Rich in gamma linolenic acid; for sensitive skin, prone to irritation, delicate facial oil
Precious, organic seed oil of the Japanese tree famous for Green Tea. Traditionally used as hair oil. It is ideal for sensitive skin as it softens, conditions and moisturizes. For irritated skin: it has a soothing effect and relieves redness. For dry, rough skin: it restores elasticity due to the high content of GLA (gamma linolenic acid), an essential fatty acid vital for maintaining normal skin function. It also soothes acne outbreaks and irritated skin. Regulates cell metabolism and secretions from the sebaceous glands to restore balance and unclog pores, which helps prevent acne from starting. Cold-pressed.
Size: 30ml/1fl.oz
Geography
Camellia is a tea tree. It grows in mountains in South-East Asia. Cultivated in western Japan where winters are cold and dry, Camellia Oil is extensively used in this country. It blossoms all through winter, even under the snow from January to February.
About the Plant
8m high when wild, this shrub can be less than 2m high when cultivated. Its evergreen leaves, silky and soft when very young, become tough and glabrous with age. 1.5 to 2cm in diameter, the white flowers have 7 to 8 petals and many stamens. The fruit is a capsule which contains a big oleaginous seed. The Japanese have always used Camellia Oil for skincare and for hair and scalp care.
In the 14th century, the moralist Kenko wrote the beauty of her hair is what a man is most attracted by in a woman. In the Ukiyoe (etchings) of the 17th and 18th centuries, many Japanese women are depicted in their baths, washing and doing their long hair. During the very refined Kyoto era, women did their hair so as to highlight it was long and abundant. They took care of it with Camellia Oil and had beautiful black hair, abundant, gleaming and lacquered as reported by an admirer.
This tradition still exists: the women reputed to have the most beautiful hair live in Oshima, an island where camellias have always been very abundant. Camellia Oil can also be applied on the face, on the neck and on the hands, thus causing western women to be jealous of the peach skin, the long and curved nails of Japanese women. Camellia Oil is also used in medicine where it is an excipient and in food, as a good dressing for salads and as fat for frying. With other oils, it makes the famous Japanese fried dish called tempura.
History
In Japanese, Camellia is written with two ideograms which mean tree and spring. First plant to blossom, Camellia is considered as the herald of spring. Camellia has inspired painters and masters of the Ikebana, one of the Japanese schools of floral arrangement. In China, Camellias have often been reproduced on chinaware, on lacquered woods or on folding screens. Ancient etchings illustrate the plant's system of symbols: associated with narcissi and a perfume burner, camellia means luck and happiness, a bunch of Camellias and everlastings predicts a successful life of great merit ending in a peaceful retirement. Camellia is thus a symbol of virtue, wealth and happiness. A small dish containing camellia buds soaking in water is placed on the altar during rituals were abundance and luxury are in place.
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