Homemade Infused Carrot Oil

Today, I'm sharing a recipe for your skin. Macerated Carrot (Daucus carota) oil can be easily prepared at home. It has potent antioxidant and skin regenerating properties, for example following exposure to the sun, due to its orange pigment, beta-carotene[1].

Here is one way to make this oil. In terms of ingredients, you will simply need a few good quality (preferably organic) carrots and Sunflower (Helianthus annus) oil. Sunflowers are annual plants which, as their name suggests, grow best in full sun. The young flowers are flexible and rotate during the day to remaing facing the sun. This is known as heliotropism: "helio" in Greek meaning sun and "tropism" indicating growth or direction. During the night the young flowers return to their east-facing position to await the rising sun the following morning. Mature sunflowers no longer rotate and remain fixed in an eastward orientation. It would appear that this helps the plants to attract more pollinators and enhance seed development[2]. The Sunflower seeds are pressed to extract the oil, which is rich in vitamin E and enhances the repair and maintenance of the epidermal layer of the skin[3]. If you do not have Sunflower oil, then both Coconut oil and Olive oil have been shown to reduce inflammation of the skin following exposure to UV radiation[4].

In terms of quantites for a lipid extraction, the dry plant should represent a minimum of 10% of the total weight. For example, for 100g of infused oil, this represents 10g of carrot root and 90g of oil. The carrots are cleaned, grated and left to dry at room temperature for 3 days. If you have a dehydrator then the drying stage will be quicker. Grating the carrots increases the contact area between the oil and the root. Carrots contain between 85-95% water so it is important to eliminate excess water before macerating them to avoid mold. Once the grated carrot is dry, place it into a sterilzed jar and pour over the oil to cover the carrot completely. Close the jar and store in a warm, dark place for at least 21 days, shaking the jar once a day. The colour of the oil will become orange at which point you can filter the mixture and transfer into a clean sterilized jar to be stored in a cool, dry place.

Macerated carrot oil can be used to moisturise the skin and repair damaged or cracked skin. In spite of its orange tint, it won't change the colour of your skin!

If you would like to find out more about how plants can help your skin, read Three flowers to help repair damaged skin.

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[1] Wilhelm Stahl, Helmut Sies, Bioactivity and protective effects of natural carotenoids, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Basis of Disease, Volume 1740, Issue 2, 2005, Pages 101-107, ISSN 0925-4439, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbadis.2004.12.006.

[2] Creux, N.M., Brown, R.I., Garner, A.G., Saeed, S., Scher, C.L., Holalu, S.V., Yang, D., Maloof, J.N., Blackman, B.K. and Harmer, S.L. (2021), Flower orientation influences floral temperature, pollinator visits and plant fitness. New Phytol, 232: 868-879. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17627

[3] Stoia M, Oancea S. 2015. Selected Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Topically Applied Sunflower Oil. Applied Science Reports, 10(1), 2015, 45-49. Retrieved from www.pscipub.com (DOI:10.15192/PSCP.ASR.2015.10.1.4549)

[4] Lin T-K, Zhong L, Santiago JL. Anti-Inflammatory and Skin Barrier Repair Effects of Topical Application of Some Plant Oils. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2018; 19(1):70. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19010070