Black seed oil for skin – Complete Guide

Nigella sativa is a flowering shrub that grows in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and western Asia. . The black seeds of N. Sativa have been used to treat different diseases and ailments for thousands of years. The seeds are also known as black caraway, black cumin, black onion seed, and kalonji.

• Black seed oil has shown to have diuretic (can help to reduce the amount of fluid in your blood vessels and control blood pressure), anti-hypertensive (reduce blood pressure), anti-diabetic (can help to control blood sugar for diabetic patients), anticancer, and immunomodulatory (strengths weak immune systems), analgesic (relieve pain) properties.

• It also has antimicrobial, anthelmintic (help with infections), analgesics (relieve pain without causing the loss of consciousness) and anti-inflammatory, spasmolytic (able to relieve spasm of smooth muscle) properties.

• Along with these properties, it is also bronchodilator ( it helps to make breathing easier by relaxing the muscles in the lungs and widening the airways) and it has gastroprotective, hepatoprotective (can protect the liver), renal protective (can protect the kidneys) and antioxidant properties.

• It is also used as a liver tonic, digestive, anti-diarrhea, appetite stimulant (increases appetite in a person), emmenagogue (stimulates or increases menstrual flow), increases milk production in nursing mothers to fight parasitic infections, and also helps to support the immune system.

• The properties of this seed we mentioned above is because of the presence of thymoquinone (TQ). Thymoquinone has many anti-inflammatory, hepaprotctive, anti-cancer, anti-tumor, and antioxidant properties

• Black seeds are also used in food like flavoring additive in the bread and pickles because it has a very low level of toxicity.

• Black seed oil can also help with acne, sleep, allergies, psoriasis, wound healing, eczema, hand eczema, hemorrhoids, constipation, dysentery (infection of intestines), prevent hair loss, hydrate hair, and moisturize the skin.

It contains the most active components such as thymoquinone (30%-48%), thymohydroquinone, dithymoquinone, p-cymene, carvacrol, 4-terpineol, t-anethol, sesquiterpene longifolene (1%-8%) α-pinene and thymol. N. Sativa seeds also contain alpha-hederin (anti-cancer), and saponin, a potential anticancer agent.

The seeds also contain unsaturated fatty acids, mainly linoleic acid, oleic acid, eicosadienoic acid, dihomolinoleic acid, and saturated fatty acids such as palmitic and stearic acid.

Black seed oil is suitable for all skin types including sensitive skin and skin of colour, but some people might have an allergic reaction to this oil, so it’s best to conduct a patch test.

When going for black seed oil, make sure it’s 100% organic, cold-pressed, and 100% refined and pure black seed oil.

When looking for the colour, black seed oil can have different colours, this is because these seeds are from different places around the world (Ethiopia, Turkey, Egypt, etc).

Black seed oil should have a really dark colour, the darker the better.

Companies also sell different levels of potency (for example strong, medium, and mild) of the oil and different levels of thymoquinone (for example 0.5 to 2.5).

• Black seed oil can be used with skincare actives like retinol, niacinamide, and vitamin C. It can also be used with hydroxy acids like alpha hydroxy acids, beta hydroxy acids, and poly hydroxy acids. This can reduce inflammation and irritation.

• Black seed oil is best used at night and can be applied after your moisturizer, as it might cause photosensitivity when used in the morning.

• It can also be used as an aftershave and as a moisturizer.

• You can apply black seed oil before shampooing and conditioning your hair.

You can mix black seed oil with carrier oils like argan oil, jojoba oil, almond oil, rosehip oil, grapeseed oil, and other carrier oils. It can be mixed with essential oils such as sandalwood, tea tree oil, and frankincense oil (there are other essential oils you can try, but many of them can be irritating).

Black seed oil can be safe to use topically, but when using it orally it’s better to consult a doctor.

Black seed oil cannot cause purging because of its anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, and anti-bacterial properties. What you might be experiencing is breakouts because of the other ingredients that are present along with black seed oil.

Taking black seed oil orally can give a burning sensation in the throat, this is because the oil is really strong and filled with all the original vitamins, minerals, and properties of the black seed.

The black seed oil has a comedogenic rating of 2, so it won’t clog pores. It is a gentle and lightweight oil that can easily penetrate into the skin, making it a good option for acne-prone skin.

black seed oil is said to help with blood cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, hepatic cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, fibrosaroma, renal cancer, prostate cancer, and cervical cancer, but the scientific research on this oil is very less and more research has to be done on this oil.