Sea buckthorn oil is the bright orange oil pressed from a hardy little berry that grows where almost nothing else wants to. It turns up in facial oils because of an unusual fatty acid and antioxidant profile, and because it feels genuinely at home on skin. Here is a plain, honest look at what it is, what it does for the look and feel of your skin, and what it does not do.
We are Jeremie and Megan, and we make small-batch skincare by hand in Loomis, California. Sea buckthorn is the ingredient our Pure Glow Face Serum is built around, so if you want to try it without buying a bottle of neat orange oil, that is the easiest place to start.
What is sea buckthorn oil?
Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) is a thorny shrub that grows in cold, rugged country across Europe and Asia. Its berries are pressed into two different oils: a fruit pulp oil and a seed oil. The pulp oil is the deep orange one, and that colour comes from carotenoids packed into the fruit.
It is not a new ingredient. People have been using sea buckthorn in one form or another for a very long time, which is part of why it keeps its place in simple formulas instead of cycling out with the trends.
What is actually in it
Two things make sea buckthorn worth the trouble. The first is its fatty acid mix, which is unusually high in omega-7, also called palmitoleic acid. That same fatty acid occurs naturally in human sebum, which is a large part of why oils rich in it absorb comfortably instead of sitting on top like a film.
The second is what rides along with the fat: naturally occurring carotenoids, tocopherols, and, in the fruit, vitamin C. It is a nutrient-dense oil rather than a single-note one, and a few drops go a long way.
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Want sea buckthorn without the orange fingertips? Pure Glow blends it with seven other organic plant oils, diluted to a level your skin can actually wear. Get my Pure Glow (10% off first order) |
What it does, and what it does not
Because its fatty acids echo the ones your skin already makes, sea buckthorn oil absorbs comfortably and helps support the look and feel of well-moisturized skin. The antioxidants it carries are the reason it shows up in oils aimed at a fresh, awake-looking complexion. Vitamin E in particular is a well-studied fat-soluble antioxidant, and the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements keeps a plain-language overview of it.
Now the honest half. Sea buckthorn is a cosmetic ingredient, not a medicine. It supports the appearance of healthy, hydrated skin. It is not a treatment for any skin condition, and if you are managing one, that is a conversation for your own healthcare provider rather than a bottle of oil.
Sea buckthorn and tallow, together
Our Pure Glow Face Serum is eight organic plant oils, sea buckthorn among them, alongside argan, rosehip, jojoba, marula, castor, red raspberry seed and wheat germ. No tallow, no essential oils, nothing else.
There is a sensible logic to using it alongside a tallow balm. Our Unscented Whipped Tallow is grass-fed tallow and organic coconut oil, and nothing else. The serum goes on first and sinks in; the balm goes over the top and slows how fast that moisture leaves. If you want the order of operations spelled out, we wrote it up in how to layer tallow in your skincare routine.
How to use it
Sea buckthorn is potent and heavily pigmented, so neat oil can tint your fingers and anything else it touches. In a balanced serum it is diluted down to a level that absorbs without leaving colour behind.
Smooth a few drops over clean, slightly damp skin, then follow with a moisturizer to seal it in. Most people prefer facial oils in the evening, though a light hand works fine in the morning under everything else. If sea buckthorn is new to you, start with a small amount every other evening and build from there.
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Sea buckthorn questions, answered
Is sea buckthorn oil good for your skin?
It is a nutrient-dense cosmetic oil high in omega-7 fatty acids, carotenoids and tocopherols. Its fatty acids resemble the skin's own sebum, so it helps support the look and feel of nourished, well-moisturized skin.
Does sea buckthorn oil stain the skin?
Neat sea buckthorn oil is deep orange and can temporarily tint skin if you overdo it. In a balanced serum it is diluted to a level where a few drops absorb without leaving colour.
Can you use sea buckthorn oil with tallow?
Yes. Serum first on damp skin, balm over the top. They are doing two different jobs and they get along.
The bottom line
Sea buckthorn earns its reputation honestly. It is a nutrient-dense, sebum-friendly oil that helps skin look nourished and awake, and it is not pretending to be anything more than that. We make Pure Glow in the smallest batches of anything on our shelf, by hand, with our name on the bottle, and stock is limited because of it.
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Or see it in our face serum collection.