ABSTRACT:
Egg oil is natural oil extracted from standard hen eggs and is a useful constituent of cosmetics and cosmeceuticals, and acts as an anti-oxidant, moisturizer, penetration enhancer, emollient, skin conditioner, and as anti-bacterial agent etc. An important property of egg oil is that, it does not contain egg proteins and thus, is useful for individuals allergic to eggs or its related products especially for therapeutic dermatological applications. Although, with time there is much advancement in the treatment options but these are costly and beyond the budget of common people. Hence, an effective, safe, non-toxic, soothing, and topically applied natural essential oil is the need of the hour. Egg oil is extracted from eggs by different means such as with the help of heat, solvent and cold process. Extracted egg oil can be utilized further in various cosmetics formulations used in hair, skin, nails etc and can be explored in the preparation of various topical delivery systems such as liposomes and microemulsions. Egg oil outlines a light protective barrier on the surface of skin which prevents the loss of moisture, and devoid the clogging of skin pores. Egg oil presence in hair care formulations provides nourishing and conditioning effect. This review article discusses the physicochemical properties of egg oil, its composition, various extraction methods, dermatological applications, commercial sources and patents signifying the tremendous potential of egg oil in cosmetics.