Hazelnut oil is a vegetable oil, light and pleasantly aromatic, amber-yellow in color, used both for food, for its powerful antioxidant and remineralizing properties, and in natural cosmetics, for the purifying action it performs on oily skin .
Characterized by a delicate and slightly fragrant nutty flavor, it can be used as a condiment, in the daily diet of children and the elderly and in convalescences ; both as a natural product for cleaning the face, like a cleansing milk.
It is obtained from the cold pressing of the fruits of the hazelnut, a procedure that allows the preservation of all the organoleptic characteristics.
Properties and benefits of hazelnut oil
Food use: hazelnuts, like all oil seeds, are very rich in "good fats", able to lower levels of LDL cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol) and Triglycerides.
Among these are the omega 6 and omega-3 (usually found in fish and marine algae), which help prevent the onset of cardiovascular diseases and lower the excess cholesterol in the blood.
More digestible than any other oily fruit, hazelnut is one of the richest varieties of dried fruit in vitamin E, the skin's antioxidant par excellence.
Hazelnut oil contains a good percentage of flavonoids, which perform an anti-inflammatory, antiviral action and counteract the onset of tumors; and phytosterols, substances considered important in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. It is also an excellent source of selenium (a mineral that prevents cellular aging) of calcium, Vitamins B6, B1, B2 and PP .
Face: hazelnut oil is very suitable for oily and suffering from boils and acne. In fact, on these skins it carries out three beneficial actions:
- purifying action frees the pores from impurities, especially those who live in cities subjected to smog or use the scooter;
- astringent action helps to gently close the pores;
- rebalancing action able to regulate sebum production. It can therefore be used as a cleansing milk for daily facial cleansing and also as a makeup remover.
Body: similar to sweet almond oil but capable of being absorbed faster, it is excellent for elasticizing the skin, without greasing, alone or mixed with other vegetable oils or as a carrier of essential oils.
It is also used for children's sunburn and very dry eczema. Pure used has healing, astringent, anti-inflammatory properties .
Try the hazelnut oil against the pimples
Description of the plant
Corylus avellana- Betulaceae
Small shrub, with a dense and globular crown, which can range from 1.5 to 4 m. in diameter, very rich in leaves. Growing the core with a single trunk becomes a small tree, which can reach 7 m. of height. The bark is typical and recognizable: on its surface, in fact, there are numerous cells in the shape of lenses, crossed by a slit, very evident to the touch. Its color is gray, which can tend to brown or red. The leaves are alternate and have an almost round shape, with pointed apex and toothed margin. The core has female flowers and male flowers. The male ones are long pendulous catkins, brown in color, moved by the wind.
When, in early spring, they start to release the pollen, the male flowers turn yellowish. The female flowers are less evident: they are gems with red stigmas, fertilized by the anemophilous route, that is, with wind-borne pollen. The fruits of the hazelnut are naturally hazelnuts: these are found on the tree already full at the end of July, but they ripen only by the end of August. Hazelnuts should be picked when they fall from the tree, because they are good only when fully ripe. They are formed in groups of 2 or 4 fruits . Originally from Asia Minor. In Italy it is widespread in all regions, from the plain up to 1300 m of altitude.