When you think of passion fruit, the first thing that comes to mind likely isn’t skincare – perhaps a lovely fruit platter or a certain cocktail instead? The flavoursome and richly acidic fruit is full of vitamins and minerals that the body (as well as the skin) needs, making it ideal to be used as a skincare ingredient. 

While using passion fruit oil in skincare may not be the most common use, that doesn’t mean to say that the ingredient doesn’t pack a punch with its skin-loving properties. 

What you should know about passion fruit oil

Passion fruit is a vibrantly coloured oval or round shaped fruit that comes from the passiflora genus of plant. This genus comprises over 500 species of flowering plants with passiflora edulis (passion fruit) being a vine species native to Brazil. 

The oil used in various types of cosmetics and personal care items is derived from the seeds of the passion fruit, which are typically cold-pressed. This means that there is usually very little processing involved, allowing the extracted oil to retain important nutrients that your skin can benefit from. 

Passion fruit oil skin benefits

1. Helps to repair your skin barrier

You might not know you have one, but your skin barrier is essential for keeping you healthy and ensuring that your skin is protected from damage. 

One of the best ways to support your skin’s natural barrier is to increase your skin’s hydration. Passion fruit seed oil is rich in both linoleic (omega-6) and oleic (omega-9) fatty acids which are intensely nourishing for the skin.

Fatty acids – with the addition of a sphingoid base – make up the structure of a ceramide. Types of lipids, these fatty acids work to help to keep the skin as moisturised as possible, and ceramides are known to help to improve the skin’s complexion and deeply hydrate the skin by preventing water from escaping. 

2. A great antioxidant

Rich in polyphenols, passion fruit seed oil is known to have high antioxidant activity. This makes it a great skincare ingredient as it helps to neutralise the damage caused by free radicals, and prevent further damage. 

Free radicals are molecules that are naturally released by the body with one or more unpaired electrons in its outer shell. When produced in excess – and where cells cannot adequately destroy the excess – free radicals and oxidants can bring the body into a state of oxidative stress, which can alter the cell’s structure. 

These molecules ‘steal’ an electron from a healthy molecule to form their missing pairing, and consequently damages the healthy cell. Free radical damage causes both a breakdown to the DNA of your skin, and skin damage in the form of dryness, uneven pigmentation, wrinkles, broken blood vessels and crepey skin. 

Antioxidants destroy free radicals, but during this process, the antioxidant itself becomes oxidised. Therefore, it’s important to constantly replenish the antioxidants in the body.

3. Boosts collagen production

Collagen is by far the most abundant protein in mammals, and absolutely essential for the human body – making up around 30% of the proteins in the whole body. However, as we age, the amount of collagen that the body produces declines. 

Helping to keep skin firm and supple as well as adding a hit of hydration, collagen is essential for maintaining skin elasticity. Passion fruit oil has been found to both increase collagen production and inhibit collagen and elastin degradation, which can help the skin to retain its moisture and elasticity.

4. Reduces the visible signs of ageing

We’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again. Ageing isn’t something to be perceived as a negative – it’s a privilege to grow older and make new memories. So if living life means a few extra lines and wrinkles, so be it. 

However, we are aware that for some people, visible signs of ageing contribute to low self-esteem, which is why we include this information. Passion fruit oil has been found to help reduce the signs of ageing, largely due to its high phenol contents.

Considering all of these benefits of passion fruit oil, we couldn’t not include it in our delightful body oil. 

UpCircle’s passion fruit body oil

Introduced to the UpCircle range as part of our festive gifting range, our sumptuous Body Oil with UpCycled Passion Fruit Oil leaves your skin feeling deeply moisturised and gorgeously scented.

Passion fruit oil helps to maintain and repair the skin’s natural barrier, adding needed hydration, as well as fight off free radicals and boost collagen production. Formulated alongside nourishing tangerine oil and kumquat oil, this oil is fast-absorbing and non-greasy – as a body oil should be.

Also protecting the skin barrier, fighting free radicals and boosting collagen production, tangerine oil additionally helps to soothe sensitive skin and has wound healing properties. This makes it ideal for acne-prone skin. 

You’ll find our luxurious body oil in our “The Unreleased Trio” Cracker, alongside our fan-favourites, Lip Balm and home mist. 

The passion fruit oil (also known as maracuja oil) we use in our formulation comes from Peruvian sustainable sourcing. The unexploited seeds of the fruit – discarded by the food industry – are cold pressed to leave virgin maracuja oil.

Strengthening the skin’s barrier function, the very high content of powerful antioxidants tocotrienol and tocopherol helps to protect the skin from external stresses.

How to use UpCircle’s passion fruit body oil

The best way to apply our passion fruit body oil is to smooth onto clean and dry skin. 

We recommend cleansing your skin with either our Chai Soaps or our Hand + Body Wash with Lemongrass, and following up with our Hand + Body Lotion with Bergamot Water to add the moisture back to your skin. Then it’s time to reap all of the wonderful benefits of passion fruit oil with our Body Oil. 

Top tip: Save 10% on the RRP when you purchase our Hand + Body Care Duo, including both the hand and body wash, and lotion. 

We are proudly B-Corp certified, allowing us to be transparent about how we function and show what we stand for. On top of this, we upcycle a plethora of different ingredients that would otherwise go to waste, giving them a new lease of life. 

Discover our full collection of vegan and cruelty free skincare, haircare and fragrance.