When you hear broccoli, you probably don’t think of skincare first. While this veggie is one you usually see on your dinner plate, the oil that comes from cold pressing broccoli seeds is fantastic for your skin’s health.
Broccoli seed oil is a naturally pale, yellow-green colour and is considered a fairly lightweight oil. Because of this, it doesn’t feel greasy on the skin and absorbs quickly. It’s known for being antioxidant-rich and high in fatty acids, particularly erucic acid, an omega-9 fatty acid—the oil from the seeds is often around 50% erucic acid!
Fun fact: The broccoli that our broccoli seed oil comes from is grown in Fraser Valley, British Columbia. That makes it one of our Canadian Ingredients.
Other names: Brassica Oleracea Italica (Broccoli) Seed Oil
What it is: antioxidant, emollient, skin barrier support, anti-inflammatory
You can find it in: Phyto Clear and Matcha Mint Hair Smoothie
What makes broccoli seed oil a great skincare ingredient?
Broccoli seed oil has a number of truly impressive skincare benefits. Not only is it hydrating, brightening, and protective against damage that can cause fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging, it’s also excellent at soothing skin and even taming frizz and adding shine to dry hair!
Broccoli seed oil protects skin from damage that accelerates aging
Broccoli seed oil is a great antioxidant due to its vitamin A, C, and E content. Collectively, these vitamins add antioxidants to the skin, which help neutralize free radicals. If you haven’t heard of free radicals before, they’re essentially a cell with a missing electron.
How do they deal with that missing piece? Well, they go around trying to steal that electron from healthy cells. A free radical will damage a healthy cell to get the electron, leaving behind a now-damaged cell who then has to turn around and do the exact same thing to the next healthy cell! It sets off a chain reaction of damage that turns into something called “oxidative stress.” Antioxidants stop that chain reaction and can also help repair some of the damage done.
And when I say “damage”, to be more specific, when our skin cells are damaged in this way, our skin becomes more susceptible to dryness and texture because we aren’t able to hold hydration as well. We might also find some of the processes in our skin like cell renewal, collagen production, and elastin production have been affected by the damage, leading to the development of fine lines, wrinkles, dull skin, sagging skin, crepey skin, and more.
These processes slowing down happens naturally as we age, but oxidative stress can accelerate it. That’s why antioxidants are so important, especially combined with other things like fatty acids that are capable of deeply moisturizing and supporting the skin (which I’ll talk about more in the section on skin hydration).
Broccoli seed oil also contains a ‘plant chemical’ called sulforaphane, which has incredible antioxidative and detoxifying qualities. A handful of studies (here, here, and here) also show that sulforaphane may also protect the skin against UV damage and photoaging (which is premature aging of the skin caused by UV rays). More research needs to be done, but it’s an exciting possibility!
Vitamins A, C, and E all have the protective capability thanks to their functionality as antioxidants. But how else do these vitamins help?
- Vitamin A helps improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles by speeding up cell renewal and boosting collagen production.
- Vitamin C evens skin tone by reducing melanin production (more on this below), and increases collagen production.
- Vitamin E helps to reinforce the skin barrier and soothe skin that has been exposed to the elements.
Broccoli seed oil supports the skin barrier and hydrates the skin
Broccoli seed oil is incredibly rich in omega 3, 6, and 9 fatty acids, all of which help with skin barrier function. Fatty acids are part of the structure of the skin barrier, so supporting the skin with ingredients that contain them makes the skin better at holding hydration, more resilient against damage, and more healthy overall. In particular, erucic acid, a type of omega-9 fatty acid, is abundant in broccoli seed oil—it can make up about 50% of the oil! These fatty acids also deeply moisturize the skin, keeping it hydrated. Plus, the linoleic acid (omega 6) helps promote ceramide synthesis (another key component of skin barrier health).
Broccoli seed oil is considered an emollient. This type of moisturizing ingredient helps soften and soothe the skin, mostly by filling in the gaps between your skin cells to create a smoother overall surface. It also makes your skin more “flexible”—which sounds like a strange benefit until you remember how frustrating it can be to have skin so rigid and dry that it flakes or cracks. Emollients also leave a thin layer on the skin, which protects the barrier and prevents water loss (aka TEWL).
Barrier support and hydration are key to having plump, healthy looking skin.
Barrier support and hydration are key to having plump, healthy looking skin. When the skin cells and support structure around them are bolstered by moisturizing skincare, the skin appears fuller—you’ll likely see fine lines and wrinkles appear minimized and your skin will look firmer!
Broccoli seed oil soothes inflamed skin and reduces breakouts
Broccoli seed oil is an anti-inflammatory ingredient. Its ability to soothe the skin when it’s inflamed or irritated means that it’s a great ingredient for sensitive skin.
Since broccoli seed oil is also non-comedogenic (aka, it’s unlikely to clog your pores), that combination of soothing and non-comedogenic means that it’s great for reducing the frequency of breakouts.
You might think that it’s counter-intuitive to use an oil on oily or acne prone skin, but actually, broccoli seed oil helps your skin regulate sebum production. Whether you’re producing too much or too little, the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, particularly linoleic acid in broccoli seed oil, help balance you out. Either way, you want a healthy amount of sebum as it’s an important element of a healthy barrier and contributes to your skin’s hydration and ability to protect itself.
Broccoli seed oil gives you brighter, glowing skin
Did you know broccoli seed oil is rich in vitamin C? Vitamin C might just be the trendiest skincare ingredient right now, so I’m sure you already have an inkling of the skin benefits this mighty vitamin possesses. Vitamin C is capable of brightening your skin—aka, it inhibits melanin production, which helps even out the pigmentation on your skin. Vitamin C also boosts collagen production and offers protection from free radicals, something I talked about above. Vitamin E also brightens skin by acting as a melanin inhibitor—plus, it's great for fine lines and wrinkles.
Broccoli seed oil gives you brighter, glowing skin by boosting cell turnover and evening out skin tone.
On top of the brightening vitamin C & E in broccoli seed oil, it also contains something called arachidonic acid, which can promote wound healing, as it naturally releases in our bodies when we’re injured. It also has anti-inflammatory properties and promotes cell turnover. Cell turnover is the rate at which new skin cells make their way to the surface of the skin. The faster your cell turnover is, the faster older, dead, or damaged cells can be replaced with healthy new ones—this means arachidonic acid helps keep skin bright and glowy by replacing old skin cells that make your skin appear dull.
Broccoli is good for your hair
Lastly, broccoli seed oil is considered a great hair care ingredient! Its ability to hydrate hair strands without weighing them down or leaving a greasy residue makes it great for people who want to tame frizz and have hair with a glossy, shiny finish. That’s why you might see broccoli seed oil in conditioners or leave-in products.
Plus, it’s great for those with sensitive scalps. Since it’s anti-inflammatory, gentle, and rich in fatty acids, it soothes and protects the scalp—a lovely benefit to have when you need to be mindful of the hair care products you’re using in relation to your skin, especially for those who have psoriasis or eczema on their scalps.
Who is broccoli seed oil good for?
Broccoli seed oil is good for all skin types—it is able to deeply moisturize dry skin, plump and revitalize mature skin, and keep breakouts at bay on acne-prone skin.
Broccoli seed oil is good for all skin types — it deeply moisturizes dry skin, plumps mature skin, and keeps breakouts at bay on acne-prone skin.
Everyone can benefit from broccoli seed oil’s anti-inflammatory and skin barrier supporting benefits, but particularly those with sensitive skin will find the ingredient an excellent fit in their routine. Everyone can also benefit from broccoli seed oil’s antioxidant-rich nature, as it protects all skin from damage that can accelerate skin aging—no matter where you are in your skincare journey, skin longevity is a great thing to prioritize!
Last, if you have hair that trends toward the dry side and are looking for a little more shine and less frizz, products with broccoli seed oil are a good fit for you.
Broccoli seed oil in Graydon products
Phyto Clear Bio-Retinol Face + Neck Moisturizer
Phyto Clear is a gel-like lightweight moisturizer that is perfect for oily, combination, and/or acne-prone skin. It uses a blend of herbs and other plant-based ingredients to clarify skin, minimize the appearance of pores, and improve skin texture.
Phyto Clear also contains two bio-retinols, bakuchiol and dew bean, which help firm skin and improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Unlike traditional retinols, these botanical versions don’t cause the skin to become more sensitive to the sun, meaning you can hydrate your skin with Phyto Clear morning and night.
Matcha Mint Hair Smoothie
Matcha Mint Hair Smoothie is a nourishing conditioner for people with dry hair. It’s gentle on both sensitive scalps and sensitive skin in general.
The sulforaphane in broccoli seed oil detoxes hair while the green tea (where the matcha in the name comes from!) protects your strands and scalp against pollution and environmental damage that can weaken it.
Shop Matcha Mint Hair Smoothie here.
Summary
In summary, broccoli seed oil:
- Detoxifies the hair and skin
- Is rich in vitamins A, C, and E
- Boosts the skin barrier
- Protects from damage that accelerates aging using antioxidants
- Hydrates deeply and prevents water loss
- Softens skin as an emollient
- Is soothing and anti-inflammatory
- Helps regulate sebum production and reduce breakouts
- Brightens skin and evens tone with vitamins C & E
- Is good for smoothing, hydrating, and adding shine to hair
- Is a superfood ingredient in Phyto Clear and Matcha Mint Hair Smoothie
