Pistache Skincare Hydrating Moisturizer with Vitamin E

I can’t eat pistachios by themselves but I have a deep love for all things pistachio flavored. Maybe someday I’ll post my pistachio pasta sauce recipe for everyone to try because it’s creamy deliciousness. And if you’ve ever had pistachio gelato, you probably understand why I like pistachios so much. But I’ve never thought of using pistachios ON MY FACE! The Pistache Skincare line surprised me but in a good way. I couldn’t wait to see if pistachios could do for my skin what they do for my tastebuds and soul. Pistache Skincare uses pistachio oil in their products in an effort to harness all the benefits of pistachios into a form of skincare that’s easy to use. I was curious about the product so I contacted them to see if I could try it out and lucky for me, they offered to send a sample of the hydrating moisturizer my way.

Consistency:

It’s creamy and feels rich. It’s a very soft cream. I know it’s weird to distinguish between how creams feel but sometimes they’re too thick or gritty. This one feels smooth like silk or satin. I was really happy with the texture which is why I overloaded my skin with the product the first time I used it and ended up having to wash it off. You have to be careful because it melts into the skin really quickly so you could easily end up using too much.

Odor:

It smells kind of fruity but the scent isn’t obvious. I had to sniff the jar for a while and get a dot of product on my nose to be able to smell it. I’m not a fan of the scent but it doesn’t bother me because it’s undetectable unless I’m specifically sniffing for it.

Effect:

It’s extremely hydrating! It somehow manages to be rich and creamy while also being light. The light part is important to me because I hate the feeling of having heavy products, creams or oils on my face. Even though it’s not as thin in texture as a watery gel cream, it still feels like one. I think it could wok well for all skin types since 1 layer is enough for oily skin types or oily T-zones and an extra layer works well for dry skin or dry patches. I predicted that this cream would be too heavy for my T-zone which turned out to be kind of true except that using a smaller amount than usual perfectly hydrated my T-zone too without making it feel coated. It’s all about moderation and finding the right amount for your skin’s needs.

Ingredients:

Deionized Water, Glycerin, Pistacia Vera (Pistachio) Seed Oil, C12-C15 Alkyl Benzoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sodium Acrylates Copolymer, Lecithin (Phospholipids), Polymethylsilsequioxane, Acrylates Copolymer, Allantoin, Polysorbate 60, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Aminomethyl Propanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate.

I created a cosdna profile for it here.

Let’s talk about the star ingredient Pistachio Oil. I was very pleased to see that it’s third on the list right after water and glycerin! Since this is an american brand, we can assume that the ingredients are listed in descending order of predominance. I’m okay with water and glycerin being the only ingredients that are present at a higher concentration than pistachio oil. Tocopherol is pretty low on the list which is strange since the product uses Vitamin E as a selling point. However, pistachio oil is rich in Vitamin E which might explain the lower content of added Tocopherol.

How does pistachio oil work for your skin?

I have acne prone skin so the thought of using oils is scary to me. Yes I know oils can be good, and I swear by the power of tea tree oil to get rid of my acne, but unless it’s tried and tested every oil makes me suspicious. Pistachio oil is one of those miracle oils that will actually help acne-prone skin! It’s because pistachio oil is rich in Linoleic acid. It has about 32.7% linoleic acid. Acne prone skin is deficient in linoleic acid which stimulates the skin to produce higher amounts of oleic acid (the body’s natural counterpart to linoleic acid) as part of sebum. This, directly or indirectly, leads to an acne response. The lovely Lab Muffin did a whole post about Linoleic Acid. This paper explains a hypothesis about how a deficiency of linoleate, a linoleic acid derivate, is associated with an essential fatty acid deficiency in the skin which results in hyperkeratosis (acne). UV damage can cause hyperpigmentation in more vulnerable tissue which is the reason behind acne scars. Linoleic acid also acts as an anti-inflammatory component that protects skin from UV damage. This along with the fact that it inhibits melatonin helps to lighten hyperpigmentation. In fact tretinoin also works through a mechanism that alters the lipid profile (and thus improving the linoleic acid concentration) of the skin.

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride: This is derived from coconut oil so if your skin does not react well to coconut products, you might want to either patch test this before using or stay away from it entirely. To my skin, it depends on the quantity of coconut products so the concentration used in this moisturizer isn’t enough to irritate it.

Verdict:

My attraction towards this product is part effectiveness and part novelty. It’s a wonderful moisturizer and it does its job well but it’s also something about the packaging and the elegance of its ingredients that calls out to me. I would definitely repurchase this unless another pistachio oil moisturizer comes around. This is also the first formula besides gel-creams that I think is light enough to use on a daily basis for acne-prone skin. I recommend giving this a try….which is why I’m working on a giveaway for this product! I will post the details on Instagram soon.

Rating: 4/5 I would repurchase unless a similar but better product comes along.