Pumpkin seed oil comes from the seeds of pumpkins and related squashes, members of the gourd family alongside cucumbers and melons. Several species are grown as pumpkins, so their seeds do not all have identical oil compositions. In skincare, pumpkin seed oil is valued as an emollient plant oil with a characteristic balance of fatty acids and naturally occurring minor constituents. [1]
Fatty acids and naturally occurring vitamin E
Pumpkin seed oil contains substantial amounts of linoleic acid and oleic acid, with smaller amounts of palmitic and stearic acids. Its balance varies among species and cultivars; this mixture is one of the most useful ways to describe the ingredient rather than treating pumpkin seed oil as a single uniform chemical composition. [2,3]
The oil also contains tocopherols, compounds in the vitamin E family, and phytosterols, plant-derived sterols found in many seed oils. [2,4]
In skincare
As an emollient, pumpkin seed oil helps condition the skin, leaving its surface feeling softer and more supple. Its triglycerides give it the lubricating properties of a plant oil, while its linoleic acid is relevant to the lipid biology of the skin barrier. The combination of fatty acids, tocopherols and phytosterols makes pumpkin seed oil an interesting material in botanical skincare blends.
At Deschampsia
We use pumpkin seed oil in Glow Serum and Rescue Balm.
