A delicate little flower with a yellow blossom and red seeds, the evening primrose flower yields an oil that performs a multitude of functions. High in rich emollients, it’ been used for the skin for hundreds of years and now is making its debut with Fleur & Bee as an ingredient in some of our newest products- H2 Oh Yeah hydrating moisturizer and Youth Fairy retinol moisturizer. That’s why, in this article, we’ll discuss what evening primrose oil is, the benefits of evening primrose oil and how to use evening primrose oil.
IN A NUTSHELL
Ingredient Category: Emollient
Main Benefit: Evening primrose oil helps hydrate, tighten, and protect the skin, amongst many other functions.
Find It In: H2 Oh Yeah Hydrating Moisturizer and Youth Fairy Retinol Moisturizer.
What is Evening Primrose Oil?
Known as oenothera biennis, evening primrose is a delicate little yellow flower that’s found all over North America, from Florida to Alberta, Canada. It’s a serious night owl — opening only at night, its leaves are closed tightly during the day. Used in everything from food (its leaves are completely edible) to medicine, evening primrose oil is a wonderfully effective and versatile skincare ingredient.
Evening Primrose Oil Benefits
As we mentioned before, there are many skincare benefits to evening primrose oil–so many, it almost seems as if it would be easier just to name what it can’t do! From protecting the skin to hydrating it, here are just a few of the benefits of evening primrose oil:
- Evening Primrose Oil helps hydrate the skin - Next to its beauty, evening primrose oil is perhaps best known for its ability to hydrate the skin. Full of fatty acids like omega-6 and omega-9, it keeps the skin hydrated and happy.These fatty acids cannot be produced by the body, so using evening primrose oil is a great way to make sure your skin is getting them.
- Evening Primrose Oil helps skin retain moisture - Perhaps just as important as making sure the skin is hydrated is making sure it keeps that moisture. Because evening primrose oil contains omega-6, it helps skin retain moisture, keeping it soft and younger-looking.
- Evening Primrose Oil helps cleanse the skin - Evening primrose oil contains something called stearic acid, which helps to cleanse the skin.
- Evening Primrose Oil helps improve the texture of skin - If you’ve got rough skin that doesn’t feel smooth to the touch or is uneven in texture, evening primrose oil should definitely be on your list of ingredients to try.
- Evening Primrose Oil helps protect the skin - Evening primrose oil contains the antioxidant beta carotene, which helps fight environmental stressors that work to harm the skin, such as pollution, sun, smoking- and even air conditioning!
- Evening Primrose Oil helps tighten and firm your look - As we age, our skin has a tendency to lose its elasticity. Evening primrose oil helps tighten and firm the appearance of your skin, providing a fresh and revitalized appearance.
- Evening Primrose Oil helps the skin glow - Again, because it contains beta carotene, evening primrose oil encourages a healthy glow. If your skin is looking a bit dull, try a little evening primrose oil.
- Evening Primrose Oil is anti-aging - By helping to improve the skin’s overall health via hydration, protection from the elements, and getting to work on fine lines and wrinkles, it promotes younger-looking skin.
- Evening Primrose Oil helps renew the look of beautiful skin - If you’re like a lot of people, you may have issues keeping your skin smooth and calm. Evening primrose oil helps remedy that by helping to restore your skin.
- Evening Primrose Oil has a calming effect on the skin - If you have skin that’s easily irritated, try a little evening primrose oil to help soothe your skin.
- Evening Primrose Oil is non-comedogenic - This is crucial when it comes to just about any skincare ingredient you use. Evening primrose oil will not clog pores, which is absolutely essential to keeping skin healthy and looking its best.
- Evening Primrose Oil is great for all skin types - Whether you have dry skin, sensitive skin, oily skin, or a combination of all three, evening primrose oil will work for you!
How to Use Evening Primrose Oil
Now that you know some of the benefits of evening primrose oil, you’ll probably want to know how to use it for your skin. Here’s a simple plan to incorporate it into your skincare routine:
Cleanse Your Skin
There’s no such thing as a great skincare plan without starting by cleansing your skin. A simple, gentle cleanser that won’t harm or dry your skin is the way to go, which is why our So Clean! facial cleanser is ideal and contains 13 nourishing actives.
Tone Your Skin
Not only does toning the skin help refresh, hydrate, and soothe the skin, our Rose and Shine rose water toner feels fantastic on the skin. All you need is a couple of spritzes to hydrate your skin and give it that dewy look.
Apply Serum
Love your skin by applying a hydrating serum, such as Just Dew It, morning and evening, to keep your skin looking and feeling its best. Rich in hydrating ingredients such as aloe vera, hyaluronic acid and jojoba oil, this hydrating serum partners perfectly with the following moisturizer, H2 Oh Yeah.
Moisturizer
Here’s where the evening primrose oil comes in! A creamy moisturizer that is great for dry and dehydrated skin, our H2 Oh Yeah hydrating moisturizer provides a deeper level of hydration to help smooth your skin and help diminish the look of fine lines and wrinkles. And yes- it includes evening primrose oil!
If you really want to help renew and rejuvenate your skin, our new Youth Fairy retinol moisturizer is just the ticket–and it also contains evening primrose oil! Not only does it rejuvenate the skin, it brightens, hydrates, minimizes the look of dark spots, and evens out skin tone. How’s that for an anti-aging multi-tasker?
Apply Eye Cream
If you really want to look great years from now, use eye cream. Even if you think you’re too young for it (and we promise you, you’re not!), you’ll want to start using a lightweight eye cream like our Eyes Eyes Baby anti-aging eye cream to keep the skin around your eyes looking its best. Not only does it help hydrate the delicate skin around the eye area, it helps minimize the look of dark spots and puffiness.
Use a Detox Mask
To really help cleanse the skin of impurities, apply a detox mask like our Prince Charcoal detox mask once or twice a week. With 32 nourishing actives and a lovely, lightweight floral scent, it’s the perfect way to unwind during your “me time.”
So, that’s your primer on evening primrose oil. As you can see, it performs a multitude of functions–we hope you’ll consider incorporating it into your skincare routine!
