Cold-Pressed Avocado Oil (Persea gratissima) is a rich, deeply nourishing botanical oil that’s like food for your skin. It’s a heavyweight in the world of plant-based oils—loaded with essential nutrients, deeply moisturizing fatty acids, and skin-repairing antioxidants. And because it’s cold-pressed (rather than refined or heat-treated), it retains the maximum concentration of active compounds.

What is Cold-Pressed Avocado Oil?

Cold-pressed avocado oil is extracted from the flesh of ripe avocados, not the seed. The oil has a deep greenish hue (thanks to chlorophyll) and a thick texture that absorbs slowly but deeply. It’s rich in moisturizing and barrier-repairing oleic acid (omega-9), linoleic acid (omega-6), protective palmitic acid, vitamins A, D, and E, soothing chlorophyll and antioxidant-rich carotenoids.

How is Cold-Pressed Avocado Oil used in skincare?

Cold-pressed avocado oil is typically used:

• Used as a facial oil or night oil for dry, mature, or sensitive skin
• Often applied over damp skin to lock in moisture
• Blended with lighter oils (like jojoba or rosehip) for better absorption
• Found in moisturizers, balms, serums, masks, and even cleansing oils
• Common in eczema creams, barrier repair formulas, and baby care products
• Used in after-sun care and healing ointments

What are the benefits of Cold-Pressed Avocado Oil for your complexion and skin microbiome?

Avocado oil is gentle, barrier-supportive, and helps maintain the lipid-rich environment your microbiome thrives in. While not a true prebiotic, it helps nourish beneficial microbes by strengthening the skin barrier. It also reduces microbiome-disrupting inflammation and helps maintain the slightly acidic, hydrated conditions needed for microbiome health. Let’s take a closer look at all of its benefits:

• Deep Moisture & Barrier Repair: Your skin microbiome thrives when the stratum corneum (your outer skin layer) is intact and well-lubricated. High in oleic acid, avocado oil softens and seals in hydration, helping to strengthen the lipid barrier, and preventing transepidermal water loss (TEWL). It’s perfect for dry, flaky, or dehydrated skin.
• Soothing & Anti-Inflammatory: Chlorophyll and phytosterols calm redness, itchiness, and irritation. Avocado oil is beneficial for conditions like eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea-prone skin. The best part? Unlike harsher essential oils, avocado oil doesn’t have a broad-spectrum antibacterial effect, so it doesn’t harm beneficial microbes.
• Rich in Antioxidants: Vitamin E, carotenoids, and polyphenols help neutralize free radicals and protect against UV-induced oxidative damage—making it great in after-sun products.
• Supports Skin Healing: It promotes collagen production and wound healing and encourages faster repair of cracked or compromised skin.
• Non-Comedogenic: Avocado oil is rated 2 on the comedogenic scale, meaning it’s generally well-tolerated, even by combo or acne-prone skin when used in moderation.

Avocado oil is like a nutritive soil for your skin’s microbiome garden—supportive, soothing, and full of resources microbes love. It doesn’t disturb the balance. It helps you build resilience, from the barrier up.