Olive Oil

For thousands of years the civilized world has known about the positive effects of consuming olive oil. Ancient peoples used olive oil not just for consumption and cooking, but also as perfume, anointment for the dead, soap, and lights. In ancient Greece, athletes ritually rubbed it all over their bodies. It has been the fountain of great wealth and power, anointing the noblest of heads throughout history. Its no wonder then that in modern times this elixir from the gods is more popular than ever, not just for use in cooking, but perhaps just as importantly, for its soothing the skin.
Since its cultivation an estimated 5000 to 6000 years ago, the olive tree has stood for health, wealth, and even peace. Each year farmers around the world produce more than 3.2 million metric tons of fruit, and the oil is extracted from the pit of the olive in much the same process as other oils.
Benefits for your Skin Olive oil does have some reported benefits to the skin. According to the International Olive Council, olive oil has many vitamins, including A, D, and K, as well as vitamin E. It also has antioxidant properties, so it might help prevent or reverse damage from cancer-causing ultraviolet radiation.  It has a very high concentration of an ingredient called squalene as compared to the other types of fats and oils that humans normally eat. The squalene is what gives olive oil the extra antioxidant boost. It moisturizes and fights bacteria. If you’re prone to acne, using a soap made with olive oil may decrease your acne by killing off the bacteria that causes the acne. Olive oil is also known to moisturize and hydrate your skin. The oil’s main antioxidants include the anti-inflammatory oleocanthal, as well as oleuropein, a substance that protects LDL (bad) cholesterol from oxidation. It also acts as antibacterial and the antioxidants in olive oil can reduce oxidative damage due to free radicals, which is believed to be a leading driver of cancer. 
A word of caution: olive is a heavy oil and should not be used for treating eczema. If there is a family history of this irritating, debilitating disease caution should be taken when using.

EMU OIL

Benefits for the Skin

Although the benefits of emu oil have been touted when used internally, it contains many lipids, acids, and vitamins that help the skin fight off the effects of the tough world around us. As an occlusive moisturizer, emu oil does a fantastic job of improving hydration and preventing water loss. In fact, a lotion with emu oil as a base may penetrate and help your skin better than pure emu oil. Studies also suggest that emu oil may have fewer side effects for people with dermatitis and eczema. In addition to its moisturizing capabilities, emu oil has positive effects on collagen production. Collagen is one of the compounds that keeps your skin elastic, plump, and wrinkle-free. Emu oil’s antioxidant properties can also target any signs of aging caused by oxidative stress.
Due to its smaller particles, emu oil has increased enhancement and carrier capabilities, and it penetrates deeper into your skin and carries other ingredients with it. The elixir is enhanced by oleic acid, palmitic acid, linoleic acids, various anti oxidizing vitamins and minerals, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Emu oil is high in omega-3, omega 6, and omega-9 fatty acids and vitamin A. They may help relieve signs of wrinkles, scars, and blemishes by nourishing the skin cells. Additional compounds like carotenoids, flavones, polyphenols, tocopherol, and phospholipids round out this amazing oil.

Avocado Oil

Biologists call it persea americana, but the word avocado derives from the Nahuatl word ahuacatl, which also refers to a certain part of the male anatomy that the fruit somewhat resembles. Use your imagination to understand why the Aztecs called it the fertility fruit. Legend has it that an early English description of “avocado” called it the “avogado pear,” leading to the misunderstanding of “alligator pear”, and the name stuck because the skin looks vaguely crocodilian in nature. Because of the softness of the pleasant green pulp which bruises very easily and tends to oxidize into an unappetizing brown, and the fact that a tropical climate is needed for it to grow, Europeans longed to get their hands on its buttery flesh. Although the ripe fruit is picked, the skin and flesh is removed, and the seed is processed in much the same way as other lipids on the "oils and butters extraction" tab on the homepage, all avocado oils are not created equal. Because of its delicate nature, the fruit must be cold pressed and never heat treated. We here at Wild South use only organic, first press, unheated oil that is discarded at the first signs of it going rancid.

Benefits for your Skin

Avocado oil promotes and affects total collagen content. Although more studies are needed to show whether avocado oil increases collagen or not, researchers do know that it decreases all the pathways that break down your collagen. It is an excellent source of antioxidants, such as vitamin E, which help to absorb free radicals that protect the skin from environmental damage. At a cellular level it increases metabolic energy process in mitochondria, the tiny powerhouse present in each cell. It does that by decreasing the free radicals and lipid peroxidation and promoting energy production which aids in cell renewal.  Avocado oil helps maintain hydration, it minimizes inflammation which can help those with eczema, psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis and acne. It must be stressed though that avocado oil is not a replacement for medications that address conditions like psoriasis or seborrhea. With that being noted, the combination of medication, as well as the moisturizing benefits of avocado oil, can help relieve symptoms of those conditions.

Coconut Oil

Perhaps the single tree most associated with the tropics is the coconut palm. This is actually a misnomer because the coconut palm is not a tree, but rather a woody perennial monocotyledon with the trunk being the stem. This iconic plant is cultivated extensively in tropical areas for its edible fruit, the coconut. They are found in tropical coastal areas nearly worldwide and probably originated somewhere in India or Malaysia. They are the most economically important palm species, coconuts being one of the predominant crops of the tropics. Because the unripened husk of the nut is buoyant, the world's oceans have carried their seeds all over the equatorial and sub tropical zones of the entire planet.
Unlike other seed oils, the fat is found in the copra, or white, meaty part of the pod. It is used as food as it is an important source of nutrients including proteins, vitamins, and minerals. But we here at Wild South are most concerned about the clear, mellow tasting oil that, at room temperature, solidifies into butter. The removal of the oil from the copra is very much like the process described in the "oils and butters extraction" tab on the homepage.

Benefits for the Skin
One of the biggest benefits to our outer layer is the coconut oil's excellence in hydrating and moisturizing dry skin, including in people with conditions such as eczema. It also reduces inflammation, which may result from those unfriendly UVA and UVB rays from the sun. For centuries the butter has been used to promote wound healing, as an antibacterial, an antifungal, and an antiviral remedy. Scientists believe that coconut oil also helps strengthen the skin barriers for infants with a low birth weight, which could help protect them from health complications. Although preliminary research supports these benefits, more investigation is necessary to confirm them.
Scientists have not determined exactly why coconut oil benefits the skin, but the polyphenols and fatty acids that it contains may contribute to its helpful effects. . The abundance of vitamin E also helps to protects us from the violent free radicals that are caused by oxidation of our cells. 

Grapeseed Oil

There are a few common misconceptions about grapeseed oil that makes it one of the more misunderstood, albeit beneficial, oils around. It may be the fact that its name closely resembles its poorer cousin, rapeseed oil. Rapeseed oil sometimes is confused with the more common canola oil that is so popular today, but there is a major difference. Canola was actually created through traditional plant cross-breeding for the purpose of extracating the erucic acid found in the oil of the rapeseed. Erucic acid was removed because it was believed to be inedible or toxic in high doses.

Grapeseed, on the other hand, comes from the seeds of wine and table grapes. For thousands of years, this attractive fruit has been used in some cultures as medicine. Each of these small fruits is loaded with over 1,600 compounds -- and many of them can help keep you healthy. What we are most interested in here at Wild South are the tiny seeds that are left over after the sweet fruit juice is squeezed out and nothing is left but the skins, or must, and the seeds. These seeds are dried and then put through the process described in the "oils and butters extraction" tab on the homepage of this website.

Benefits for the Skin

Using grapeseed oil can moisturize to dull, dehydrated skin, even out your skin tone, and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It's because linoleic acid and vitamin E help skin retain moisture while restoring elasticity and protecting it from environmental damage. Grapeseed oil is packed with antioxidants like beta carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E, all of which promote skin turnover which aids in exfoliation. It also is high in omega fatty acids like linolenic acid, an essential component of the skin’s barrier, and amino acids which form the building blocks for collagen production.

Beef Tallow

Although rendered beef fat has been used for centuries to make soap and other skincare products, many people today have been trained to immediately reject it. Since the days that McDonalds restaurants quit using it to deep fry their products, the people of the United States, as well as other countries, have been indoctrinated to label it as undesirable. However, organic, free ranging, grass fed cattle raised in a cruelty free way produced an oil that is rich in many beneficial lipids, vitamins, and minerals that the human body needs. After humanely dispatching the animal, the fat is taken from the carcass and boiled slowly to melt it so that it can be filtered to remove any undesirable smells or tastes.

Benefits for the Skin

Cattle that are pastured on well tended grassland reap higher levels of vitamin A,D, E and K because of the sunshine that they are exposed to through the day. Thus they can pass those benefits from their bodies to ours through a blend of antioxidants, which help fight the effects of aging on the skin.

Tallow so closely resembles the human skin cell structure because both human skin and tallow contain 50-55% saturated fats, which help provide skin cell integrity. Tallow and sebum, which is the oil we have naturally in our skin, both contain primarily triglycerides, and beneficial omega chain fatty acids, which allow nutrients to be absorbed quite easily. For additional information about these acids and vitamins' good effect on the body see the "glossary" tab on the home page of this website.

 Muru Muru Butter

"Tall, usually solitary palm (sometimes suckering and sometimes trunkless) from South America - very spiny palm!  Very long leaves up to 20' with white undersides- striking. But everything is spiny on this palm-even the seeds and flowers." This description of the tree pictured above is provided by horticulturist Geoff Stein and accurately depicts the aspects of this tropical specimen. 

Benefits for the Skin

It's hard to believe what you hear when it comes to some products and their myriad of uses, but if even half of the known benefits of the the butter made from this nut are true, it is magic for the skin. Science tells us for a certainty that it contains copious amounts of plant sterols such as oleic, palmitic, stearic, and linolenic acid. Additionally, muru muru butter has significant levels of vitamins A and E, which means it promotes strong antioxidant activity. They protect your skin cells from free radicals that can lead to premature aging and dull-looking skin. It also encourages the production of collagen, which some find key to a youthful appearance. 
In addition to the rehydrating, oil replenishing, anti aging, anti oxidizing, free radical fighting, and bacterial battling, muru muru butter has been used to help erase stretch marks, help restore and protect hair from abuse and loss, and has even been used as a salve to help wounds heal.

Mango Butter

This beautiful tree is found in tropical areas and produces one of the most popular fruits on the entire earth. Although many of us had never seen this greenish red, desirable-looking fruit in the not too distant past, the mango has grown in popularity in the northern hemisphere in the last decade or so.
Although the pulp is delicious and nutritious, it is the seed that interests us the most here at Wild South. After the edible flesh is removed, the seed is ground and the oil extracted. 

Benefits to the Skin 

There are an abundance of great things for our epidermis that are derived from this medium sized seed. The core is made up of a bevy of vitamins, chief among them are C, B6, A, and E, as well as many other vitamins and minerals. They’re also a good source of folate, potassium, calcium, and beta carotene. Just as importantly, if not more, is the abundance of oleic, stearic, and linoleic acids present in the oil. 
What these healthy compounds provide for our Butter Me Up body butter is that they help hydrate and tone the skin, replenishing essential oils that are zapped by the elements around us. As the sun becomes less friendly to us, an extra layer of UV protection helps to shield exposed areas. Sun damage causes premature wrinkles, uneven, dry and flaky patches and encourages free radicals. Indigenous people around the globe have relied on the skin protection offered by the butter made from the mango seed for millennia.