapeseed oil on my face from asaim shop and it burned myface do not use it!!!
Jackie, I suspect what you used (“rapeseed oil”) from the aisain shop may have actually been mustard oil. This is used in some types of asian cooking, and as mustard plants are closely related to Canola/rapeseed, there may have been a translation issue in the labelling. see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustard_oil
Whoops, posted before I was done.
My point was: mustard oil is a skin irritant. On the other hand, I have canola oil on my face right now, and I`m fine (sample size of one, yo).
I use canola oil to make bath bombs , works well and is inexpensive.
Canola oil is a great skin moisturizer. Just make sure you buy organic Canola oil (you get it at Target). Its more expensive but it is worth it for several reasons. The regular non-organic Canola oil is Genetically Modified, is loaded with pesticide and is extracted with hexane. (Read extremely bad for health and could cause.) So, whether you are cooking or using on your skin go organic. Plus, you can mix in your favorite essential oil and voila you have a great smelling healthy moisturizer.
*oops, could cause cancer, above.
@Kelly: Thanks for your comments. Can you please add some additional facts so readers can draw their own conclusions from your comments?
1. How much is “regular” canola oil genetically modified? And what is wrong with genetic modification in this case? What harm does it cause?
2. Trace amounts of pesticides show up a lot of places. Remember that the dose makes the poison. When you say canola oil is “loaded” with pesticides how much do you really mean and what are your sources for that information?
3, Assuming hexane is used in the extraction process for canola oil it’s probably boiled off at the end of the processing cycle. What exactly is the concern with using hexane?
What’s up everybody, first off i just wanna get off by saying Im a black guy with very perfect looking skin so i know exactly what Im talking about, Canada oil is not a dangerous oil at all, as might of its right next to olive oil with it comes to safeness, but if are really looking to get any benefits from any oil and that’s actually safe your best would be to just use extra virgin olive oil, any other olive oil you find in the store is not completely natural, but extra virgin olive oil is, and be trying to put some of everything on your skin cause your skin can only take so much, that’s what i use to do and trust me you don’t wanna go there and and be putting different things on your skin, all you need to do is find you a completely natural process and stick with that and it might seem like its not clearing up but trust me it will just give it time, everybody skin works differently, and some people skin might seem to heal slow but it will heal, store brand products will not make your skin heal scaring, acne any better then completely natural stuff that benefits your skin, and those who are selling those on the market is only trying to make money, and they get alot of the ingredients from natural stuff then they mix it with chemicals, perfumes, fragrance and all that stuff which is actually bad and can do harm to your skin so yeah the idea here is to stop using everything on your stick with basics and that drink plenty of water wash your face daily, and twice if you have oily skin, moisture after wash, and now this is what’s actually going to remove scaring which is the dead skin and its exfoliating your skin at least once a week, you should not exfoliating everyday or unless your are trying to bruise your skin oh yeah and i know you know not to use bar of soaps on your skin don’t do that neither, and last but definitely not least drink plenty of water and as much as you can water don’t only help Improve your skin but it gives good looking albs too, and you can use olive oil or Canada or Canada oil as a moisturizer but olive oil is definitely best, and may be the best moisturizer in the world who knows.
I recently started using canola oil on my skin by a coincidence, and though it might be too early to be certain the results so far are amazing and I want to spread the word.
My skin renews too fast. Especially on my face and legs and it makes it look really dry and I have to peel and scrub it at least every other day. I also have a light form of seborrheic eczema.
Most lotions, oils and creams don’t work at all and the best ones “glues” it together so it doesn’t show in a few hours.
Cortisone works, but it is not a solution since it gradually destroys the skin..
I rubbed canola/rapeseed oil on my skin immediately after showers, while still warm and wet since the oil is thick and hard to work with on dry skin.
After a few days I noticed my skin wasn’t in need of its usual scrubbing!
So I started using it on my face too, with the same result!
Instead of scraping my entire face off every morning I now manage with a light scrubbing of the worst areas every 4-5 days!
So I read on the internet about some studies indicating that canola oil contains sterols almost as effective as cortisone, but without its side effects, and that is simply amazing!
If you are interested, here’s how I do it:
I wash my face with warm water (no soap!) or the OCM method.
Sometimes I put on some aloe vera gel or light organic face cream for moisture.
Then i take a few drops of organic virgin canola oil and massage it into the skin.
(Virgin because you want all the nutrients still in the oil and organic because it is always safer not to use traces of pesticides and chemicals on your delicate skin than taking the risk, and much better for the planet.)
Is there any evidence that Canola oil taken internally can benefit skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis? Has anyone had any experience with this?
@Laura: Never seen any studies about ingested canola oil increasing skin moisture level. Psoriasis is another story all together!