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Prickly Pear Seed Oil
Opuntia Ficus-Indica Seed OilBarrier
Linoleic-dominant cactus-seed oil. Lightweight, high in vitamin E, suits acne-prone skin.
What it does
Prickly pear seed oil is around 60% linoleic acid — toward the upper end of skin-friendly fatty-acid profiles. It absorbs quickly and feels light, with significant vitamin E content for stability and a small antioxidant boost. Suitable for acne-prone and combination skin. The yield is small (a kilo of seeds for a small bottle), which is why prickly pear oil prices are unusually high.
The evidence, graded
emergingThe skin's barrier is built from ceramides, cholesterol, and free fatty acids in a roughly 1:1:1 to 3:1:1 ratio. Moisturizers formulated to mimic that ratio support barrier repair more than any one lipid alone.Man 1996 · Journal of Investigative Dermatology ↗
Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
Pairs worth knowing
Browse all 668 ingredients — grouped by what they do, each with whatever evidence we can cite.
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