Most people assume oil is oil. The way an oil is extracted changes its entire nutritional profile, and the difference shows up directly on your skin and hair.
5 min read · Ayurveda, Ingredients
Walk into any supermarket and pick up two bottles of coconut oil. One says “cold-pressed.” One says “refined.” They look identical. The difference between them is the reason Malash exists.
How Regular (Refined) Oil Is Made
Most commercially available oils go through a process called solvent extraction. The seeds or nuts are crushed, then bathed in a chemical solvent, typically hexane, to pull out as much oil as possible. The mixture is then heated to high temperatures (sometimes above 200°C) to evaporate the solvent and deodorise the oil. Then it goes through decolourisation, degumming, and bleaching. The result is a clear, odourless, shelf-stable oil.
It is also an oil that has had most of its naturally occurring vitamins, antioxidants, and fatty acids degraded or destroyed by heat. Vitamin E, polyphenols, plant sterols: all heat-sensitive, all partially or fully lost in the refining process. What remains is primarily the triglycerides (fat molecules). It lubricates. It moisturises in the most basic sense. But the nutritional complexity that makes an oil genuinely functional for skin and hair is largely gone.
What Cold-Pressing Preserves
Cold pressing uses only mechanical pressure: no heat above ambient temperature, no chemical solvents. The oil that comes out is exactly what the nut or seed contains. Nothing added. Nothing stripped.
What this means in practice: cold-pressed almond oil retains its full Vitamin E content (a potent antioxidant documented to protect skin cells from oxidative damage), its zinc content (which supports keratin production in both skin and nails), and its complete oleic acid profile. Refined almond oil retains the fat. The functional difference is significant.
The Sensory Difference
Cold-pressed oils look and smell different from refined oils. Mustard oil smells sharp and pungent: that is the allyl isothiocyanate that gives it its scalp-warming properties. Cold-pressed sesame oil has a nutty, golden quality. Cold-pressed coconut oil smells like coconuts. These are not impurities. They are markers of an unprocessed, intact oil. When an oil has no smell, it has often been stripped of the compounds that make it useful.
Shelf Life and Storage
The trade-off with cold-pressed oils is shelf life. Refined oils last longer because the compounds that make them go rancid have already been removed. Cold-pressed oils retain those compounds, which is precisely why they are valuable, and need to be stored correctly to remain effective. Keep them in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight. Check the best-before date. Use within the recommended period. An oil that has oxidised (gone rancid) not only smells unpleasant. It can generate free radicals that work against skin health, not for it.
This is the care that comes with choosing a better oil. It is worth it.
Malash's Commitment
Key Takeaway
Cold-pressed oils retain their full nutritional complexity. Refined oils retain the fat. For skin and hair, the difference is not cosmetic. It is functional.
