You might not be familiar with Prickly Pear - especially when it comes to it’s skincare benefits.
The Aztecs used Prickly Pear juice for wound relief and drank it to address hepatitis. Whilst traditional Mexican culture uses the juice to help with medical conditions such as cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases.
In modern times Prickly Pear extracts or supplements are available to help numerous purposes - with studies revealing that the extract might even help alleviate hangovers!
If you want to find out more information on one specific Prickly Pear query then feel free to use the jump links to skip ahead!
What is Prickly Pear?
Prickly Pear (otherwise known as Opuntia) is not even a pear at all, in fact it's a cactus. This type of cacti is typically grown in Central and South America alongside Africa, Australia and the Mediterranean.
Due to its natural dry habitat, over time Prickly Pear has adapted to retain moisture, protect and detoxify - all properties that are sought after in terms of skincare!
It is full of antioxidants and natural fatty acids which makes it a great addition to help skin concerns such as ageing, hydrating and helping to protect skin from environmental stressors.
Uses of Prickly Pear
Prickly Pear has a number of uses, from hydration to anti-ageing. We love using Prickly Pear in our organic products particularly for its calming and hydrating properties.
We use Prickly Pear in our Daily Defence Moisture Mist because of its Vitamin A, B and C content. Our Daily Defence Moisture Mist is designed to hydrate the skin and can be used as part of your morning routine or on the go for a hydrating boost! The addition of Prickly Pear allows the mist to calm irritated skin alongside giving intense hydration - the travel size is ideal for popping in your bag when you're on the move.
We also use Prickly Pear in our Multi Peptide 360 Moisture Cream. This cream is designed to help with signs of ageing including wrinkles, skin tone and fine lines. In this particular cream the Prickly Pear works well to soothe skin, as well as providing hydration. It also aids in firming the skin helping to defeat the appearance of wrinkles and make skin appear younger!
| Daily Defence Moisture Mist | Multi Peptide 360 Moisture Cream |
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A delicate facial moisture mist to calm irritated skin whilst firming, protecting and increasing skin hydration.
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This new pro ageing cream is packed with superfoods and high tech green ingredients to deliver comprehensive ageing benefits.
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Benefits of Prickly Pear
Yes we’ve already mentioned so many benefits that Prickly Pear has on your skin, but there’s more!
Thanks to all of its natural goodness Prickly Pear can help to:
Brighten the skin
Due to it being packed full of antioxidants, Prickly Pear helps to protect against the environment leaving brighter skin.
Pore Refining and Collagen Enhancing
Prickly Pear Oil keeps your pores tight by keeping the collagen layer of your skin hydrated and healthy, whilst making sure to not clog the pores, making it especially suitable for acne prone skin.
Helps Dark Spots and Circles
The high content of Vitamin K helps to lighten stubborn dark spots and under-eye circles.
Healthy Hair
Its high content of Vitamin E makes Prickly Pear a great hair conditioner. Whilst making your hair look great it can also protect hair from sun and rejuvenate damage, meaning it can grow longer and fuller.
Does Prickly Pear have any side effects?
Digesting Prickly Pear in liquid form does carry some side effects, such as bloating and an upset stomach. However, it is not known if topical usage carries any side effects, although it is of course still possible that you can experience irritation and rashes. Before using any new product we would recommend you do a patch test 24 hours beforehand to see if any reaction occurs.
Which Skin Types is Prickly Pear suitable for?
Prickly Pear is great for all skin types, but is particularly great for mature skin. It is a great ingredient to use if you want to start preventable care for anti-ageing and for people who want to address the signs of ageing such as wrinkles.
It is also suitable for both oily and dry skin. Prickly Pear has a high linoleic acid content, meaning it can hydrate and moisturise even very dry skin. But this also works great for oily/combination skin. This is because the skin absorbs the moisture rather than leaving a greasy layer on top of the skin.
Similar Products to Prickly Pear
One ingredient that strikes similarities with Prickly Pear in particular is Aloe Vera. Like Prickly Pear, it contains powerful antioxidants that help with soothing and healing the skin. It also carries the same hydrating properties as Prickly Pear due to the gel-like substance found in Aloe Vera’s leaves being 99.5% water.
Another similar product to Prickly Pear is Argan Oil. This cult favourite has a high fatty acid content meaning that it carries rich moisturising properties, as well as improving the skin’s elasticity helping the anti ageing process.
However, although Argan Oil is known and loved for its highly moisturising qualities, it is actually Prickly Pear that has the highest percentage of unsaturated fatty acids (88 %) of any beauty oil.
How to use prickly pear in your routine
We’ve made it really easy for you to incorporate Prickly Pear into your daily skincare routine.
Why not use our 360 Power Duo in your routine? This includes our Superfood 360 Serum which you can apply after cleansing your skin. Then follow with our Multi Peptide 360 Moisture Cream which uses Prickly Pear to firm and hydrate your skin.
You can use both of these products day and night - so no need to buy two different face creams!
So...Is it for me?
Prickly Pear is great for anyone. But if you have mature skin or just want to get ahead of anti-ageing then this is the ingredient for you.
It will help reduce signs of ageing such as fine lines and wrinkles, as well as soothing any irritation and filling the skin full of hydration!
Related Articles
- What is Oily Skin?
- What is Combination Skin?
- Dry Skin: How Can We Help?
- Age Smarter with Evolve Beauty
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