Evening primrose oil - properties and uses

Pregnancy is the happiest, most important, but at the same time exciting event in the life of every woman. The expectant mother tries to monitor her health so as not to harm the baby. This is why many pregnant women avoid taking medications.

However, during pregnancy, especially in the later stages, a woman’s body experiences excessive stress, so it could use additional support. Evening primrose oil has long established itself as a natural, safe and effective remedy for pregnant women. What properties does it have and when is it used?

Composition of evening primrose oil: properties for women and men

The product contains many active components, making it an indispensable assistant in maintaining health and well-being. In particular, evening primrose oil contains a high concentration of unique and essential linoleic and gamma-linolenic acids (related to Omega-6). What are their benefits for the body?

Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids are vital components for humans.

These compounds are not synthesized in the body and enter it only with food. Only a limited number of plants provide them, and evening primrose is one of them. Omega-6 can also be found in chicken egg yolks, meat (lean pork, lamb, veal), poultry meat and fat, whole grain bread, nuts, sunflower and sesame seeds, oat bran, soybeans, corn and safflower oil.

Expert opinion

For women, a lack of Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet can result in a risk of irregularities in the menstrual cycle and the development of PMS. This is due to the fact that these substances are involved in the synthesis of prostaglandins formed during menstruation, the deficiency of which leads to unpleasant consequences (delayed menstruation, PMS, algomenorrhea, etc.) Including a lack of Omega-6 affects the condition of the skin, hair and nail plates.

Obstetrician-gynecologist of the highest category Oksana Anatolyevna Gartleb

In addition to Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, the dietary supplement “Evening Primrose Oil” contains the following fatty acids (however in significantly smaller quantities compared to Omega-6):

Palmitic acid is involved in the production of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid, thereby accelerating the regeneration processes of skin and hair.
Stearic acid contained in the substance belongs to the category of saturated fatty acids. It helps increase the skin's resistance to unfavorable conditions - temperature changes, cold, wind.
Oleic acid belongs to the Omega-9 fatty acid group. Its use helps reduce the risk of blood clots, normalize hormone synthesis, and strengthen the body's defenses.

What beneficial vitamins, oils and minerals are found in evening primrose?
In addition to fatty acids, the oil contains the following valuable components:

Minerals (potassium, sodium, calcium, zinc, magnesium, iron, copper, manganese, selenium).
Vitamins (E and C).
Flavonoids (glycosides, quercetin, kaempferol).

How to use evening primrose oil

In its pure form, primrose oil is intended for use:

for skin and hair care purposes;
as a base for preparing massage compositions and masks;
as an additive to ready-made skin care products (masks, creams, lotions).

Capsules with a dosage of 500 mg are taken one capsule three times a day along with meals for better absorption of the oil. Take one 1300 mg capsule twice a day with breakfast and dinner. The course duration is one month. Course repetitions are allowed.

Medicinal properties and contraindications

Thanks to its valuable composition, this plant has many beneficial properties. In particular, taking the oil helps prevent the formation of tumors, increase immunity, improve blood composition, reduce cholesterol levels in it and minimize the risk of developing blood clots, normalize blood pressure, and regulate sugar levels. In addition, the drug has a beneficial effect on skin turgor and the general condition of hair and nails. Systematic consumption of evening primrose oil has antimicrobial, regenerating and anti-inflammatory effects.

As for the benefits for men, it has a beneficial effect on the condition of the prostate gland and is a preventive measure against the threat of developing prostatitis (Prostaritis).

Like any herbal medicine, primrose oil for women has side effects and can be harmful if used incorrectly. It is not recommended to take it in the first trimester of pregnancy, or during treatment with antiepileptic medications. It is also worth considering the possibility of allergic reactions due to hypersensitivity to the active components of primrose oil.

Contraindications and harm

Since the product belongs to dietary supplements and is not considered a full-fledged medicine, clinical trials and other studies have practically not been conducted. It is known that it has been effectively used by women for centuries; modern mothers also note a positive effect.

The harm of oil has not been proven, nor has it been detected in practice. It is important not to get carried away with it beyond measure, not to exceed the permitted dosage.

Contraindications for use:

during treatment of psoriasis;
with individual intolerance;
while taking medications for epilepsy or phenothiazines for psychological disorders;
allergic reaction.

Benefits for women

Despite the fact that taking this dietary supplement is beneficial for both sexes, its value for women is especially worth noting. Why is evening primrose oil so beneficial for women?

Thanks to the gamma-linolenic acid in its composition, the use of evening primrose oil has the following effects on the woman’s body:

Helps reduce discomfort during PMS and menstruation. Unpleasant sensations in the second half of the monthly cycle are often caused by excessive synthesis of prolactin (Prolactinum), which leads to swelling of the mammary glands and discomfort in the lower abdomen.
Relieves emotional instability. For this reason, this remedy has a beneficial effect on nervousness during PMS and during gestation.
Stabilizes hormonal levels.
Normalizes the menstrual cycle.
Evening primrose has shown good results for endometriosis.
Reduces the risk of developing polycystic ovary syndrome.
Used to increase the chances of conception.
Reduces the symptoms of menopause (Climax).
Improves skin elasticity.
Strengthens hair and nails.

In home cosmetology

Sometimes, in order to improve the condition of hair and skin, it is necessary to eliminate the deficiency of linoleic acid and vitamin E, and here, like no other, evening primrose oil is suitable for internal use. Externally, this oil can be used to enrich masks, creams, and lotions for the face. You can often find evening primrose oil in cosmetics, especially in combination with the well-known shea butter and cocoa butter, which are used for anti-aging skin care.

It is also useful for damaged epidermis, for example, after peeling procedures. In this case, the oil product helps speed up the healing and restoration of the skin.

Night violet is also useful for caring for brittle, peeling nails and softening dry cuticles. And the inclusion of evening primrose oil in shampoos, conditioners, masks and hair balms has a beneficial effect on weak, damaged, slow-growing, split ends, and strands losing color.

You can use the oil product in its pure form as an additive (2-3 drops) per single dose of a cosmetic product (shampoo, cream, etc.), if there are no contraindications or personal intolerance to the components of the drug. This method is great for pigmentation, excessively dry epidermis, and age-related changes.

Advice

But you should not use pure primrose oil every day to apply it to your facial skin, because it stimulates the production of sebum.

Evening primrose oil for skin

Evening primrose seed oil can be used for:

stimulation of the formation of collagen and elastin fibers of the skin;
slowing down the aging process;
solutions to dermatological problems (eczema, psoriasis, neurodermatitis, atopic dermatitis);
removal of irritation, inflammation, pigmentation;
nutrition, preservation of youth and elasticity of the skin (especially with sudden weight loss);
healing of nails, for example, after extensions, cuticle care;
getting rid of dry and brittle hair damaged by the sun or dyeing.

In all these cases, it would be quite justified to use evening primrose oil both internally and externally. It can be used externally either solo or in combination with other base oils, and as a useful additive to a cream or balm or mask.

For information

A pure oil product can replace day cream in frosty and windy weather. And in combination with argan and grape oil, primrose seed squeeze can be a component of sunscreen.

Evening primrose oil for face

It is advisable to use this natural product on the skin of the face for:

peeling, inflammation, redness;
feeling of skin tightness, itching;
for dry, sensitive, mature epidermis;
for moisturizing, whitening, restoring the skin.

For oily and combination skin, it is also permissible to use evening primrose oil, but not in its pure form. It can be used to enrich finished cosmetic products (creams, lotions, etc.), homemade masks with approved additional components suitable for oily skin. The volume of oil introduced into the mixture in this case is no more than 10% of the total volume of the mixture.

Recipes for using evening primrose oil for facial skin

Mask for dry, aging skin: shea butter, avocado, jojoba, primrose (1 teaspoon each) + lavender, geranium and chamomile esters (1 drop each). Apply the mixture to your face, leave for 30 minutes, wash or remove the composition with a clean napkin. Course: 1 ruble/day or every other day instead of night cream until lasting improvement.

Mask against age spots: evening primrose oil (2 teaspoons) and cocoa (1 teaspoon) + lemon and rosewood esters (2 drops each), safflower (5 drops). Apply the mixture to locally problematic areas of the face and leave for 15 minutes. Rinse with clean water with lemon juice and apply moisturizer.

Nutritional mixture: primrose and jojoba oils (1 teaspoon each) + lavender and rose esters (1 drop each). Apply the mixture to your face and leave overnight. Wash your face with clean warm water in the morning.

By the way!

Indications for the use of evening primrose oil may be mechanical cleansing or peeling - its skin-restoring qualities will help to quickly regenerate the epidermis even after such traumatic procedures. In addition, squeezing night violet seeds is an excellent rejuvenating remedy. It can be used in its pure form on wrinkles around the eyes.

Application for hair

In this case, you can use the oil product in several ways:

Add drop by drop to shampoo, conditioner, etc.
Prepare masks at home with his participation.

Recipes for healthy hair mixtures with evening primrose oil

Anti-dandruff: jojoba oils, evening primrose seeds (6-7 ml each) + tea tree ether (5 drops). Mix, rub into roots, leave overnight. In the morning, wash your hair as usual.

For hair loss and to stimulate hair growth: warm almond oil (15 ml) and evening primrose (5 ml) + rosemary and ylang-ylang esters (2-3 drops each). Apply the mixture to the root zone of the head, massage and leave for half an hour.

To restore damaged hair: black cumin oil and evening primrose seed oil (5 ml each) + rosewood and orange esters (2-3 drops each). Mix, apply to the entire hair, avoiding the roots, leave for 30 minutes - an hour.

Evening primrose during pregnancy: how to take?

Separately, it is worth noting the effect of this drug on a woman’s fertility. It can be recommended as an additional dietary supplement during pregnancy planning, since evening primrose oil increases the chances of successful conception. However, as soon as pregnancy occurs, the drug should be discontinued.

Expert opinion

Evening primrose oil is not approved for use in the early stages, since the active components included in its composition can lead to uterine contractions and involuntary termination of pregnancy.

Obstetrician-gynecologist of the highest category Oksana Anatolyevna Gartleb

The drug is prescribed in the second and third trimester for the proper formation of the child’s brain and the prevention of central nervous system pathologies. As for the drug dosage regimen, it should be drawn up by an obstetrician-gynecologist, taking into account the characteristics of pregnancy and the woman’s general health. In addition, this product has a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin and can act as a preventative against the formation of stretch marks.

Benefits of evening primrose oil during pregnancy

Evening primrose oil before childbirth is prescribed to improve the elasticity of the perineum, the condition of the muscles and cervix, as well as to prevent ruptures of the birth canal.

Use of the drug in cosmetology

It is very important for a pregnant woman to maintain attractiveness while carrying a child, and evening primrose oil helps her with this:

Pregnant women often suffer from varicose veins, so to reduce vascular inflammation, you need to take 100 mg of evening primrose oil, mix it with 400 mg of fish oil and wipe the affected veins with the product;
the drug reduces the number of age spots: add 3 drops of rose and lemon oils to 50 ml of primrose oil and apply the mixture to the skin before bed (for a more gentle effect, you can add a few drops of the mixture to your favorite night cream);
The product is used to prevent stretch marks in pregnant women, lubricating problem areas with it.

Evening primrose oil should be applied to the skin to prevent the formation of stretch marks.

Evening primrose oil from GINOCOMFORT®

Getting enough polyunsaturated fatty acids is not as easy as it might seem. Modern trends in nutrition and the rhythm of life do not allow the body to be saturated with the necessary amount of nutrients required for its healthy functioning.

The optimal solution in such a situation is to take special complexes, for example, GYNOCOMFORT EVENING PRIMMULA OIL. Course Regular use of this remedy has a beneficial effect on women's health, normalizing the menstrual cycle, reducing the manifestations of premenstrual syndrome, relieving inflammatory processes, protecting cells from the effects of free radicals and increasing the body's defenses. The course of taking evening primrose oil is 1 month; after a 3-month break, its use can be repeated up to 4 times a year. The product was created by specialists from the pharmaceutical company VERTEX and has the entire package of necessary documents and quality certificates.

Evening primrose: capsules

The most common form of dosage preparations of evening primrose are gelatin capsules with plant oil. Depending on the manufacturer, the content of the active component in each capsule may differ, although the standard 500 mg package is predominantly used. This form of release is preferable for several reasons:

capsules are easier to take because... of primrose oil itself cannot be called pleasant;
Using capsules, it is more convenient to maintain the dosage;
in capsules, the oil does not come into contact with air and, therefore, does not oxidize and does not lose its qualities.

Primrose oil for women's health, video

is not responsible for the accuracy of the information presented in this video clip.
Source – Daily News Sources:

INFLUENCE OF OMEGA-3 AND OMEGA-6 FATTY ACIDS ON THE METABOLISM OF BIFIDOBACTERIA. KHAMAGAEVA I.S., ZAMBALOVA N.A., BUYANTUEVA L.V. // VSGUTU Bulletin. – 2014. – No. 2 (47). – pp. 72-78.
Study of biomarkers of metabolism of omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in children and pregnant women. Shilina N. M. // Specialty of the Higher Attestation Commission of the Russian Federation 03.01.04. – M., 2012.
POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS IN NUTRITION: A MODERN VIEW. Zaitseva L.V., Nechaev A.P. // Food industry. – 2014. – No. 4. – pp. 14-19.
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Burbello A.T. // Pharmacology. Clinical application. - St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg State Medical Academy named after. I. I. Mechnikova. - 2005. - P. 304.
Lipid metabolism disorders in women and the possibility of their correction with highly purified omega-3 fatty acids. Prokhorovich E. A., Maichuk E. Yu., Voevodina I. V., Vladimirova N. N. // Practitioner. - 2006. - No. 2. — P.7–9.
Application of Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in medicine. Gavrisyuk V.K. // Ukr. pulmonol. magazine - 2001. - No. 3. — P.5–10.
https://nccih.nih.gov/health/eveningprimrose
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323216.php
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267686190_Evening_Primrose_Oil_for_Cervical_Ripening
https://www.healthline.com/health/evening-primrose-oil

Reviews

The opinions of buyers of evening primrose oil in capsules on the Internet are positive. Women note relief during menopause: a decrease in the strength and frequency of hot flashes and sweating. The appearance of skin, hair, nail plates improves, and mood stabilizes.

The capsules help prevent skin rashes on the eve of menstruation, reduce cramps and pain, and bring the cycle back to normal. The advantages include natural composition, pleasant taste, and ease of administration. 100% of buyers recommend dietary supplements for purchase.

Gynecologists and dermatologists also have a positive opinion about the dietary supplement. The composition helps normalize hormonal levels, improve metabolism, and improve the functioning of the nervous system. The antioxidant effect helps prevent the development of tumor processes. The oil also serves as a prevention of atherosclerosis and arthrosis.

Evening primrose: buy, price

Here is such a large assortment of forms, dosages and manufacturers of evening primrose :

Buy capsules, evening primrose oil!

1. You can buy evening primrose at a low price and with guaranteed high quality in the famous American online organic store iHerb. 2. Detailed instructions for placing an order: How to place an order on iHerb! 3. When ordering using the IHerb promotional code for a discount, you have access to a $5 discount for new customers and 5% for “old” customers (without ADDITIONAL DISCOUNTS), as well as profitable Promotions of up to 60%! We definitely recommend using it, because... on the second order, such a discount may no longer be available, and even cashback services will not always return interest on the purchase, because the prices are very low! We also invite our users to make purchases on promotions and sales, for example, the Citylink promotional code will reduce the price of your order for electronics by up to 70%, the JD coupon will help you buy goods in China in the second most popular online store with a discount of up to 50%, the Letual promotional code will give real discount on the purchase of cosmetics and perfumes. 4. All about payment and delivery: iHerb payment and iHerb delivery!

Photo source: iHerb.com

Benefits of primrose

Oslinnik has a diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant and strengthening effect on the body. The benefits of the plant were noticed by Native Americans. Primrose was used to get rid of bruises, the roots of the plant were used to treat hemorrhoids, and the leaves were used to heal wounds.

Primrose oil is a valuable herbal product. It is taken both internally and externally.

The oil contains essential fatty acids:

oleic;
linolenic;
stearic;
palmitic.

Linolenic acid is essential for the female body; it resembles mother's milk. It is not synthesized on its own; it can only be obtained from food. A deficiency leads to dry skin and increases sensitivity to inflammatory processes.

Interesting! The oil is obtained from ripe seeds by cold pressing. The color of the oil is light yellow, the liquid itself is transparent. Tastes like fish oil.

The most common form of release is in capsules. Can be purchased at any pharmacy. Oslinnik oil has medicinal properties and is actively used in folk medicine. It has the following positive properties:

antimicrobial;
antiseptic;
antimicrobial;
immunomodulatory effect.

The use of oil helps relieve swelling; it is used as a medicine for sclerosis and diabetes. Regular consumption reduces the level of bad cholesterol in the blood, reduces the risk of stroke and heart attack. Strengthens blood vessels, normalizes blood pressure. Using the oil helps to cope with insomnia and will provide you with sound sleep for the whole night.

Despite the positive properties, the drug has contraindications and side effects. The use of the drug is not recommended: