The many benefits of evening primrose oil.
Evening primrose oil (EPO for short) does not get the attention it rightfully deserves. Many women have heard of or used evening primrose oil, as it is anecdotally famous for alleviating PMS and menopause symptoms, though most clinical trials have shown no scientific evidence of this. Evening primrose oil, as it sounds, is the oil that comes from the seed of the evening primrose plant, which is native to Europe and North America. It has been said to also be an effective treatment for Psoriasis, eczema, and arthritis, among other things. Early Native Americans recognized and utilized the healing properties of the plant for many ailments. Nowadays people like to focus on the importance of the almighty omega-3 fatty acids, but oft-forgotten are omega-6 fatty acids, which are what evening primrose oil provides as a natural highly concentrated source of GLA (gamma-linolenic acid). These essential fatty acids are required, but are not produced by the human body. Moreover, evening primrose oil is anti-inflammatory in nature. This makes EPO a great acne treatment. Evening primrose oil can be taken orally in gel capsule form (like these here) or applied topically as a moisturizing oil, and there are no known adverse side effects. As weird as it may sound if you are not familiar with the idea, using oil as a moisturizer works very well for dry, oily, acne-prone skin, or any type of skin for that matter. Your skin produces sebum and oil in an attempt to moisturize itself and correct imbalances, so using oil as a moisturizer tells your skin that it is already hydrated and doesn't need to produce any more oil, thus your skin actually becomes less oily throughout the day. I like to use 2 drops of evening primrose oil combined with 2 drops of almond oil topically as a morning moisturizer. Both of these have anti-inflammatory properties and are quickly and easily absorbed into the skin, so your face does not feel or look oily or shiny. At night before bed, I do the same thing combined with an additional 2 drops of tea tree oil and 2 drops of sea buckthorn oil. If you already use a "regular" facial moisturizer, you can easily just add a couple drops of evening primrose oil and mix it in your palm. These EPO softgels from NOW Foods provide a 'megadose' of evening primrose oil. I take one daily, along with using topical EPO as a moisturizer as mentioned above, and my skin looks and feels great
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