Emu Oil

What is emu oil and from where is it derived from? There is a euphoria stirred by emu oil that is penetrating the natural skin care products industry, yet majority of consumers are still faced with this question. This article helps to answer some of the basic questions about emu oil and its known benefits for skin care.

Emu is a native bird of Australia and also exists in other countries like China, Japan, Europe, and Canada to name a few. It belongs to the ratite family of flightless birds along with the ostrich, rhea, and kiwi. In contrast to the bird's modern appeal especially in pharmacology, the emu has been roaming the earth since the dinosaurs' era, approximately 80 million years ago!

The Aborigines (indigenous people of Australia) are the first to derive uses from emu birds, which is also their source of food, clothing, and remedies for a myriad of physical disorders through the emu oil. Emy oil is extracted from the fats of the bird found on the top layer of its back. Each bird has an average of 15 to 30 pounds of fat. Modern refining facilities are being used to extract emu oil from these fats, for use as emu oil skin care products.

Emu oil is very versatile, and skin care is just one of its uses. Emu oil skin care reduces the occurrence of many skin diseases such as psoriasis, and is also effective in soothing sunburn or preventing sunburn. It’s can also be a good moisturizer to heal dry skin especially for the elderly, and accelerates the body's capability to heal superficial wounds. Emu oil for skin care is also used to soften calluses, aids in providing relief to and preventing bedsores, revitalize tired and puffy eyes, helps prevent blistering, prevents skin peeling after a sunburn, relieve chapped lips, soothe insect bites, prevents razor burns, and so much more.

Although scientific studies to prove emu oil skin care benefits, the traditional uses of emu oil are difficult to ignore. In fact, the Aborigines have so trusted the oil of this great bird since approximately 50,000 years ago.

How to use emu oil
Some doctors are beginning to recognize the benefits of emu oil to a variety of superficial and physical problems. Emu oil is a good emollient, known to sooth skin discomforts and irritations due to its anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and anti-bacterial properties. It is not surprising why many natural skin care products rely on this primitive, complex oil because it is non-toxic and non-comedogenic. The oil is also gentle and hypo-allergenic for use on baby's skin.

This euphoria over emu oil has led to many university and institution researches to validate the emu oil skin care benefits as well as its other claimed benefits for the body.

Many burn patients who into the road of recovery are favoring the anti-inflammatory properties of emu oil. Several short-term studies (lasting at least six months) conducted on a few patients suggested significant results as to the effectiveness of emu oil in giving relief and reducing the damaging effects of burned skin.

Some of the potent healing nutrients found in emu oil are EFAs (essential fatty acids) such as linolenic acid (omega-3) and linoleic acid (omega-6). These fatty acids have crucial roles to play in human metabolism, which may explain the healing properties of emu oil.

Emu oil also absorbs rapidly from the skin and inhibits a good ”transdermal" penetration, which aids in the distribution of oxygen throughout the body. For baby skin care, emu oil is soothing to your baby's skin, and may even be used as carrier for other baby skin care applications.

In spite of all these claimed benefits about emu oil, its potentials has yet to be tapped by science, which leaves us with personal experiences to support its benefits.