Now Foods Avocado Oil

What is Now Foods' Avocado Oil?

Now Foods Avocado Oil is a pure avocado oil intended for external cosmetic use. The bottle contains only one ingredient: Persea gratissima oil, obtained by cold pressing, with no hexane solvent. It comes in 118 ml and 473 ml.

Avocado oil is extracted from the flesh of the fruit and not from the stone, which sets it apart from most vegetable oils, generally obtained from seeds. It is a thick oil, green to yellow depending on the batch, with a discreet, vegetal smell.

A single line in the ingredients list: that is what makes this product worth having. No preservative, no synthetic fragrance, no colouring. You know exactly what you are applying, which is far from being the case with a supermarket skincare oil. The rest of the American range can be browsed in our Now Foods section.

What does avocado oil contain?

Cold pressing is the only technical mention that really counts here. An oil extracted with heat or with solvent costs less to produce, but the process degrades some of the fragile compounds in the flesh. Cold pressing preserves them, at the cost of a lower yield — which is what explains the price difference between two oils that look identical.

The main fatty acid in avocado oil is oleic acid, the same one found in olive oil. It is a monounsaturated fatty acid, stable, which gives the oil its enveloping feel and its good keeping qualities compared with oils rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are more fragile.

The manufacturer notes the natural presence of squalene, sterolins, lecithin and chlorophyll, along with several vitamins. We pass this information on and attribute it, without turning it into a promise: no quantity is given for these compounds, and we will not estimate them. They are natural constituents of avocado flesh, present at levels that vary with the origin and the batch.

One practical consequence of this purity: the colour and appearance vary from one bottle to the next, and small natural particles may appear. That is not a fault, it is the sign of an unrefined oil.

Ingredients list

Persea gratissima (avocado) oil. No preservative, no artificial colouring, no synthetic fragrance.

Not recommended if you have a known allergy to avocado. The manufacturer also states that the product is not tested on animals.

How do you use avocado oil?

Amount: a few drops, 2 to 3 for the face, more for the body. Surface: clean, dry skin, or slightly damp skin after showering. Timing: preferably in the evening for the face. Frequency: as needed, daily if you wish. Use: external only.

Start with a tolerance test, and that is not just a form of words. Apply a few drops to the crook of your elbow and wait twenty-four hours before the first application on your face. It is the precaution the manufacturer asks for, and it holds for any pure vegetable oil, however gentle.

On the face, two to three drops are enough, as a night serum or mixed into your usual cream. Avoid the eye contour area, as the manufacturer specifies. On the body, apply to skin that is still damp after showering: the oil holds the water at the surface and sinks in better.

A word on how an oil works on the skin, because the confusion is permanent. A vegetable oil does not hydrate: it contains no water. What it does is form a film that slows the evaporation of the water already present in the surface layers. That is exactly why applying it to damp skin, just after a shower, gives a far better result than on perfectly dry skin: you are trapping water instead of covering a desert.

On hair, it is used as a pre-shampoo mask, applied to the lengths and left on for twenty to thirty minutes. This is the use where the large 473 ml size makes complete sense: a hair mask uses far more than a facial treatment.

Storage: close the bottle carefully after each use and keep it away from heat and direct light. In the height of summer in Montpellier, a spell in the fridge does no harm — the oil sets slightly in the cold and becomes fluid again within a few minutes in your hand, without causing the slightest problem.

Who is avocado oil for, and who is it not for?

It suits dry or dehydrated skin, dry and brittle hair, and anyone looking for a single-ingredient product rather than a cosmetic formula thirty lines long. It also serves as a massage base, on its own or combined with essential oils.

It is not suitable if you have a known allergy to avocado, an explicit contraindication from the manufacturer. It is for external use only: this bottle is not intended for cooking, whatever the quality of the oil it contains. Avoid the eye contour area, and stop using it if a skin reaction occurs.

Oily or blemish-prone skin should try it cautiously on a small area: it is a rich oil, and not every skin type tolerates it on the face. On the body and the hair, the question arises far less.

Nor is it suitable if you are looking for a product that smells good. With no added fragrance, a pure avocado oil has a discreet but very real vegetal smell that some people do not care for on the face. That is the price of a one-line ingredients list, and it is better to know before opening the 473 ml bottle. A drop of essential oil can put that right for body or massage use, never around the face.

What not to expect from it. It is not a food supplement and it has no nutritional effect: the vitamins mentioned by the manufacturer are constituents of the oil, not a dietary intake. It is not a dermatological treatment: a skin condition is a matter for a doctor. And an oil does not replace a moisturiser — it limits water loss, it does not supply any.

Avocado oil or a supplement taken internally?

The question often comes up in the shop, and the answer is clear-cut: these are two completely different approaches.

This oil works where you apply it, and nowhere else. It is external care in the strict sense: it forms a film that limits the evaporation of water at the surface of the skin. It is useful, it is immediate, it is visible, and it has nothing to do with what you eat.

If your concern is your skin, your nails or your hair from the inside, other products come into play, and they have authorised claims that this oil does not. Zinc contributes to the maintenance of normal skin, nails and hair; vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin. Our collagen section and our multivitamin section cover that approach.

In which cases do the two complement each other? Almost always, in fact, since they do not work in the same place. A supply of omega 3 or vitamin E is a matter of diet; an avocado oil is a matter for the bathroom. There is no reason at all to choose.

Frequently asked questions

Can this oil be eaten?

No. The manufacturer states external use only, for cosmetic care. That is the wording that appears on the product warning and it is the one that prevails: this bottle is not intended for cooking, whatever the purity of the oil it contains.

What is the difference between the sizes?

The volume alone: 118 ml and 473 ml, with the same oil in both. The small size suits facial use, where two to three drops are enough. The large size is worthwhile for the body and above all for hair masks, which use far more.

What does cold-pressed mean?

That the oil is extracted mechanically, without excessive heating and without hexane solvent. The yield is lower and the cost higher, but the fragile compounds in the flesh are preserved. It is the only technical mention that genuinely distinguishes two oils that look identical.

The oil changes colour, is that normal?

Yes. An unrefined oil naturally varies from green to yellow depending on the origin of the fruit and the batch, and small particles may appear. The manufacturer states this explicitly. It is not a fault, it is the opposite of heavy refining.

Is it suitable for oily skin?

It is a rich oil, to be tested cautiously on a small area before any application to the face if your skin is on the oily side. On the body and the hair, the question arises far less. Do the tolerance test in the crook of your elbow in every case.

Can it be used on hair?

Yes, as a pre-shampoo mask on the lengths, left on for twenty to thirty minutes, or as a few drops on dry hair. It is the use that gets through the most: if that is your main goal, go straight for the 473 ml bottle.

Does it need to be kept cool?

It is not compulsory, but it is recommended in hot weather: keep the bottle away from heat and light, tightly closed. The oil may set slightly in the fridge and becomes fluid again within a few minutes in your hand, with no deterioration.

Where can you buy Now Foods' Avocado Oil?

The sizes can be ordered from this page, and we ship throughout France and Europe. At the Vendargues shop, about ten minutes from Montpellier, this is a product we sell with a single warning, always the same one: external use, and a test in the crook of the elbow before applying it to the face. The rest of our selection can be browsed in the sports nutrition section.