Rice Bran Oil

Who would have thought of putting rice bran oil into lotion? That seems like a weird ingredient to have. Where does it come from and what does it do?

Rice bran is the very thin layer of brown rice, the most nutritious part. The oil is extracted from the rice bran, leaving us with two completely stabilized products, rice bran oil and defatted rice bran. I have chosen rice bran oil as an ingredient in my lotions as it is very easy to work with, blends well with other oils, and has great skin benefits.

Rice bran oil is full of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated fatty acids, which is what gives the nourishing and moisturizing components that I was looking for what I started developing my recipe. The main components of rice bran oil are oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, a-linolenic acid, vitamin B, vitamin E, squalene, coenzyme Q10, and ferulic acid. These sound like big scary words, but they really are what make rice bran oil so amazing.

• oleic acid-maintains the softness, suppleness and radiance of skin and hair

• linoleic acid-promotes moisture retention in skin and hair

• palmitic acid-softens skin

• stearic acid-softens skin and has cleansing properties

• a-linolenic acid-lessens inflammation and controls blood clotting on the skin

• vitamin B-regulates skin's pigment production

• vitamin E-antioxidant properties that slow the aging of skin

• squalene-regulates the production of sebum (an oily substance the body produces to keep skin moisturized)

• coenzyme Q10-promotes collagen production

• ferulic acid-assists in skin regeneration

With all these outstanding chemical components in the makeup of rice bran oil, it is known to:

• improve circulation

• even skin tones

• minimize dark circles and puffiness around eyes

• increases skins natural regeneration

• encourages moisture retention (are you seeing a theme yet in my product selections?)

• soothes irritation

And now I think everyone can appreciate rice bran oil! Trust me, I had no idea that it was this amazing either, until I started researching and developing my recipe. It has amazing properties, is easy to work with, and combines beautifully with my other ingredient selections.