The label “cold-pressed” on a skincare oil has become common enough that it risks becoming meaningless. But the extraction method for plant oils genuinely affects what ends up in the bottle, and the difference between a quality cold-pressed oil and a commodity solvent-extracted equivalent can be significant in terms of the active compounds that reach your skin.
How cold pressing works
Cold pressing (also called expeller pressing) extracts oil from seeds, nuts, or fruits using mechanical pressure rather than heat or solvents. The plant material is pressed at temperatures that remain naturally below about 49°C (120°F), though the exact threshold that qualifies as “cold-pressed” varies by region and standard. Some certifications specify temperatures below 40°C.
The mechanical pressure alone extracts the oil that the plant material contains. No solvent is added to extract the remaining oil fraction, and no high-heat refining process is applied afterwards. The result is a raw, unrefined oil that retains the full spectrum of the original plant’s compounds.
What heat and solvent extraction do differently
Conventional oil extraction for commodity purposes typically uses one or both of two additional processes: heat extraction and solvent extraction (usually with hexane).
Heat extraction increases yield by making more of the oil accessible as the plant material is warmed. However, heat degrades several important compounds: fat-soluble vitamins (particularly vitamin E), carotenoids, polyphenols, and flavonoids all begin breaking down at temperatures above around 60-70°C. Many volatile aromatic compounds evaporate under heat. The resulting oil is often lighter in colour, more stable (because some oxidation-prone compounds have already been removed), but significantly less bioactively rich than cold-pressed oil from the same source.
Hexane (solvent) extraction is even more thorough at removing oil and is standard for most commercial food and cosmetic oils. After extraction, the hexane is removed by evaporation, which requires high heat. While regulators set limits on residual hexane in food and cosmetic oils, trace amounts may remain. More significantly, the heat involved in hexane removal and subsequent refining destroys many of the same compounds that direct heat extraction damages.
Refined oils produced by these methods are then often bleached and deodorised, which removes the characteristic colour and smell of the original plant material along with further degradation of bioactive compounds.
What cold pressing preserves
Cold-pressed oils retain their naturally occurring vitamin E (tocopherols and tocotrienols), which functions as both a skin antioxidant and a natural preservative that slows rancidity. This is why unrefined cold-pressed oils are often more unstable than refined oils: they have the vitamin E but also the polyunsaturated fatty acids that refined oils have had partially removed or converted.
Carotenoids in cold-pressed oils from carotenoid-rich plants (rosehip, carrot, sea buckthorn) are substantially higher than in refined versions. Sea buckthorn cold-pressed pulp oil retains its characteristic deep orange colour from these carotenoids; the same oil after refining is pale yellow. The difference in carotenoid content is the difference in visible colour.
Polyphenols and plant sterols are retained in cold-pressed oils and have documented anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and barrier-supporting properties in skin. Refined oils largely lose these.
Coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinol) occurs naturally in some oils, particularly avocado, and is preserved in cold-pressed versions. It has documented effects on skin mitochondrial function and is studied for anti-aging applications.
The characteristic scent of unrefined cold-pressed oils (the nutty smell of sesame, the grassy note of rosehip, the earthy richness of argan) is from volatile aromatic compounds that are removed by refining. For fragrance-free skincare, refined oils are sometimes preferred. For preserving the full plant profile, cold-pressed unrefined versions are superior.
Cold-pressed versus raw: a distinction worth knowing
“Raw” in oil context usually means unrefined, which is related to cold-pressed but not identical. An oil can be cold-pressed (no heat during extraction) but then still undergo some refining (such as filtering or mild processing to remove particles). True raw cold-pressed unrefined oil has had no processing beyond the mechanical pressing and possibly settling or filtering.
For maximum bioactive content in a skincare oil, cold-pressed and unrefined is the optimal combination. For some applications where the strong colour or scent of unrefined oil is impractical (formulating in a light cream, for example), a quality cold-pressed oil that has been minimally filtered may be the pragmatic choice.
Shelf life and proper storage
Cold-pressed unrefined oils have shorter shelf lives than refined alternatives because they retain the polyunsaturated fatty acids and active compounds that make them valuable, but these compounds are also more prone to oxidation. Once opened, most cold-pressed oils should be stored in dark glass away from heat and light and used within six to twelve months.
Vitamin E content naturally extends shelf life somewhat, but cold-pressed oils high in linoleic acid (omega-6), like rosehip, hemp seed, and raspberry seed, are particularly prone to going rancid. The smell of a rancid oil, metallic or paint-like, is unmistakable and signals that the oil should be replaced rather than used on skin.
What to look for when buying
Genuine cold-pressed oils should be labelled explicitly as cold-pressed or cold-extracted. They typically have a darker colour and stronger scent than refined equivalents. The price tends to be higher because the yield from cold pressing is lower than solvent extraction.
Certification from organic bodies (COSMOS, USDA Organic, or equivalent national standards) typically requires cold or minimal-heat extraction for organic-certified oils. This makes certified organic a useful proxy for cold-pressed quality when the label doesn’t specify extraction method explicitly.
The difference in what reaches your skin is real. For facial oils specifically, the richness of a quality cold-pressed oil in vitamins, antioxidants, and bioactive fatty acids justifies the extra care in sourcing.