Sea Buckthorn Oil—A Valuable Source for Cosmeceuticals

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L., Elaeagnaceae.) is a thorny shrub that has small, yellow to dark orange, soft, juicy berries. Due to hydrophilic and lipophilic ingredients, berries have been used as food and medicine. Sea buckthorn (SB) oil derived from berries is a source of valuable ingredients for cosmeceuticals. The unique combination of SB oil ingredients, in qualitative and quantitative aspects, provides multiple benefits of SB oil for internal and external use. Externally, SB oil can be applied in both healthy and damaged skin (burns or skin damage of different etiology), as it has good wound healing properties. Due to the well-balanced content of fatty acids, carotenoids, and vitamins, SB oil may be incorporated in cosmeceuticals for dry, flaky, burned, irritated, or rapidly ageing skin. There have been more than 100 ingredients identified in SB oil, some of which are rare in the plant kingdom (e.g., the ratio of palmitoleic to γ-linolenic acid). This review discusses facts related to the origin and properties of SB oil that make it suitable for cosmeceutical formulation