Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil

Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil is better known as wheat germ oil. It's a golden oil that softens skin as an emollient and deliver antioxidants.

Most of its fatty acid profile is dominated by linoleic acid (~55%) with smaller amounts of palmitic, oleic, and linolenic. Linoleic acid helps reinforce the skin barrier and slow moisture loss.

Wheat germ oil's real claim to fame is its vitamin E content; it has the highest vitamin E of any vegetable oil. This gives is strong antioxidant properties and helps the oil resist going rancid.

Patch-testing of wheat-germ products has shown no irritation or sensitization, and this ingredient is a great choice for dry skin. It might be a bit heavy for acne-prone or oily skin.

There are just three caveats worth knowing:

1. Like other plant oils, it contains the C11-24 fatty acids that Malassezia can metabolize. Therefore, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.

2. Refined oils carry very little protein, but anyone diagnosed with a wheat or gluten allergy should patch test just to be cautious.

3. While blogs like to list this ingredient with a comedogenic rating of 5, the original study was actually done on a different ingredient: wheat germ triglycerides. Wheat germ triglycerides actually scored a 3 and not a 5. The 5 appears to be a mix-up that spread across charts over the years, with no actual data behind it.