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Pineapple seed oil is the cold-pressed plant oil from the small, hard seeds of the pineapple, Ananas comosus, a plant of the bromeliad family that comes from South America and is now grown throughout the tropics. The cultivated pineapple forms very few seeds; the small brown-black seeds sit just under the skin and only appear when the flower has been pollinated. On the label of our bottle the ingredient reads Ananas Comosus (Pineapple) Seed Oil, cold-pressed and made in the Philippines, as a cosmetic oil for hair and skin. There is no second ingredient.
Many people arrive here after searching for 'pineapple seed oil benefits'. This article is about something narrower and more useful: what the oil is, what the label says, how it feels, and how to use it. About what the oil does in or under the skin we make no claim. The label states no figures for any component and there is no analysis of this batch, so this text contains none either, and it says nothing about the enzyme from pineapple juice that older texts placed in the oil: a pressed seed oil is not juice.
Pineapple seed oil in brief
- Ingredient: Ananas Comosus (Pineapple) Seed Oil, exactly as printed on the label, and the only ingredient.
- Plant: the pineapple, Ananas comosus; the oil comes from the seeds, not from the flesh, the juice or the skin.
- Method and origin: cold-pressed and made in the Philippines, as the label states; the label says nothing about refining.
- Colour and scent: pale yellow; a faint, slightly fruity scent that does not smell like the fruit and is gone within a minute.
- Texture: thin; it sinks in within a minute and leaves hardly any film or shine.
- Use: the face, also in the daytime under a day cream or make-up, dry hair ends, hands, and as the thin oil in a mixture of your own; external use only.
- Sizes: 30 ml and 100 ml in dark glass with a pipette, singly or in packs of three or six.
- Storage: cool, dark and closed; use an opened bottle within a year.
Where do the seeds come from?
Pineapple seed is not a crop grown for its oil. The cultivated pineapple is largely seedless, and the seeds that do form become available when fruit is processed into juice, slices and chunks, where the outer flesh is cut away with the skin. For the oil they are washed, dried and pressed. Where the seeds for our bottle came from and from which processor, the label does not say; it says only that the oil was made in the Philippines, one of the largest pineapple growers in the world. That the fruit itself is edible does not make this oil a food: the label reads cosmetic pineapple seed oil for hair and skin, and that is how it was pressed, bottled and meant.
What does pineapple seed oil look, smell and feel like?
Three things about this oil follow from the fact that it is pressed from a small, hard seed. First the feel: thin seed oils sink in quickly and leave little behind, and pineapple seed oil is one of the clearest examples; after a minute there is hardly any film and the skin does not shine, which is why it can go under a day cream or make-up and through hair ends without weighing the hair down. Second the scent: a cold-pressed oil keeps something of the seed, and the seed of the pineapple does not smell like the fruit; expect a faint, slightly fruity note and then nothing.
Third the keeping: thin seed oils react faster with air, light and warmth than a saturated oil or a butter, so the oil comes in dark glass and should be finished within a year of opening. The colour is pale yellow and does not show on the skin.
What do people use pineapple seed oil for?
- On the face, also in the daytime. Two or three drops on cleansed, slightly damp skin, pressed in with the flat of the hand; it sinks in within a minute and fits under a day cream or make-up.
- Through hair ends. One drop rubbed between the palms and smoothed through the ends of dry hair; more weighs the hair down.
- In a mixture of your own. One part pineapple seed oil to one to three parts heavier oil or melted butter, to make a face oil, night cream or hair mask thinner and quicker to sink in.
- On the hands and body. One or two drops per hand, or half a teaspoon per arm or leg after showering; with this inexpensive oil there is no need to be sparing.
How do you use pineapple seed oil on the face?
Cleanse, pat the skin dry but leave it slightly damp, and put two or three drops in your palm. Press the oil onto cheeks, forehead, nose and chin with the flat of the hand rather than rubbing it in; pressing spreads a thin oil more evenly. After a minute the oil has sunk in and the skin no longer feels oily. Because it leaves so little behind, this is one of the few oils that works in the morning: oil first, then the day cream, or stir two drops into the portion of cream in your hand, and give it a minute before foundation.
If you are new to the oil, start with one drop on the jawline and look the next day at how the skin has taken it. What the oil does to the skin beyond sinking in, we do not claim.
How do you use it in hair?
Through the ends, pineapple seed oil is a one-drop oil. Put the drop in your palm, rub your hands together until only a shine is left, and smooth them through the ends of dry or towel-dried hair, from the ears down and not on the scalp. More makes the hair heavy and greasy; long, thick hair takes two drops, not more. Because the oil is so thin, this can be done daily, also on hair that is not washed every day. For a hair mask the oil is too light on its own; there you mix it with a heavier oil, as described below.
How do you use it in a mixture of your own?
In a mixture, pineapple seed oil is the oil that makes the rest thinner. One part pineapple seed oil to one to three parts heavier oil or melted butter gives a face oil, night cream or hair mask that sinks in faster than the heavier oil alone: with jojoba oil as the other half you get a thin, almost scentless mixture that keeps well, with shea butter a light cream. Mix a small amount at a time in a clean jar or pipette bottle. Because pineapple seed oil ages faster than jojoba, it sets the shelf life of the mixture: keep it cool and dark and use it within a few months. If you add an essential oil, keep it to one drop per 30 ml and do the wrist test first.
How much do you use, and how long does a bottle last?
Face: two or three drops per application, once or twice a day. Three drops is about 0.15 ml, so a 30 ml bottle gives two hundred applications, well over half a year at once a day. Hair ends: one drop a day, about 0.05 ml, so six hundred applications from 30 ml, longer than the oil keeps; whoever buys the oil for the ends alone has more than enough with 30 ml. Mixture: one part in two to four, so 7 to 15 ml of pineapple seed oil in a 30 ml bottle. If you use it on the hands and body as well, or as the standing thin oil in your mixtures, 30 ml goes in a few weeks and 100 ml is the better buy; the price difference between the two sizes is small with this oil.
Pineapple seed oil, kiwi seed oil and strawberry seed oil compared
All three come from the tiny seeds of a fruit, all three are thin and sink in quickly, and yet few people use them interchangeably. Kiwi seed oil is golden yellow, has a faint green, fruity scent and is by far the most expensive of the three, because a great many milligram seeds go into a little oil; it is the oil people keep for the face and the eye contour. Strawberry seed oil is pale to golden yellow with a faint fruity scent and sits between the other two in price.
Pineapple seed oil is pale yellow, has the weakest scent of the three and is the cheapest, which makes it the oil for anyone who wants a thin face oil to use in the daytime, on the hands or in mixtures without counting drops. All three need to be kept cool and dark. Choose on scent, colour and price, not on an effect, because we claim none for any of the three.
Can you use it if you are allergic to pineapple?
Be careful. Pineapple is not on the European list of fourteen allergens that must be declared on food, but a pineapple allergy does occur, and the label of this oil names no fragrance components and comes with no analysis certificate. Whether the oil from the seed carries the same substances as the fruit, we do not know. Anyone who reacts to pineapple should do the wrist test first or, better, ask a doctor. If a reaction occurs, stop and consult a doctor.
How should pineapple seed oil be stored?
Cool, dark and closed, in the dark glass it comes in, and preferably not in the bathroom or on a windowsill. The label states no period after opening; our advice is to finish an opened bottle within a year. The refrigerator is a good place for it. If the oil starts to smell sharp, musty or rancid instead of faintly fruity, it has gone off and should not be used any more.
What to keep in mind
Pineapple seed oil is for external use only. It is a cosmetic oil, so it is not for the kitchen and not meant to be swallowed, even though the fruit itself is edible. Put one drop on the inside of your wrist first and wait a day. Avoid contact with the eyes and rinse with lukewarm water if it happens. Keep out of reach of children. Keep the bottle cool, dark and closed and finish it within a year of opening.
Where does Aza Natural's pineapple seed oil come from?
We sell pineapple seed oil pure and cold-pressed, made in the Philippines as the label states, without added fragrance or carrier oils, in 30 ml and 100 ml bottles of dark glass with a pipette. Other single-ingredient plant oils are in the carrier oils section, and the closest relative in feel, at a higher price, is described in our article on kiwi seed oil.
