Human skin has its own microbiome—this is information that only recently has come to light in western science. As the science unfolds before us, we are seeing more and more that the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda may have, in a sense, already “been there and done that!”
Our skin is home to more than 40 different staphylococcal species. One such species, known as Staphylococcus epidermidis, is found on healthy human skin of the body and has been shown to cleanse, beautify, and correct the appearance of the skin. (1)
Research shows that S. epidermidis produces a chemical, 6-n-hydroxyaminopurine (6-hap), which may responsible for these effects on the skin. (1)
We all want radiant, glowing, gorgeous skin. So… how do we make this skin-beautifying species thrive?
The answer is abhyanga—the ancient practice of daily self-massage with sesame oil! >>> Watch a video demo now
Sesame Oil: Ayurveda’s Oil of Choice
The ancient texts of Ayurveda revealed many uses for sesame oil. (2) Here are a few of them:
- Karna purana, where warmed sesame oil (often infused with herbs) is slowly dripped into the ears, followed by a thorough, but gentle massage of the ears.
- Basti, a sesame oil enema for a healthy and supple colon.
- Gandusha, commonly known as oil pulling, for healthy detox of the oral cavity.
- Nasya, a powerful therapeutic technique to cleanse the sinuses.
- Abhyanga, the nourishing and nurturing practice of daily self-massage.
Each of these lifestyle practices are aimed at areas of the body where beneficial microbes concentrate: the mouth, ears, nose, mouth, rectum and skin of the body.
The practice of applying sesame oil to these areas cleanses and alters the appearance of the skin. This is why they became part of the traditional Ayurvedic daily routine.
Traditionally, daily abhyanga starts at birth and is commonly practiced every day of one’s life until death.
Now, we have science to help explain this time-tested tradition!
In one study, the healthy skin bacteria, Staphylococcus epidermidis was isolated from sesame oil – the traditional and most commonly used oil for all of the Ayurvedic oil techniques described above! (3)
This finding suggests that the daily application of sesame oil on the skin may support the healthy proliferation of S. epidermidis.
The microbes that live on the skin feed on a triglyceride-rich fatty acid, called sebum, which is naturally produced by the sebaceous glands of the skin.
Studies evaluating the constituents of sesame oil found that it is very rich in triglyceride fatty acids, suggesting that the daily application of sesame oil may actually be feeding the skin’s microbiome. (8)
Basically, the oil on our skin acts as a source of nourishment for the skin’s microbiome. (9)
The active constituent in sesame oil is a vitamin E-rich compound called sesamol. Sesamol has also been shown to support the beautification and cleansing of the skin. (4,5,6)
S. epidermidis that has been isolated from sesame oil makes a compound called Fatty Acid Modifying Enzyme (FAME). FAME allows S. epidermidis to continue to thrive on the skin and produce 6-hap to support the appearance of glowing, beautiful, clean skin. (7)
KE says
March 28, 2018 at 8:41 pmHow do you make fresh sesame oil from the seeds?
Meg says
November 13, 2018 at 12:27 pmYou’d have to have an oil press.
Liz says
March 24, 2018 at 10:34 amIs the daily application of unrefined expeller pressed Eden “TOASTED” Sesame Oil to the skin appropriate (as opposed to not toasted)?? https://thrivemarket.com/p/eden-foods-toasted-sesame-oil?utm_source=google&utm_medium=pla&ccode=FIRST3&ccode_force=1&utm_medium=pla&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Shopping_Food_Beverages&utm_content=024182000283&utm_term=google-pla_na&gclid=CjwKCAjw7tfVBRB0EiwAiSYGMxd_4yGaXmNBQRdzNdoIvNeERnOs2UEAt4ThDfTP4uMbhEK-CZ3orBoC_KEQAvD_BwE
C says
March 25, 2018 at 9:10 amToasted sesame oil (as well as most other oil from the grocery store) is a product of complex refining that damages plant oils, and is to my knowledge unsuitable for therapeutic application as ayurvedic tradition describes.
Anyone interested in the use of oils as therapeutic agents can follow the traditional steps of creating their own. Once you’ve tasted, smelled, and felt the difference between good fresh oils and processed, refined oils, you’ll be able to identify even most organic and “cold pressed” oils as rancid. Unfortunately, these are cheap extracts, and you get what you pay for. To determine what sort of cost you should expect for the “real deal,” make your own and see how much effort it takes to do it the right way – and how much material you have to go through! With that in mind, paying even $15 for a half liter of oil is (in my opinion) asking too little. Even when the oil has been made in the correct method for it to retain its health-giving properties, it’s likely to have sat on a shelf under fluorescent light for months.
Buyer beware! Marketing terms like “expeller pressed, cold pressed,” etc can be very misleading, and in order for an oil to be sold for what’s considered a decent price, it’s going to be stretched, refined, heated, in contact with cleaners, chemicals, questionable metals, probably rancidified, old, all as part of the processes necessary to get it looking right for humans, while sparing each and every other part for use in other industries.
Hope this helps! 🙂
Rose says
March 26, 2018 at 11:06 amThanks, C. It helps a lot. Would butter or ghee work as a replacement? They
C says
March 28, 2018 at 8:47 amFor certain people, ghee and butter can replace oils in “oleation therapy” and unction (fat therapy, or “softening” therapy).
However, ghee and butter have different properties than plant oils. For example, while oils with hot qualities (sesame oil, for example) are recommended for kapha-related diseases of the digestive tract, or vata-kapha related skin disease, if applied similarly to a strong case of pitta (ex: gallbladder disease, hyperacidity, or even burns on the skin) these same oils can worsen the problem tremendously. Ghee and butter have useful applications where excess “heat” is a problem, but those with excess kapha will certainly worsen from the indiscriminate use of ghee and butter – indiscriminate meaning, unless combined knowledgeably with other things.
Like this: ghee shouldn’t be used much during pure kapha, where obesity, oily skin, depression, hypothyroidism, balding, gynecomastia (etc) are seen as symptoms above all else – it will cause the problems to worsen and become harder to cure. However, ghee can be used cleverly in this situation to help the problems if it’s mixed with triphala, or a lightening diet with plenty of spices, or heating therapies that involve hormones (as might be the case with use of ginsengs, epimedium, yadda). When mixed correctly, rather than furthering the congestion and sluggishness of the kapha imbalance, the ghee is immediately used to fuel the fire of the body and correct long term kapha imbalance.
So it’s difficult to answer the question directly. I would say no, ghee and butter are just different from plant oils. The situation is such that, because of scarcity of healthy qualities in some of the foods and medicines available to us from commercial sources, some old therapies are simply out of the question. Luckily, anything can be used as a medicine, if applied properly, and so with a wise physician you’re never at a loss for options, and the physician himself won’t be too restricted in treating disease if he’s not stuck on making one specific therapy work.
You might try refrigerated whole flaxseed or chiaseed, or whole refrigerated nuts and seeds that have no smell of rancidity. These will not be as effective for oleation/unction therapies as described in ayurveda, but they can act as nutritional medicine in the same regard, and help to supply those same types of fats. Flaxseed and chiaseed are my picks, because like sesame seed and other traditional plant oils, they can work to soften the tissues while dissolving kapha-type congestion and fatty buildups. And they have slightly opposite qualities. Flaxseed is heavy and hot, whereas chia is (in my opinion) cold and light. If you’re the type that feels too light and airy, flaxseed may help more. If you tend to feel more heavy, sluggish, heated, chia seed may be of more benefit. Either way, use the whole seed, and when in doubt you can definitely combine them. Soaking is necessary for chia seed, and recommended strongly for flaxseed. Unfortunately, these cannot be used for massage unless you fresh-press the oil yourself and use it immediately, but they make great food medicines to replace the lower quality oils on the shelves, so long as they’re as fresh and unprocessed as possible.
Hope this helps!
C says
March 28, 2018 at 8:56 amOh, one last thing: for massage, if kapha isn’t too much of an issue, ghee and unsalted grass-fed (darker color) butter can be used. Butter will be more akin to sesame oil. However, I’d recommend adding herbal extracts and essential oils to have them behave more like sesame oil – mixtures of warm or hot spices like cinnamon, clove, etc. You may need someone skilled with oil massage to devise a good formula for you.
My choice for oil massage and skin application, however, would be the freshest olive oil available. Do some research on olive oil determine what a high quality product is, and make sure it’s the absolute most fresh you can get it. It should be bitter and slightly spicy. This makes a very fine replacement for traditional sesame oil in massage and internal use for oleation and unction therapies. It’s very similar to sesame oil for therapeutic use, depending on the variety of olive and where/when it’s grown, and depending on freshness. High quality olive oil is reputed for its ability to inhibit disease-causing microbes, more so than store-bought sesame oil in fact.
I sort of departed from your question in my first reply. I hope this answers it more directly. 🙂