Vegetable oils are known for their miraculous virtues on the skin. Full of vitamins, omega 3 and omega 6, all vegetable oils – virgin or refined – have moisturizing powers that offer many benefits: firming : ( Argan Oil, Prickly Pear Seed Oil ), regenerating : ( Muscat Rose Oil, Avocado Oil ), anti-aging : ( Argan Oil, Prickly Pear Oil, Macadamia Oil ), nourishing : ( Sweet Almond Oil, Linseed Oil), purifying :             ( Nigella Oil, Jojoba Oil ), shine : ( Carrot Oil, Tomato Oil ).

A vegetable oil will be qualified as virgin or refined according to its method of extraction. If the extraction is done by pressure, it is called virgin oil. If the extraction is carried out with solvents, it is called refined oil, which makes it possible to obtain a “standardized” oil by modifying its fatty acids. Whereas in the case of a “virgin” oil, the result is a pure oil free from foreign substances, clarified exclusively by physical means and which cannot have undergone any treatment.

First cold-pressed vegetable oils 

Cold-extracted vegetable oil obviously has a shorter shelf life than industrial oil, but it’s nothing like it. It keeps its aromas, its taste and its properties. It is a product that respects nature, crops, the soil and our health at the same time. By pressing cold, you no longer need to clean the oil with chemicals: it is consumed immediately, the filtration is also mechanical, simply using blotting paper.

Cold extraction preserves the properties of the oil more than industrial processes, which require heating and the addition of solvents. Virgin, first cold pressed, vegetable oils have real benefits on our health. Not denatured by the chemical industry, they will provide vital elements essential to the body such as polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Refined vegetable oils

Refining results in an oil that is stable over time, easy to keep, little colored, flat in aromas with a yield close to 97%, which is much more profitable industrially. [In contrast, “pressure” oil retains all of its qualities, and is more expensive].

The seeds are heated and mixed with a solvent, to obtain an oil which must be cleaned by subjecting it to the refining process. Other substances are injected to neutralize contaminants potentially present in the oil. The oil then goes to bleaching: inside a still, the oil is heated to 240 degrees: the components responsible for bad odors and bad taste evaporate from the top, and the oil comes out from the bottom. It is ready to be bottled.

Which method of extraction for which use? 

For raw use, a virgin oil certainly offers more benefits. Some vegetable oils are recommended almost exclusively for virgin extraction; Argan oil and Prickly Pear Seed oil are the best examples.

For formulation use, a refined oil is further recommended, being deodorized, and having a longer shelf life. By incorporating it into a new formula, in order to produce a cosmetic product, the shelf life of this new product is extended.

Your choice will obviously depend on your aspirations and on the products that you want to offer to your customers: raw use or in formulation. Whatever your choice is, Prodigia is here to advise you, to support you, and to provide you with raw materials or cosmetic products. We bring you the best qualities that the vegetable oil market has to offer. Virgin ( Argan Oil, Prickly Pear Seed Oil, Avocado Oil, Nigella Oil ), or Refined ( Cosmetic Olive Oil, Grape Seed Oil, Refined Apricot Kernel Oil, Refined Avocado Oil ) , all these treasures and many more are available at Prodigia !