Sunflower seed is an often-overlooked oil. Everyone knows the benefits of olive oil by now. However, sunflower seed oil is less expensive and has some unique qualities of its own. Below are six different benefits of using sunflower seed oil.

Lips

Sunflower seed oil is very moisturizing, which makes it a perfect candidate for one of the body’s driest areas: the lips. Whether in summer or winter, lips can be a problem area due to sunburn, windburn, or dry indoor temperatures.

Find a quality mint lip balm that includes sunflower seed oil as one of its first ingredients and your lips should feel perfect all year. Carry one with you so you can reapply it all day. Also, keep one near your toothbrush. When you brush your teeth before bed, scrub your lips as well to remove any dead skin cells. Then apply your lip balm for beautiful lips in the morning.

Face

Not only is sunflower seed oil great for moisturizing lips, you can also use it as a facial moisturizer. Find the purest possible version of the oil. You may need to visit a gourmet shop, but it will be worth it to get organic cold-pressed oil. Since you will be using it daily on your skin, and some will inevitably enter your system, you want it to be free from any nasty chemicals and contain the most nutrients.

To use on your face, pour a small amount of the oil into your hand. Rub your palms together to warm it, then gently pat it all over your face. To enhance the oil even more, use a gemstone roller to increase circulation to the area and help the oil reach the deepest layers of the skin possible.

Body

However, don’t stop with your face. After a shower, to lock in moisture, massage sunflower seed oil all over your body while your skin is still damp. As a further step, you can then scrape off the remaining surface oil with a strigil or plane as the ancient Greeks and Romans did.

Any dead skin cells or dirt that was missed in the shower will be removed from your skin. Keep wiping off the blade and you will see how clean you’re becoming. The small amount of oil left on your skin will be enough to keep you very moisturized. Scraping has the added advantage of helping your circulatory system work more efficiently since every scraping motion should be in the direction of the heart.

Aromatherapy

Sunflower seed oil is a carrier oil, which means you can add small amounts of essential oils to it. The term “carrier” means that the unscented and non-irritating oil will “carry” the essential oil to your skin. Used alone, essential oils are too strong and will easily irritate or burn your skin.

With scented sunflower seed oil, you will smell as good as you look and feel, and the scent will linger, enhancing your whole day.

Hair

To treat dry winter scalp and hair, put a small amount of sunflower seed oil into your palm and massage it well into your scalp. Adding a little more if needed, use a wide-toothed comb to bring the oil down to the ends of your hair. Then wrap a towel around your head and wait. When you shampoo the oil out, you will be amazed at how soft and manageable your hair has become. You can also apply a small amount to just the ends of your hair as a conditioner after washing.

Healing

Sunflower seed oil works to improve the skin’s barrier. To put it plainly, it keeps in moisture and keeps out bacteria and anything else nasty. Regular use of sunflower seed oil can heal wounds, reduce scars, improve eczema and prevent acne outbreaks. It can even reduce wrinkles.

Sunflower seed oil is a great multipurpose oil to have on hand. Since there will always be a plentiful supply grown locally, using the oil every day will not break the bank.