Carrier oilLinoleic-richIn every formula

Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil

Helianthus annuus · INCI Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil

Sunflower oil does not get written about much. It carries the other oils in every formula we make, and it is the oil our bladderwrack is infused into.

It is the least glamorous oil we use and one of the best evidenced.

Sunflower seed oil, the light carrier oil that runs through every formula.
Sunflower seed oil, the light carrier oil that runs through every formula.

What it is

Sunflower seed oil is high in linoleic acid, the essential omega-6 fatty acid the skin uses to build the lipids of its barrier. Essential means what it says. Your skin cannot make it, so it has to come from somewhere. That is why sunflower belongs in a moisturiser, and the research behind it is unusually good for a plant oil, including independent human studies where most oils rest on laboratory work.

When researchers compared sunflower oil with olive oil on adult skin, olive oil increased the water lost through the skin and sunflower did not. The finding concerns pressed olive oil. Olive-derived ingredients, such as squalane, are different materials.

What it does in our formulas

Sunflower oil supports the skin barrier and carries the rest of the formula.

01

It supports the barrier

Sunflower oil is roughly half to three-quarters linoleic acid, the essential omega-6 the skin cannot make for itself and needs to build its barrier lipids. In a study on adult skin, it did not increase the water lost through the skin's surface, where olive oil did.

Well characterised
02

It carries everything else

A light, neutral oil that spreads easily and carries the rest of the formula evenly across the skin. It is also the oil our bladderwrack is infused into, so a little of it arrives twice.

Well characterised

What the research does not show

Sunflower is more often under-rated than over-claimed.

Marketed as A cheap filler oil
The claim is usually implied rather than stated. Sunflower is inexpensive, and it is also among the best-evidenced oils in cosmetic science.
Marketed as A treatment for eczema
Some of the strongest work on sunflower oil was done on infants and on people with atopic dermatitis. That is medical research. Our products are moisturisers, and we make no claims about any skin condition.

On the label and in the range

Sunflower appears in every one of our formulations, in the middle of the ingredient list. It arrives twice, in a sense, since it is also the oil our bladderwrack is infused into, so a little more comes in with that. Both are declared. The exact percentage is published on each product page, as it is for everything we use.

Is it suitable for me?

Sunflower oil has a long safety record in cosmetics and is well tolerated on sensitive skin. It suits a vegan routine and carries no restrictions under UK or EU cosmetic law. Being high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, it oxidises more readily than a stable oil like jojoba, which is one reason the formulas carry tocopherol.

Vegan-friendlySensitive-skin suitableWell tolerated

As with anything new, if your skin reacts easily it is worth patch testing first.

Science led
Science led
Made to be gentle on skin
Made to be gentle on skin
Every formulation published
Every formulation published

The research behind this page

We review the published literature. We do not conduct the studies below.

  1. Danby SG, AlEnezi T, Sultan A, Lavender T, Chittock J, Brown K, Cork MJ. Effect of Olive and Sunflower Seed Oil on the Adult Skin Barrier: Implications for Neonatal Skin Care. Pediatr Dermatol 2013;30(1):42-50. →
  2. 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. →
  3. Summers A, Visscher MO, Khatry SK, et al. Impact of sunflower seed oil versus mustard seed oil on skin barrier function in newborns: a community-based, cluster-randomized trial. BMC Pediatr 2019;19(1):512. →
Found in every Biotaderm formulation Shop the range