Avocado Oil is a rich, nutrient-dense carrier oil cold-pressed from the flesh of Persea americana (avocado), presenting as a clear bright yellow to pale oily liquid. With one of the highest oleic acid contents among plant oils (up to 70%), Avocado Oil is an exceptionally moisturising and emollient carrier that penetrates deeply into the skin, delivering vitamins A, D, and E, sterols, and lecithin directly to the dermal layers.
INCI: Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil
Avocado Oil is a premium carrier for dry, mature, and sensitive skin formulations, valued for its ability to soften and hydrate deeply without clogging pores. Its rich, slightly heavier texture makes it ideal for intensive moisturising treatments and as a nourishing base for anti-ageing and dry skin formulations.
Applications:
- Skincare (intensive moisturisers, dry skin treatments, anti-ageing serums, body butters)
- Haircare (deep conditioning masks, scalp treatments, hair oils for dry or damaged hair)
- Massage Oils (rich, nourishing massage base for dry skin types)
- Cosmetics (lipsticks, lip balms, cream foundations, rich facial treatments)
Key Features & Benefits:
- Clear bright yellow pale oily liquid – premium quality carrier oil
- No animal substance – suitable for vegan and Halal-compliant formulations
- High oleic acid content for deep skin penetration and intensive moisturisation
- Rich in vitamins A, D, E and skin-nourishing sterols and lecithin
- Ideal for dry, mature, and sensitive skin formulations
Refined or unrefined decides the colour of your product
Unrefined avocado oil is deep green, because it carries chlorophyll through from the flesh. Refined avocado oil is pale yellow. This is the most consequential choice on the order, and it is not primarily about quality: a green oil will tint a white cream at functional inclusion levels, and chlorophyll is a photosensitiser, so an unrefined oil in a clear pack on a lit shelf oxidises faster than the same oil in a tube. Unrefined carries more of the unsaponifiable fraction the marketing usually rests on; refined gives a neutral colour and odour and a longer, quieter shelf life.
Stability, and where avocado sits among carrier oils
Avocado is a high-oleic oil, which makes it one of the more oxidatively stable carriers — the opposite end of the scale from linoleic-rich oils such as grapeseed oil. That stability, together with a high unsaponifiable content, is why it is chosen for rich, long-shelf-life treatments rather than for light serums. It is a heavy oil: in a facial formulation it will read as occlusive, and in an emulsion it raises the viscosity of the oil phase noticeably.
Be alert to one commercial point. “Avocado oil” in the food trade has a documented history of adulteration with cheaper oils, and cosmetic-grade supply is not insulated from the same practice. The fatty-acid profile is what settles it — an oleic figure sitting outside the expected band for the species is the flag.
What to ask for on the certificate of analysis
- Refining status (refined or unrefined/virgin) and colour, stated explicitly.
- Full fatty-acid profile — the practical authenticity check for this oil.
- Unsaponifiable matter, where the formulation claim depends on it.
- Peroxide value and free fatty acid, with pressing date.
- Extraction method, country of origin, and residual solvent if solvent-refined.
