Why We’re Seed Oil Conscious
Walk into any pharmacy or beauty store and pick up a moisturiser. Turn it over. Somewhere in that ingredients list you’ll almost certainly find a seed oil — rosehip, grapeseed, sunflower, hemp. Often more than one.
They’re marketed as natural. As nourishing. As good for your skin.
We just think there’s a better option.
A bit of history
Before seed oils became a skincare staple, many were industrial products. In the 1940s, highly unsaturated oils were used to make paints and varnishes — valued because they dried quickly on contact with air. They were literally called “drying oils.”
Somewhere along the way, these same oils ended up in our food supply, then in our skincare.
The chemistry didn’t change. The marketing did.
The problem with PUFAs
Seed oils are high in polyunsaturated fatty acids — PUFAs. Unlike saturated fats, PUFAs have multiple double bonds in their molecular structure. Those double bonds are vulnerable — they react with oxygen, heat and light and break down. This process is called oxidation.
Oxidation can begin soon after an oil is extracted. By the time a seed oil has been pressed, transported, stored, and formulated into a product, some degradation may already be underway — even if it smells fine. Many are deodorised to mask this.
Here is how common skincare oils compare in PUFA content:
High PUFA oils
Rosehip seed oil — approximately 70 to 85%
Hemp seed oil — approximately 75 to 80%
Grapeseed oil — approximately 65 to 75%
Sunflower oil — approximately 60 to 75%
Low PUFA oils — what we chose
Olive fruit oil — approximately 10%
Jojoba — approximately 5%
Grass-fed tallow — approximately 3 to 5%
The difference is significant.
What oxidation means for skin
When oils oxidise they can generate free radicals — unstable molecules that may damage cells and promote inflammation. There is growing concern that high-PUFA oils may contribute to sensitivity, barrier disruption and accelerated skin ageing over time.
Your body also runs at 37 degrees. That heat alone is enough to accelerate oxidation of products once they’re on your skin.
Cold pressed doesn’t mean stable
Cold pressing describes how an oil is extracted — without heat. It says nothing about what happens after. The stability of an oil comes down to its molecular structure, not its extraction method. A cold pressed rosehip oil is still 70 to 85% PUFA. It will begin to oxidise after extraction regardless.
What we chose instead
Nudae is built around grass-fed tallow. Tallow is predominantly saturated and monounsaturated fat — more stable than high-PUFA oils and remarkably similar in composition to the lipids found naturally in human skin. That’s why it absorbs so readily and feels so compatible.
Tallow also contains fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, along with conjugated linoleic acid — a naturally anti-inflammatory compound found in very few other ingredients.
Every other ingredient in our formula was chosen for the same reason — stability, compatibility, and honesty about what it does.
Jojoba is technically a liquid wax rather than an oil, which makes it uniquely stable. It closely mimics sebum, absorbs readily, and won’t clog pores.
Olive fruit oil has been used on skin for thousands of years. Low in PUFAs, rich in oleic acid, and well tolerated by most skin types including sensitive skin.
Olive squalane is one of the most skin-compatible ingredients available — lightweight, deeply moisturising, and completely stable.
Cocoa seed butter adds richness and a subtle natural scent. We keep the percentage low enough to avoid comedogenic risk while still getting the benefit.
Beeswax creates a light protective barrier that helps lock in moisture without blocking the skin from breathing.
How to check your own products
Look at the first five ingredients on your moisturiser. If you see rosehip, grapeseed, sunflower, hemp or rice bran oil, you’re applying a high-PUFA product to your skin every day. That doesn’t automatically make it harmful — but it’s worth knowing.
We’re not anti-natural. We’re pro-honest. Seed oil conscious means we’ve looked at the chemistry, considered what we’re actually putting on skin, and made a deliberate choice.
Nudae x