Organic Almond Oil

There are two types of almond: sweet and bitter. Sweet almonds (Prunus dulcis) are used to make almond oil for Lush products, while almond essential oil is distilled from the kernels of bitter almonds (Prunus amygdalus amara) to make a perfume material.

Almond crops thrive in sunny regions such as the Mediterranean, California, the Middle East and North Africa. The almond tree is part of the plum family (Prunus), and its fruits are very similar to those of the same family, such as apricot or peach. In the soft flesh hides a very hard pit, which reveals a tender almond when broken.

This oil is produced from organic almonds grown and harvested in the region of Murcia in Spain, and the farmers are part of a regeneration network. The oil is obtained by cold-pressing the almonds, a more expensive technique than the usual method (solvent extraction) but which yields an oil of exceptional quality.