Ingredient In Focus: Avocado
From make-shift face masks to mountains of guac, avocados are the fruit of the moment (read: the millennium). Smeared by some as a millennial fad, there’s more to this buttery fruit than meets the eye… Not only is it hailed as a superfood for your body, it also offers a wealth of skin-loving properties. Overflowing with essential fatty acids, heaps of vitamins and a generous helping of minerals, it doesn’t take much persuasion for us to slather the favourite of our five-a-day all over our face...
The nourishing fruit butters us up with a blend of skin barrier-strengthening linoleic acid (a building block of essential ceramides) and skin-calming oleic acid (to treat the effects of dryness and sensitivity). Something of a saviour for reactive and oily skin types, avocado oil is a ‘dry’ oil, meaning that is grants deep hydration without leaving greasy residue in its wake: instead, it absorbs easily for a weightlessly moisturised finish. Pressed from the fatty parts of the fruit, omegas 3 and 6 work with monounsaturated fatty acids to encourage cell repair – replenishing damaged cells, softening dryness and calming irritation.
Beyond smoothing ‘n soothing, the avocado fruit is also a dab-hand at fortifying your skin. Overflowing with invaluable antioxidants (think vitamin E and C), it helps to protect your skin from free radical damage and encourage cellular regeneration by coaxing collagen and elastin production into gear. Which brings us to yet another lovable quality – by gu-accelerating turnover and renewal, the green-hued hero helps to elasticise and plump your skin, diminishing the look of fine lines and furrows. That Hass to grab your attention.
Want to add some avocado into your skin care diet? These are our top picks...
Whipping up a three-course menu of avocado-enriched formula, we’d be amiss to omit Glow Recipe from our lust-have line-up. The latest elixir to join the collection is the {Avocado Ceramide Recovery Serum}: think of it as a blanket of barrier-reinforcing ingredients - from ceramides to pre-, pro- and postbiotics - that soothes depleted and dehydrated skin. Don't just take our word for it, here's what an ultra-discerning member of our Buying Team had to say, "My skin drinks this up! I struggle with redness and irritated patches on my cheeks, so I adore how comforting this milky serum is. My skin feels instantly soothed and I’ve gradually noticed fewer, less angry flare-ups. It earned extra points for sitting perfectly under my make up too." Jenna, Cult Beauty Buying
Blending four(!) forms of avocado – we’re talking avocado fruit, avocado extract, avocado oil and avocado butter – the {Avocado Melt Sleeping Mask} is a lesson in creamy hydration. With no shortage of fatty acids (oleic and linoleic) to deeply moisture, a swirl of manuka honey protects and firms while a helping of poly hydroxy acid (gluconolactone) gently buffs away dead skin to reveal a radiant glow.
Dreaming of a brighter and smoother eye contour? The {Avocado Melt Retinol Eye Sleeping Mask} pairs the ultra-buttery fruit with the anti-ageing powerhouse ingredient on everyone’s skin (no prizes for guessing): retinol. This genius concoction balances the advanced cellular turnover of retinol with the conditioning qualities of vitamin-rich avocado oil and extract to soothe and nourish the delicate under-eye area.
If you’re at war with sensitive skin that darts between dry or dehydrated, Pai Skincare’s {Avocado & Jojoba Hydrating Cream} makes for an ultra-lightweight (yet seriously luscious) moisturiser. Buttery but never heavy, organic avocado oil helps to fortify your skin’s moisture barrier and condition complexions in crisis as jojoba oil absorbs effortlessly to soften and calm.
For those looking to ease the toil of textured skin, avocado oil makes a cameo in the mask that glows across the globe are credited to: SUMMER FRIDAYS' skin-smoothing {R+R Mask}. Deserving of a standing ovation, its hydrating and soothing role is all thanks to an abundance of fatty acids and antioxidants. Humble as it is, it mingles happily with ground wild rose powder, Bulgarian rose oil and brightening argan oil to bestow the most radiant finish we ever did see.
If your textured, thick or dry tresses are in desperate need of love, look no further than Briogeo’s {Be Gentle, Be Kind Avocado + Quinoa Co-Wash}. Standing for ‘conditioner wash’, this clever concoction works four times as hard as your current shampoo (it cleanses, conditions, detangles and nourishes). Swapping harsh surfactants for deeply nourishing avocado oil and quinoa extract, this does-all treatment freshens without stripping essential moisture for silky, tangle-free strands. It’s all we’ve avo wanted…
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Bethan is a Senior Copywriter at Cult Beauty. When she’s not trying to perfect the ultimate ‘no make up’ make up look — she swears by Saie — or find new skin care to fall for, she’s likely playing video games, making the most of her housemate’s MUBI account or strolling around Victoria Park with a pastry in hand.
