ß-sitosterol, which is apparently a very trendy phytosterol to include in our formulas as it has loads of anti-inflammatory properties, works at preventing transepidermal water loss, helping repair damaged skin, reducing itching, and reducing inflammation. ß-sitosterol has a huge effect on skin damaged or harmed by environmental influences, such as wind chapping, sun damage, sun burn, and so on. In hair care products, it can offer softening of the hair strand and reduction of electrostatic charges so no more fly-aways!
Phytosterols are plant based sterols that aid in helping our skin’s barrier mechanisms recover by penetrating into the skin, rather than occluding the skin, and our body will synthesize some of these phytosterols as it would cholesterol. As our skin consists of about 25% cholesterol, adding an oil high in phytosterols can go a long way in helping damaged skin recover from the abuses we put it through every day (but don’t go claiming you’re healing anything!)