Auracacia

So I might've mentioned in a previous post that I have a thing for single ingredient products ;-)

Auracacia is possibly my favorite brand for this purpose. They provide a wide range of pure oils in regular and organic varieties. They also have bulk bottles of 16OZ (not shown here) which are more eco-friendly and economical :-)

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I while back I read that Jojoba oil has a very similar composition to human sebum. Now, I wish I had a scientific reference to give you about it but unfortunately I don't have that yet, but I intend to keep looking for it! Jojoba oil comes from the seed of the Jojoba plant, Simmondsia chinensis, a shrub growing mostly in dry desert areas such as arizona, southern california and northwestern mexico. Since one of my skin problem IS the lack of oil in 99% of my body, I decided to give it a try and use jojoba oil instead of a body moisturizer. That was the best thing I did for my skin in a loooong time. I've tried so many moisturizers that made my skin sting (bear in mind I have little rashes and cuts allover my body as a result of the generalized inflammation that haunts me) but jojoba oil is really gentle on my skin and I do feel that it improved the elasticity and overall integrity of my skin. It helps decrease any itchiness and compared to other oils it absorbs quite fast (it's still an oil though, so keep that in mind before putting your clothes on!). It's a staple in my body care routine along with a few other oils to be mentioned.

INGREDIENTS: 100% organic Jojoba oil

PRICE: $16.50 ( 4oz )

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As far as face goes, Tamanu and Argan oil are my favorites. Use them day or night.

Tamanu oil comes from the Calophyllum Inophyllum seed oil. It supposedly has great anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and healing properties making it great when you have any unwelcomed blemishes around . I can't vouch for how this would work on oily skin see it as I have extremely dry skin. However, this works great for my t-zone, where I do get oily and zits, especially during the summer, it doesn't aggravate any of those conditions. In fact it feels like the possible anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties helps blemishes calm down and go away faster in my experience ( and when I get blemishes, they are NOT subtle, they pretty much look like mini volcanoes on my face, NOT CUTE ) . Overall, it's great for combination skin as it is a very nourishing oil tending to the drier parts of my face at the same time as it calms and controls the oily areas. 

INGREDIENTS : 100% organic Tamanu oil

PRICE : $15.99 (1oz)

Argan oil comes from the kernels of the argania spinosa found in Morocco. Remember all the rage about Moroccan oil? It's argan oil, which actually has just the same hype around it. Now, hype aside, this oil is really amazing for the skin, hair, you name it. Like Tamanu oil is is also tissue-healing and anti-inflammatory. It can also be considered anti-aging because of the naturally occurring vitamin E found in the oil.
With all of that said, be careful of the super high prices being charged for Argan oil out there. Also beware that it has become a "brand name" and lots of products out there rave about using Argan oil while only containing homeopathic quantities of it (shameful) Just use, straight 100% Argan oil and you'll get the most benefits and likely the most value for your money. Two of my favorite brands are Auracacia and Acure (which will be discussed in a different post). 

INGREDIENTS: 100% organic Argan oil

PRICE : $14.99 (1oz)

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Other members of my happy family of Auracacia products that I have to mention are these three little gems: Rose, Carrot and Jasmine oils.

These are very concentrated pure essential oils that are NOT meant to be used directly on the skin but are a lovely addition to any of the other oils mentioned above. I'm obsessed with three scents: Rose, Jasmine and Tiare (a tahitian gardenia). And being able to add rose oil or jasmine oil to my products makes it all the more enjoyable to use them. Plus, its a way to add a few more beneficial properties from the rose and jasmine oil (more anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties). I don't particularly care for the scent of the carrot seed oil (in fact, it can be too strong sometimes) but it has amazing skin nourishing properties and is great for dry and specially mature skin as it is considered very rejuvenating. I particularly like adding these to my Jojoba oil to add a few extra properties and well, who am I kidding, because I like the smell :-)

INGREDIENTS (rose): Jojoba oil and Rose oil - 0.5 , $16.59

PRICE : $16.59 ( 0.5oz ) 

INGREDIENTS (carrot):  100% Carrot seed oil -  0.5 oz , $19.99

PRICE : $19.99 ( 0.5oz )

INGREDIENTS (Jasmine): Jojoba oil and Jasmine oil - 0.5 oz , $15.99

PRICE : $15.99 ( 0.5oz )

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CONS: Auracacia is a bit pricy for my taste.

BOTTOM LINE : Auracacia has a huge variety of great pure oils and is super Sensitastic approved!

WHERE TO BUY : www.auracacia.com