Bright orange, beautifully rich and packed with naturally occurring skin-loving compounds, sea buckthorn oil is one of those ingredients that immediately catches your attention.
But behind that incredible golden-orange colour is a botanical oil with an interesting composition that has made it increasingly popular in natural skincare.
From nourishing dry skin to supporting the skin barrier and giving the complexion a beautiful natural radiance, there are plenty of reasons we're a little obsessed with it.
So, what exactly is sea buckthorn oil, what does it do for your skin, and should you be adding it to your skincare ritual?
Let's take a closer look.
What is Sea Buckthorn?
Sea buckthorn, or Hippophae rhamnoides, is a hardy shrub known for the clusters of vivid orange berries that grow along its branches.
Despite its name, it isn't actually related to the sea. The plant grows naturally across parts of Europe and Asia and has a long history of use.
Here are a few things worth knowing about this beautiful botanical:
- Sea buckthorn produces tiny, intensely orange berries which contain naturally occurring fatty acids, carotenoids, tocopherols and other plant compounds.
- There are two main types of sea buckthorn oil used in skincare: oil obtained from the seeds and oil obtained from the fleshy fruit surrounding the seeds.
- Sea buckthorn fruit oil is particularly rich in colour, ranging from golden orange through to deep reddish orange.
- That distinctive colour is completely natural and comes largely from the carotenoid pigments found within the fruit.
- Sea buckthorn fruit oil contains palmitoleic acid, also known as omega-7, alongside other fatty acids.
- It contains naturally occurring antioxidant compounds, including carotenoids and tocopherols.
- In skincare, it acts as an emollient, helping to condition the skin and leave it feeling soft, smooth and nourished.
- Its naturally intense colour can also bring a subtle warmth and healthy-looking radiance to the complexion when incorporated into a finished skincare formulation.
At Wild Rising, it's sea buckthorn fruit oil that caught our attention.
It's rich. It's vibrant. And that incredible golden-orange colour is something you really have to see in person.
But its appearance is only part of the story.
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What Are the Benefits of Sea Buckthorn Oil for Skin?
Sea buckthorn has become an increasingly popular skincare ingredient because of its combination of naturally occurring fatty acids and antioxidant compounds.
Here are some of the reasons why as a natural skincare brand we love it.
1. It Helps Nourish Dry Skin
If your skin regularly feels dry, tight or like it's crying out for something richer, botanical oils can be a beautiful addition to your routine.
Sea buckthorn fruit oil is naturally rich in lipids and acts as an emollient, helping to soften and condition the surface of the skin.
Unlike a water-based moisturiser, an oil doesn't directly add water to the skin. Instead, oils can form part of a routine designed to help reduce moisture loss and leave the skin feeling more comfortable and supple.
This makes sea buckthorn particularly suited to richer facial oils and balms.
2. It Helps Support the Skin Barrier
You've probably heard us talk about the skin barrier before, and for good reason.
The outermost layers of our skin perform an incredibly important job. They help keep moisture in while protecting us from our external environment.
Lipids are an important component of that barrier.
Because sea buckthorn fruit oil contains a range of naturally occurring fatty acids, it can help condition and replenish the skin's surface, making it a particularly interesting ingredient when creating skincare for dry or moisture-depleted skin.
It's not about stripping the skin or trying to make it feel squeaky clean.
Quite the opposite.
Sometimes skin simply needs to be nourished, protected and left feeling comfortable again.
3. It's Naturally Rich in Omega Fatty Acids
One of the things that makes sea buckthorn fruit oil particularly interesting is its fatty-acid profile.
It contains palmitoleic acid, commonly referred to as omega-7, alongside other fatty acids.
Fatty acids play an important role in the way botanical oils behave on the skin. They contribute to their emollient properties and help create that soft, conditioned feeling after application.
This is also one of the reasons we love combining different botanical oils in a formulation. Each oil brings its own characteristics rather than expecting one ingredient to do everything.
4. It Contains Naturally Occurring Antioxidants
Sea buckthorn doesn't get that spectacular orange colour by accident.
The fruit contains naturally occurring carotenoids, a family of plant pigments responsible for many of the vivid yellow, orange and red colours we see in nature.
Sea buckthorn also contains tocopherols and other naturally occurring plant compounds with antioxidant properties.
Antioxidants are valued in skincare because they can help protect against oxidative stress caused by environmental factors and free radicals.
Rather than thinking of antioxidants as an overnight miracle, they're better viewed as one part of a well-rounded skincare routine designed to keep the skin looking healthy and cared for.
5. It Leaves Skin Feeling Soft and Smooth
Sometimes the best skincare benefit is also the simplest: how your skin actually feels after you've used something.
Sea buckthorn oil's emollient properties help condition the skin's surface, which can leave it feeling noticeably softer and smoother.
And when it's blended into a rich balm alongside other botanical oils, you get that beautiful melting texture that glides across the skin rather than disappearing immediately.
It's particularly lovely as part of an evening skincare ritual when you have a little more time to massage your products in and let your skin drink up all that nourishment.
6. It Gives Skin a Beautiful Natural Glow
Now for one of our favourite things about sea buckthorn fruit oil: the colour.
If you've ever seen pure sea buckthorn fruit oil, you'll know exactly what we mean. Its colour can be incredibly intense, ranging from rich golden orange to almost red.
That colour comes largely from its naturally occurring carotenoids.
When incorporated at an appropriate level into a skincare formulation, that natural warmth can help leave the complexion looking beautifully radiant and subtly sun-kissed.
We're not talking about fake tan, and sea buckthorn doesn't actually tan your skin.
Think of it more as an immediate healthy-looking warmth and glow.
No shimmer. No tanning agents. Just that beautiful golden hue coming from the botanical oil itself.
7. It's Beautiful for Dry and Mature-Looking Skin
Our skin changes throughout our lives, and many people find that it becomes drier as they get older.
That can mean previously loved lightweight products no longer feel quite enough.
Richer emollient ingredients such as sea buckthorn can be particularly appealing when the goal is to leave the skin feeling soft, supple and intensely nourished.
That doesn't mean you need to wait until you have mature skin to use it, either.
Anyone experiencing periods of dryness or wanting a richer skincare ritual may enjoy incorporating an oil-based product into their routine.
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Sea Buckthorn Seed Oil vs Sea Buckthorn Fruit Oil: What's the Difference?
This is an important distinction because they're often simply referred to as "sea buckthorn oil", despite not being exactly the same.
Both come from the same sea buckthorn berry, but one is extracted from the seeds while the other comes from the fleshy fruit.
Their fatty-acid compositions differ, and visually they're quite different too.
Sea buckthorn fruit oil is generally much more intensely pigmented because of its carotenoid content, giving it that characteristic deep golden-orange appearance.
It's the fruit oil we use at Wild Rising
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Can You Use Sea Buckthorn Oil on Your Face?
Yes! Sea buckthorn oil is used in a variety of facial skincare formulations.
However, that doesn't necessarily mean we'd recommend reaching for a bottle of pure sea buckthorn fruit oil and applying it liberally to your face.
It's an extremely concentrated and intensely coloured botanical oil, and the pure oil can temporarily colour the skin.
Instead, it can be incorporated into a carefully balanced formulation alongside other complementary ingredients.
This also allows the finished product to combine the properties of several botanical oils rather than relying on just one.
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Does Sea Buckthorn Oil Tan Your Skin?
No. Imagine if it did.
Sea buckthorn oil isn't a tanning ingredient and doesn't create a real tan.
What makes sea buckthorn fruit oil particularly interesting is its naturally intense colour.
When formulated into a finished skincare product, those golden-orange pigments can give the skin an immediate warm, radiant appearance. It's one of the things we love most about it - We like to call it a naturally sun-kissed glow.
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How Do You Use Sea Buckthorn Oil in Your Skincare Routine?
How you use sea buckthorn will depend on the product it's been formulated into.
When used within a facial balm, a small amount can be warmed between the fingertips until it begins to melt before being gently massaged into clean skin.
A richer balm can be used as part of a morning or evening skincare routine, depending on your skin and the particular formulation.
You may also find richer products particularly useful during colder months, after exposure to harsh weather, or simply whenever your skin feels like it needs a little extra nourishment.
And remember: with concentrated oil-based skincare, more isn't necessarily better.
A little can go a surprisingly long way.
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What Ingredients Work Well With Sea Buckthorn?
One of the things we love about formulating with botanical oils is the ability to combine different ingredients to create something greater than the sum of its parts.
Sea buckthorn fruit oil works beautifully alongside other plant oils.
Rosehip oil, for example, is another much-loved botanical oil with its own distinctive fatty-acid profile.
Jojoba oil has a wonderfully silky skin feel, while sweet almond oil is a classic emollient that helps soften and condition the skin.
Combine them carefully and you can create something rich and nourishing without simply feeling like you've covered your face in oil.
And that brings us rather nicely to something we've been working on...
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Something Golden Is Coming to Wild Rising...
There's a reason we've suddenly got so much to say about sea buckthorn.
Behind the scenes at Wild Rising, we've been working on a completely new formulation.
At its heart is that incredible golden-orange sea buckthorn fruit oil, paired with rosehip, jojoba and sweet almond oil to create something rich, melting and intensely nourishing.
It's a little different from anything we've made before.
And for now, that's all we're saying.
EMBER is coming.
Want to be one of the first to know more? Keep an eye on Wild Rising — we'll be revealing more very soon.