Question: Does Carrot Essential Oil Contain Vitamin A?
Short Answer: If you are looking to increase your levels of Vitamin A, our Carrot Root Essential Oil is the one you want.
Long Answer: Our Carrot Root Essential Oil contains beta-carotene, a precursor to Vitamin A. It might surprise you to find out that there is no Vitamin A in carrots. But beta-carotene, which IS in carrots is converted in the body to Vitamin A. See this article for reference: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-a/
Because our Carrot Root Essential oil comes from the root (as opposed to seeds), and is highly concentrated, it comes out a bright orange color, indicating a high concentration of beta-carotene.
My Experience
I'm all about using essential oils for skincare, and when I was first getting into essential oils, I read many books on the subject. Most everyone who has researched skincare knows of the benefits of Vitamin A, and I was no exception, so I was looking for essential oils that contained vitamin A.
My aim was to find something that wasn't going to make my skin sensitive to the sun, like Retin-A. I knew about carrots being high in Vitamin A, so I sought out aromatherapy literature on their use as essential oils or carrier oils.
I found out that carrots actually have no vitamin A but they stimulate our all-powerful mind to convert the beta-carotene in carrots to Vitamin A. But beta-carotene is not found in the seeds, which was what most carrot essential oils were made from.
I realized that if I wanted the kind of carrot essential oil that contains vitamin A, I need to go for the roots. But wow! That was not easy to come by. The roots do not
So the hunt was on, and eventually, I found a wonderful supplier out of Germany that expertly extracts carrot roots using jojoba and carbon dioxide.
The extraction method leaves only Carrot Essential Oil in a base of jojoba oil. Applied topically directly to the skin may leave an unpleasant orange tint and is not generally recommended. This carrot essential oil can be added to a carrier at 5-10% Carrot Essential Oil to 90-95% carrier oil.
I have added it to my Super Custom Anti-Aging blend. Carrot Essential Oil is part of what gives the blend a nice hue that people appreciate.
