Here's The Truth About Cold-Pressed Skincare
You've probably heard of cold-pressed detox juices and cooking oils, but have you heard about the latest cold-pressed skincare trend? Your favorite cold-pressed juices are actually prepared in the same way as the plant oils found in popular skincare products. With the rise of vegan and plant-based beauty products, the demand for high-nutrient ingredients in skincare has increased which has sparked the cold-pressed skincare obsession.
Most skincare products you see today contain plant oils that are extracted using a heat-pressed method which involves roasting, friction, and pressure at high temperatures to extract the oils, per TheHealthSite.com. Cold-pressed skincare, on the other hand, refers to oils that have undergone a specific extraction process that doesn't involve high heat or chemicals. Instead, the raw plant materials are extracted using pressure alone.
Despite its growing popularity, the cold-pressed technique isn't a standard method for all plant-based products. The reality is that this specific method of extraction takes significantly longer than traditional methods and produces less oil (via Skin Resource.MD). So, more ingredients are needed to make the same amount of oil extracted via the heat-pressed method. For these reasons, cold-pressed skincare is more expensive to produce and purchase.
Cold-pressed skincare carries more of the good stuff
During the process of heat-pressed extraction, nuts and seeds are roasted at high temperatures. This high-heat environment saps the beneficial vitamins, fatty acids, and antioxidants from the plant materials. Suzanne Leroux, the founder of One Love Organics, explains to PureWow that high heat causes plant materials to lose their active components in a similar way to how cooking food on high heat for a certain period of time can reduce nutrient density.
Therefore, skincare products containing cold-pressed ingredients may be more beneficial due to the higher vitamin content and antioxidant properties. However, there is debate among dermatologists as to whether this statement is true or not. For instance, dermatologist Adarsh Vijay Mudgil, M.D., tells Well + Good, "I honestly don't think there's much difference between a cold-pressed product and a non-cold-pressed product." According to Mudgil, the lack of studies and other ingredients in cold-pressed skincare needs to be considered before you swap out your expensive skincare for cold-pressed oils.
How to make your cold-pressed skincare last
Despite ongoing debate, the demand for cold-pressed skincare and beauty products continues to rise. So, if you're planning to hop on the cold-pressed bandwagon, there are a few things you need to know. Heat can remove valuable antioxidants and vitamins from plant materials. In fact, this process can still occur after you bring your brand-new oils and moisturizers home. To prevent your cold-pressed skincare from losing nutrients or oxidizing, store your products in the refrigerator to remove them from heat exposure (via Vasara).
Products that have undergone the cold-pressed technique are higher in oleic acid and a natural preservative called tocopherol, which, when combined, provide oxidative stability, according to a 2016 study published in Functional Dietary Lipids. So, your cold-pressed products already have longer shelf lives than standard skincare products and don't usually require added preservatives and chemicals. That being said, it's still a good idea to keep cold-pressed ingredients away from any heat sources so you know you're getting the most out of your skincare.