Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Seed Oil
Punica granatum · INCI Punica Granatum Seed Oil
Pomegranate seed oil is pressed from the seeds inside the fruit, and it is a good example of why the part of a plant matters as much as the plant itself. The pomegranate's famous chemistry is mostly elsewhere; what the seed oil brings is something more particular.
We use the seed oil for its unusual fatty acid, punicic acid, and we are careful not to claim the antioxidant polyphenols that live in the peel, not the oil.
What it is
The pomegranate is a fruit of several parts, and they are not interchangeable. The peel and juice hold the ellagitannins, the polyphenols behind most of the antioxidant research. The seed, and the oil pressed from it, hold something different: punicic acid, a conjugated fatty acid that is rare in the plant world and gives the seed oil its character. That is the part we use, and it is worth being clear about.
As a conditioning oil it softens and nourishes, and its punicic acid carries an antioxidant and calming character in the research, mostly shown so far in the laboratory rather than on skin.
What it does in our formulas
Two things: it conditions, and it carries an unusual fatty acid.
It conditions the skin
Pomegranate seed oil is a conditioning oil that softens and nourishes, sitting comfortably alongside the lighter oils in the blends it belongs to.
Well characterisedIts punicic acid is distinctive
The seed oil is unusually rich in punicic acid, a conjugated fatty acid found in very few other plants, which the research links to an antioxidant and calming character, so far mostly in the laboratory.
Emerging evidenceWhat the research does not show
Pomegranate is one of the most heavily researched fruits in nutrition, and that research gets borrowed freely by skincare. The trouble is that most of it is about the wrong part of the fruit.
Marketed as A polyphenol antioxidant powerhouse
Marketed as Clinically proven to reverse ageing
So we describe the seed oil for what it is: a conditioning oil with an unusual and interesting fatty acid, and we leave the peel's reputation with the peel.
On the label and in the range
Pomegranate appears in the Balanced and Oily Sensitive blends, high on the ingredient list since it is one of the main oils. On the label it reads by its INCI name, shown with its common name. The exact percentage is published on each product page, as it is for everything we use.
Is it suitable for me?
Pomegranate seed oil is well tolerated, suits a vegan routine, and sits comfortably on sensitive skin, which is why it is part of the Oily Sensitive blend. As a plant seed oil it carries no restrictions under UK or EU cosmetic law.
As with anything new, if your skin reacts easily it is worth patch testing first.
The research behind this page
We review the published literature. We do not conduct the studies below.
- Aslam MN, Lansky EP, Varani J. Pomegranate as a cosmeceutical source: pomegranate fractions promote proliferation and procollagen synthesis and inhibit matrix metalloproteinase-1 production in human skin cells. J Ethnopharmacol 2006;103(3):311-318. "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2005.07.027", "url"=>"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2005.07.027"}" rel="nofollow">→
- Dermocosmetic Potential of Punica granatum: A Systematic Review of Bioactive Compounds and Skincare Applications. Antioxidants 2026;15(3):332. "https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox15030332", "url"=>"https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox15030332"}" rel="nofollow">→
- Lin TK, Zhong L, Santiago JL. Anti-Inflammatory and Skin Barrier Repair Effects of Topical Application of Some Plant Oils. Int J Mol Sci 2018;19(1):70. "https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19010070", "url"=>"https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19010070"}" rel="nofollow">→