When it comes to maintaining youthful, smooth and clear skin in general, omega-3, 6 and 9 fatty acids play an essential role. They work as ‘building blocks’ of the skin and form a crucial part of your skin’s lipid (fat) content, helping to bolster its barrier function, which, when working properly, acts like a seal that keeps moisture in and irritants out.

Omega's in skincare

Whilst it is key to include omega rich foods in your daily diet, it’s also important to ensure you are feeding your skin them topically through your skincare. This provides you with an inside out "double hit" of these beautifying fats! It is also useful to note that some of the important compounds in the omega-3s and 6s are broken down by the liver before your skin cells can extract the benefits when consuming them in your diet, which makes nourishing from the outside with them even more important.

They have been shown to benefit the skin externally by:

• Deeply hydrating the skin
• Reducing redness and soothing inflamed and irritated skin
• Alleviating the symptoms and appearance of rosacea, eczema and psoriasis
• Diminishing the appearance of dry and flaky skin
• Repairing and reducing the appearance of UV damage on the skin including dark spots, fine lines and pigmentation
• Preventing the release of enzymes that break down collagen, thus preventing and repairing wrinkles and sagging skin.

One of the unique benefits of eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA, which is found in omega 3s is that it helps regulate oil production in your skin which maintains hydration without letting the skin overproduce oil or clog pores. This means it is ideal for those who want all the beauty-giving benefits of omega oils in their skincare but are concerned about breakouts or having an oily skin type. You don't need to worry at all as it actually has a positive effect for this and is incredible for reducing inflammation associated with acne too.

Edible Beauty Omega MUST-HAVE:

& Coco Bliss Intensive Repair Creme

We recommend feeding your skin with an abundance of omegas using our Coco Bliss Intensive Repair Creme. It contains a range of omegas including Omega 3, 6, 9 and 5 as well as clinically proven ceramides and antioxidants including vitamin C and E. This indulgent repair cream absorbs into the skin working to deeply nourish and hydrate the complexion. It helps to restore the skins moisture barrier, protecting the skin from daily aggressors, and reduces the visible signs of ageing including fine lines and wrinkles.

Shop our multi-award-winning Coco Bliss Intensive Repair Creme here.

Omega's on the Inside

Taken internally, omegas not only nourish the skin, they also work from head to toe to help to reduce inflammation, lower your risk of heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease. It also has incredible benefits for maintaining skin hydration. researchers discovered that women who consumed half a teaspoon of omega-3-rich flaxseed oil a day increased skin hydration by 39% after 12 weeks. Their skin also felt significantly less rough and was less sensitive.

 Our easy guide to increasing your Omega intake internally includes:

• Munching on a handful of walnuts as your afternoon snack
• Adding a tablespoon of chia and flaxseed meal to your breakfast or smoothie
• Adding a tablespoon of flaxseed oil and a sprinkle of hemp seeds to your evening salad

We are often told fish oil is the answer to our Omega 3 supplementation. What we are not often told is that fish oil is highly processed, prone to oxidation and rancidity or contaminated with heavy metals causing more free radical damage than benefit. Instead we recommend eating omega 3 rich foods such as seaweed, chia seeds, flaxseeds, walnuts, hemp seeds and Sacha-Inchi seeds.

If you are wanting an extra boost to your omega intake by directly supplementing with active forms of Omegas, EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).

We love the Ahiflower Oil capsules from PhytoLove. This first-of-its-kind formula combines the the omega profiles of flax, chia, fish, algae, hemp, evening primrose, and olive oil, rolled into one! Ahiflower offers a complete and balanced plant-based omega profile, like no other natural oil commercially available. Think of it as a next generation omega- a “SuperOmega” if you like! 

To find out more about how to combat inflammation in your body read our post here.