Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Seed Oil

There are two types of oily substances that might appear in skincare under this name.

The first (and more common) is the fatty oil that is made by cold pressing carrot seeds. It is emollient and occlusive moisturizing, rich in unsaturated fatty acids (mainly oleic acid), and, due to the extraction process, also contains a small amount of carrot seed essential oil - which gives it the characteristic spicy fragrance, similar to parsley or celery.

People allergic to celery might develop a skin allergy when using carrot seed oil in cosmetics.

The second is the carrot seed essential oil that is extracted by distillation and that contains only the volatile fragrant substances. It is used as a fragrance in very small amounts and also has some antimicrobial properties.

IMPORTANT NOTE: neither one offers any substantial UV protection. The information you might see circulating on the internet about “carrot seed oil having a sunscreen factor 40” is a hoax stemming from a single study that has been misinterpreted.

The UV factor of the commercial herbal sunscreen cream in the study came from zinc oxide, while the carrot seed oil was only used as a base oil in the formulation of the cream.