Gossypium Herbaceum (Cotton) Seed Oil

Gossypium herbaceum (cotton) seed oil is a fatty oil pressed (or extracted) from the seeds of the cotton plant. This oil is used for its occlusive and emollient properties in skincare and, due to its content of linoleic acid, is suitable for all skin types.

The seeds are an industrial waste of cotton fiber production and so it makes sense for them to be used for something else. The seeds are pressed or extracted for oil and the rest (called press cake) is usually fed to the cattle.

Cotton seed oil is mainly comprised of linoleic acid (50%), followed by palmitic acid (20%). This oil also contains large amounts of phospholipids (the second richest source after soybean oil). The problem with cotton seeds is that they contain gossypol, a yellow-colored polyphenol that naturally occurs in cotton seeds and that is considered toxic.

All cotton seed products must be refined and controlled for their gossypol content. Luckily, there now exists strains of cotton that don't produce any gossypol and these seeds are safe to use as a food source.