Sea Buckthorn Oil For Acne: Lowers Oily Skin By 45% Using A Dose Of A Topical DHT Blockers

Do you want an alternative to Accutane without the hair loss and pregnancy disruption? 

Do you want to reduce DHT and testosterone for oily skin, but are worried about the life-ruining side effects?

Have you already reduced oily skin via diet and lifestyle, but need one hyper localised topical treatment to push it over the edge?

Then your solution may be sea buckthorn berry oil, an orange skincare remedy derived from an equally orange berry, which grows abundantly in the Himalaya.

 

 

Sea buckthorn oil improves oily skin by 45%

Sea buckthorn oil was slowly gaining popularity in the early 21st century, before rapidly accelerating since 2010, when Dr Oz recommended it for acne on his famous TV show. The same year, sea buckthorn oil officially moved from the realm of wild speculation into hard fact, thanks to a promising study by Pakistani scientists.

The team began by gathering 500 grams of sea buckthorn berries (H. rhamnoides) and grinding them into a fine powder.

Then they prepared two recipes. Firstly, they prepared a neutral mixture of paraffin oil, water, ABIL EM 90, (an emulsifier) and drops of lemon oil to add a pleasant scent. The second formulation also contained a 1% concentration of sea buckthorn berry. This was the only difference between the formulations, so the comparison was clear.

Next, 10 healthy males aged 20-35 were chosen. Every day, they rubbed the placebo into one side of their face, and the sea buckthorn formulation into the other.

Neither recipe irritated or inflamed the skin. The sea buckthorn version increased the skin’s softness and shine, which was due to the added fatty acid content, according to the scientists…

Read Annihilate Your Acne – get the ultimate diet for clear and glowing skin!

…but the most interesting result was a huge decline in sebum (AKA oil) production, which started at 17% after one week. By week two, the reduction only intensified, reaching 18%. By week three, it was 23%, by week four, 27%, and by week six 37%.

After the full eight weeks had elapsed, the sea buckthorn side of the acne patients’ faces created 45% less sebum compared to the placebo side.

The latter actually increased, reaching 15% higher than baseline after three weeks. The placebo continued along a plateau of oiliness, staying 13% and 12% higher after 4 and 6 weeks. This could have been simple natural variation, or the recipe’s paraffin oil base could have been responsible.

These benefits all came with zero side effects. The PH of the placebo and sea buckthorn formulations were 5.61 and 5.18 respectively, close to the ideal human skin PH of 4-4.5. What’s more, each volunteer was asked to self-observe their irritation and itching. Outstandingly, every single rating was a zero. This was a double-blind study too.

Undeniably, 10 was a fairly small sample size. Get a group of 50 and you might see an allergic reaction. However we can safely say that sea buckthorn oil is a low risk treatment for humans. Meanwhile, it’s a high risk treatment for our arch enemy, pimples, and they don’t get a choice in the matter.

 

What is sea buckthorn oil?

At the centre of this epic tale is the lava-coloured sea buckthorn berry.

Despite the name, the berry only actually grows near the sea in Western Europe. Its heartlands are mountainous areas of Asia, particularly China, Russia, Canada, and Northern Europe. In fact, it was believed to have originated in the Himalaya.

Along the winding trek to Mount Everest base camp, Nepali villagers are apparently hustling money from passing mountaineers by selling them smoothies made of sea buckthorn. The berries are also sold to tourist bars down in Kathmandu, to make a unique cocktail.

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Raw, the berries are said to taste disgusting, sour, bitter and astringent. However, when you press them, the resulting fresh juice tastes like a mixture of citrus and peach.

Overall, the berry is well-equipped for life in the mountains, surviving in thin soils and cold climates. Why? Because the berry is bursting with strengthening antioxidants and phytonutrients.

Sea buckthorn has a long medicinal history. It grows widely in Mongolia, and Genghis Khan must have eaten it at one point; he supposedly recommended sea buckthorn berry in the 13^th century for keeping an army strong and savage, and giving them mighty endurance. It was once fed to horses everywhere for keeping their hair shiny, smooth and glossy, and curing blindness.

As for the oil, the berry is cold-pressed in a powerful expeller, giving it three layers. The bottom layer is the bitter sediment and tasty juice used for food, but the upper two layers are rich and creamy, filled with fats.

When separated, it’s these fats which become sea buckthorn berry oil. Importantly, there are two types widely available on the market.

The seed oil is extracted from the seeds (duh) the plant uses to propagate itself. The berry oil is extracted from the rest of the fruit. You can tell the difference instantly; the seed oil is an egg yolk shade of orange, while the berry oil is an intense shade of red.

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However, the visuals aren’t the only difference. The nutritional qualities vary massively. For example, the seed oil is comprised of 34% linoleic acid (omega 6), while the berry oil is comprised of 12.4%.

For acne, we are interested in the berry oil, because that’s what the excellent study above used.

 

Why sea buckthorn oil reduces sebum production

The first explanation is vitamin A. This nutrient binds directly to sebaceous gland receptors, lowering both oil production and the differentiation of sebocytes, sebum-producing skin cells. Widely prescribed topical retinoids like tretinoin or retinoic acid work in the same way.

Oily skin is why addressing a dietary vitamin A deficiency is so vital for acne. Topical vitamin A is simply an excellent bonus.

The relevance for sea buckthorn? It’s one of greatest berries for vitamin A in the known world – 100 grams of the berry oil contains 300-870 mg (RDA is 900mg). Some report the berry to have 4 times more vitamin A than carrots.

It easily beats the seed oil, with 30-250mg. Sea buckthorn beats any commercial berry with ease, since strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries contain only negligible amounts.

Just look at its colour – the orangeness is a sign of abundant carotenoids, the plant-based form of vitamin A. Then look at the oil; the berry derived-form is much darker. The main vitamin A-producing carotenoid is beta-carotene, but there’s also lycopene (found in tomatoes and watermelon) and zeaxanthin.

As for other acne oils, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, and olive oil all contain no vitamin A. Rosehip seed oil is a rare rich source, but sea buckthorn oil still contains more.

 

Beta-sitosterol and stigmasterol are promising

The second mechanism is lowering the 5-alpha reductase enzyme, which converts testosterone into DHT, a more potent hormone for causing oily skin. 

Sea buckthorn oil achieves this thanks to beta-sitosterol. That’s a natural phytosterol, or plant sterol, which is structurally similar to cholesterol. Beta-sitosterol forms roughly 57-83% of sea-buckthorn’s total plant sterols and a good chunk of its total bioactive compounds. It’s so effective at reducing 5-alpha reductase that acne patients using it as a supplement (bad idea) are complaining about a crippled sex drive.

Topically, it’s far safer, and studies have confirmed its powers. This one tested saw palmetto and beta-sitosterol on males aged 23 to 64 with AGA, a form of hair loss where the androgen-sensitive hair follicles shrink and become inactive.

Both compounds inhibited 5a-reductase and consequently, the transformation of testosterone into DHT. 60% of hair loss patients taking beta-sitosterol were judged to have improved, versus only 10% of the control patients.

In a 2003 study, scientists injected testosterone directly into hamsters. Somehow, beta-sitosterol blocked DHT formation as effectively as the pharmaceutical hair loss drug finasteride. Interestingly, the beta-sitosterol failed to bind to androgen receptors, suggesting that the compound targets 5a-reductase directly.

This miracle compound can be obtained in a simple bottle of sea buckthorn oil. Beta-sitosterol is gathering enough steam as a 5-ar inhibitor that hair loss forums everywhere are discussing it fervently. The connection is that both hair loss and acne can be caused by a poor ratio of testosterone to DHT. Note that DHT is important for sex drive and vitality, which is why I only recommend localised topical usage.

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In fact, beta-sitosterol was also theorised to be behind turmeric’s topical oily skin properties. Likewise, beta-sitosterol is a key player in the monstrous anti-androgenic power of the saw palmetto berry.

As for sea buckthorn, this time it’s the seed oil which contains more. There’s 746mg of b-sitosterol per 100 grams, versus 522 to 576mg in the berry oil.

However, the vitamin A still makes the whole berry version superior for acne. Plus, sea buckthorn berry oil contains 6 to 10 mg of stigmasterol, another active sterol compound which the seed oil lacks. Stigmasterol is again said to inhibit DHT conversion.

 

Bonus benefit – palmitoleic acid

The story doesn’t end there, because sea buckthorn oil is the number one source of an incredibly rare fatty acid. It’s palmitoleic acid, a monounsaturated fat, found in low levels in many foods but high levels in few.

Firstly, palmitoleic acid was confirmed in one study to be the most antimicrobial of all monounsaturated fats. Some believe it to be the most antimicrobial fatty acid full stop. Consequently, palmitoleic acid pops up as a preservative in skincare and cosmetics manufacturing.

Meanwhile, this study found potential sun protecting properties. Palmitoleic acid dose-dependently decreased the melanogenic enzymes MITF and TRP-2, which increase dark pigments in skin cells in response to UV radiation. The scientists concluded that “palmitoleic acid is a candidate anti-melanogenic agent, and it might be effective in hyperpigmentation disorders”. Palmitoleic acid also caused no cytotoxicity (cell death), which they tested with an eye to future cosmetics recipes.

The most interesting study, however, was on acne bacteria. Palmitoleic acid exerted a “synergistic bactericidal activity against gram-negative pathogenic bacteria, including propionibacterium acnes”. It also blocked the growth of candida, one of the worst pathogenic yeasts.

Palmitoleic acid has very little research, but alongside linoleic acid, it’s currently the most interesting fatty acid for acne.

It’s also known as omega 7, but compared with the omega 3 of fish and the omega 6 of nuts and seeds, good sources are hard to come by. Many skincare websites insist that the increasingly popular macadamia nut oil reigns supreme…

…but they’re wrong, as it’s only second best. Sea buckthorn berry oil contains 36.3% of its total fats as palmitoleic acid, while macadamia oil contains 19%.

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After those two, it’s a wasteland. The top 8 sources are sea buckthorn berry oil (35,000mg/100 grams), macadamia nuts (15,000mg), whale blubber (6800mg), anglerfish liver (3900mg), lard (2300mg), baker’s yeast (1700mg), eel (1400mg), butter (1200mg), and Pacific herring (1000mg). Way down the list you have avocado, olive oil, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, blue cheese and breast milk, all in hundreds of milligrams or less.

Once again, the berry oil beats the seed oil. Here are the complete fatty acid contents of both oils:

Berry oil – 35.5% palmitic acid (C16), 36.3% palmitoleic acid (C16:1), 1.1% stearic acid (C18), 10% oleic acid (C18:1), 12.4% linoleic acid (C18:2), 1.2% linolenic acid (C18:3), 0.9% nervonic acid (C24:1).

Seed oil – 37% linoleic acid (C18:3), 35% linolenic acid (C18:2), 13% oleic acid (C18:1), 7.2% palmitic acid (C16), 2.4% stearic acid (C18).

Seed oil contains no palmitoleic acid. That said, it’s far from useless. It has a high percentage of linoleic acid, the standout fatty acid of grapeseed oil which strengthens the skin’s ceramide proteins.

Then there’s the extra beta-sitosterol, and the seed oil’s superiority for vitamin E, with 207mg per 100 grams to the berry oil’s 171mg. Both oils have big acne potential.

Meanwhile, the berry itself contains a massive 600mg of vitamin C per 100 grams, although vitamin C is water-soluble and won’t be retained in the oil. It’s also packed with countless phytonutrients such as zeaxanthin, lycopene, tocotrienols, tocopherols, phenols, terpenes, and glucosides. If you’re trekking to Everest base camp and the local villagers start harassing you with berry juice, then say yes!

 

Any side effects?

None that we know of. The initial study on oily skin revealed no irritation, no potentially damaging PH. The oleic acid content is a harmless 10%, far below olive oil’s 70%. Note that olive oil is an excellent food for acne, but a poor topical treatment.

Remember though: never eat sea buckthorn oil! Its endless anti-androgenic plant sterols are great at reducing oily skin topically, but also ruining your sex drive, brain clarity, energy levels and determination when eaten as a food. It’s actually the reverse of olive oil. The berry itself should be OK to eat, as the fat portion containing beta-sitosterol is in far lower proportions.

A cleanly produced and affordable product is this US Organic Sea Buckthorn Berry Oil (amazon link). Warning: avoid spilling the dark red colour.

 

Conclusion

If your greasy skin genetics are legendary, then sea buckthorn berry oil is the remedy for you.

You probably won’t notice shockingly clear skin instantaneously. The 45% reduction was achieved after 8 weeks. After 1 week, the reduction was just 17%. In fact, slow speed is an interesting feature of sebum-reducing treatments generally.

Scientifically, binding to sebaceous gland receptors and inhibiting 5-alpha reductase and DHT should occur quickly, even if your actual pores take weeks to unclog. But no, topical turmeric, licorice, and green tea all take time.

Always apply sea buckthorn oil for at least two weeks every day before you give up. Warning: avoid spilling the dark red colour.

Recently, some hype merchants have labelled sea buckthorn oil as “a complete health food store in a bottle”. It sounds like marketing claptrap, but for once, this is a topical treatment which lives up to the hype.

NEXT: learn the root causes of acne, clear your skin permanently

 

 

Thanks for reading!