Moringa Oil, A Cosmetic Legend

Attention: Apparently most Moringa Oil is not the real stuff. Therefore buyer beware. Moringa seed oil is 20 times the cost of vegetable oil so the motivation is definitely there for diluting the oil with something cheaper. The oil pictured above is the real deal. It’s Cold-pressed Moringa oil that hasn’t been refined so it has the maximum potency!

The natural goodness of Moringa oil dates back thousands of years ago. The Romans recognized the natural properties of Moringa oil and used it extensively in perfumes. The Egyptians also recognized its natural protective properties and used it on their skin to protect themselves from the harsh desert conditions. Both these uses have been documented by these ancient cultures.

Moringa Oil Benefits

Using Moringa oil for skincare is really gaining a lot of attention lately — and for good reason. Read below to learn some of the Moringa seed oil benefits.

Moringa Oil For Skin

• It softens dry skin and maintains moisture in the skin.
• It is good for conditioning dry, chapped lips.
• It’s beneficial to treat rough, dry skin conditions like dermatitis, eczema, and psoriasis.

Anti-aging properties

• Moringa oil rejuvenates dull, tired and aging skin.
• Moringa oil antioxidants and nutrients help fight free radical damage that can cause skin tissue damage and lead to the formation of wrinkles.
• Moringa oil helps improve the appearance of wrinkles and prevents sagging of facial muscles.
• Moringa oil plant hormones called cytokinins, which help promote cell growth and delay damage and destruction of skin tissues.
• Vitamin C stabilizes collagen and helps reduce fine lines and repair damaged skin cells.

Antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties

• Moringa oil has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties and has been used to treat and heal minor skin abrasions; minor cuts and scrapes, bruises, burns, insect bites, rashes, and sunburn and skin infections.

Acne & dark spot prevention

• Moringa oil helps clear blackheads and pimples. When used regularly helps prevent the reoccurrence of blemishes.
• It helps minimize dark spots from acne and hyperpigmentation.

Moringa Benefits For Hair

Moringa oil has nourishing and emollient properties giving it benefits for use in skin and hair care products. Moringa oil is useful in lifting dirt out of the hair and is an efficient natural cleanser. By simply wetting the hair, massaging the oil into the scalp and rinsing can effectively clean and moisturize the scalp.

The Moringa oil does not become rancid for several years after it is produced.

Moringa seed oil is a concentrated source of food energy

Small amounts of Moringa oil added to the diet of young children can provide them with a more varied and nutritious diet. Moringa seed oil is rich in vitamins and unsaturated fatty acids. Moringa oil contains antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, which help heal minor skin complaints such as cuts, bruises, burns, insect bites, rashes and scrapes quickly. Its use can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians, who placed vases filled with moringa oil inside their tombs.

Moringa oil is among the most wanted oils to produce skincare products and cosmetics, because of its various antioxidants and skin rejuvenating qualities. These antioxidants do wonders for aging and skins lacking nutrients.

With a great amount of oleic acid content of 72%, Moringa oil penetrates very deep into the skin, bringing the necessary nutrients to the skin and hair, helping it to retain moisture. Moringa oil can be used to increase the health and strength of the hair and scalp.

So one of the greatest advantages of moringa oil is skincare and rejuvenation, stronger and healthier hair. Although there are new and innovative ways to reduce wrinkles and restore vitality to the skin, the secret to youthful skin lies in keeping a healthy living environment for skin cells to live, and Moringa oil can do this very well.

To enjoy the wonderful benefits of moringa on the skin, simply apply moringa oil and lightly massage on skin. Leave it on for several minutes so the skin would be nourished with the vitamins and minerals present in moringa.

Moringa oil can also be applied in the production of expensive and natural perfumes and fragrances. Moringa oil’s high oleic level, combined with its enduring shelf life, make it a popular choice for traditional perfume production.

Perfume makers value moringa oil because it has the ability to absorb and retain even the most volatile scents. It has been used in enfleurage, a process that uses solid, odorless fats to capture the fragrances of delicate plants and flowers. Enfleurage is a traditional method of extracting essential oils from these plants, although it is time-consuming and expensive. Moringa, however, is one of the choice oils for perfume manufacturers that still employ the enfleurage process.

Because Moringa oil contains powerful antioxidants, it can also be used and included in soaps, shampoos, body washes, and skin scrubs. Moringa oil absorbs rapidly into the skin, making it is a good choice for beauty products that are rinsed off the skin, such as soaps and shampoos.

Moringa oil is one of  the most exotic and highly searched for oil’s around the world

As awareness arises about moringa you are starting to see it listed in high-end cosmetics as an ingredient to help slow the signs of aging and moisturize.  Before you buy, take a look at the rest of the ingredients and the company itself to determine if the moringa contained within will actually be beneficial to you and good for the planet.

The same story for all moringa products is valid. Before you buy a moringa supplement, make sure you do your due diligence on the manufacturer and where they source their moringa from and any other ingredients. 

Seeds can be extracted and eaten as “peas” (boiled or fried) when still green. The dry seeds are apparently not used for human consumption, perhaps because the bitter coating becomes hardened.

Footsteps for homemade Moringa oil extraction process: The mature Moringa seed is about 40% oil. Moringa oil is of excellent quality (73% oleic acid, similar to olive oil) for cooking.

Moringa Seeds from mature pods should be roasted, mashed and placed in boiling water for 5 minutes. After straining and sitting overnight, the moringa oil floats to the surface.

“Moringa seed has a fairly soft kernel, so the oil can be extracted by hand using a screw press (also known as a “spindle” or “bridge” press). The seed is first crushed, 10% by volume of water is added, followed by gentle heating over a low fire for 10-15 minutes, taking care not to burn the seed. One such test yielded 2.6 liters of oil from 11 kg of kernels. Once the best processing conditions are worked out, an extraction efficiency of 65% could probably be expected.”

BIOMASA also researched moringa seed oil extraction. Fuglie states in his report, “Nikolaus Foidl designed a motorized moringa seed de-huller with a built-in blower to separate out the chaff. The de-hulling part of the machine consists of two revolving rubber plates slightly oval in shape. The seed is run through 3 times, with the space between the plates diminished slightly each time (smaller seed not de-hulled the first time will be de-hulled the 2nd or 3rd time).

Foidl suggests that a screw press made of simple iron may be better suited for moringa oil extraction than one made of steel. Chromium and nickel in steel may react with the oil at high temperatures and lower oil quality. Fuglie continues, “Following extraction, moringa oil should be filtered (through cheesecloth or coffee filter). This will remove the protein content upon which bacteria feed. The viscosity of oil can be improved by heating it to 40-50 C before filtering.”

“At Church World Service in Senegal, one oil extraction trial used kernels that had been de-hulled three months earlier. The oil promptly separated into a milky wax and liquid. According to Foidl, this was probably due to the rapid deterioration in the stored kernels of the anti-oxidant tocopheral acetate (vitamin E). A few (1-5) drops per liter of the essential oil of sage, rosemary or mint (or a twig of the latter), [all] excellent antioxidants, can be added to moringa oil to stabilize it. (Trials can be done to determine at what point the taste of the sage or rosemary oil becomes noticeable.)”

The seedcake left over after the oil extraction process has several uses. It can be used as soil fertilizer or in the treatment of turbid water (see below). It is being researched as an animal feed, but has a bitter taste and contains anti-nutritional factors (glucosinolates, haemagglutinins, alkaloids and a saponin). We have read that in order to remove the bitter taste and anti-nutritional factors, you can soak the seedcake in water for 20 to 30 minutes, then sieve it to recover the residue. We do not know of feeding trials that were done in the field to test this method.

Moringa Oil

Moringa Oil or Ben oil is obtained by pressing the seeds of the Moringa oliefera tree. The Moringa seeds yield 38–40% edible oil (called ben oil, from the high concentration of behenic acid contained in the oil) that can be used in cooking, cosmetics, and lubrication…

Traditionally used for cooking and in other food preparations. Moringa oil has tremendous cosmetic value and is used in body and hair care as a moisturizer and skin conditioner. It can be used for perfume base as a fuel and for oiling machinery. Moringa oil can also be used to produce soapMoringa oil is light and spreads easily on the skin. It is best for massage and aromatherapy applications.

Moringa oil is used in the following range of cosmetic products.

• Anti-aging, wrinkle creams
• Haircare products
• Soaps and Liquid body wash
• Aromatherapy oils
• Massage Oil
• Face creams
• Perfumes and Deodorant