Quinoa: the strength of proteins

A grain from the Andean highlands, quinoa contains complete proteins, particularly rich in lysine, and a seed oil dominated by linoleic acid. Cosmetics utilize three distinct forms—oil, hydrolyzed proteins, powder—which help maintain suppleness and comfort, both on skin and hair.

Chenopodium quinoa Willd. does not belong to the grasses but to the Amaranthaceae family, like spinach and beet. It is a broadleaf plant from which tiny, flat grains are harvested. They are cooked like rice or wheat, hence the name pseudo-cereal; in Andean countries, its leaves are also consumed as green vegetables. This botanical fact leads to a simple property: quinoa does not contain gluten.

The cultivation of this South American plant dates back several millennia on the Altiplano, between 2,500 and 4,000 meters above sea level. The Incas cultivated it long before the arrival of the Spanish and called it chisaya mama, "mother of all grains"; it held a place in their diet that other Andean cereals never had. The United Nations declared 2013 the International Year of Quinoa, praising high-altitude agriculture capable of feeding regions where almost nothing else grows.

Three main varieties circulate, distinguished by the color of the pericarp: white quinoa, the mildest in taste and most widespread, red, firmer, and black, richer in flavor. These varieties are not only distinguishable by sight or taste: they also show measurable differences in oil composition, as discussed below.

In terms of production, Bolivia and Peru remain the two leading supplier countries worldwide. But France cultivates its own: since 2009, Anjou Quinoa has been growing around Longué-Jumelles, in the Saumur region, born from the encounter between British farmer Jason Abbott and the Pays de la Loire agricultural cooperative. This is, to date, the only structured sector in France — a sufficient reason to stop treating this grain as a distant exotic product.

To understand the cosmetic active, we must first look at the plate, because it was food that created the industry. In about twenty years, this seed has gone from an exotic item to everyday use: it is served in mixed salads, as a side dish with stews, as a rice substitute, and its flour is used in gluten-free pastries. Recipes did the rest—a warm quinoa salad recipe is as common today as tabouleh.

Taste-wise, not all varieties are equal: white is the mildest and tenderest after cooking, red is firmer, and black retains a more earthy note. Before cooking these grains, thorough rinsing remains the rule. In the Andean regions, almost nothing is discarded: young leaves are eaten as greens, and the stem is used as fodder.

This double life explains the availability of the raw material: without its success in the kitchen, volumes would never have followed, and no quinoa oil would appear in a cosmetic catalog today.

The pericarp that covers the grain contains saponins, bitter molecules that protect the plant from birds and insects. These must be removed before any use, both in the kitchen and in the lab—this is the rinsing with clear water recommended before cooking quinoa, or the dry hulling practiced in the industry. These saponins are natural surfactants: the wash water foams. In the Andes, this water was traditionally used as a cleaning product. The seed thus announces its cosmetic vocation from its very first bath.

Once hulled, the seeds take three distinct paths, which should not be confused when reading an ingredient list.

A study published in the journal Molecules in 2022 (Shen et al., 27(8)) compared oils extracted from three genotypes of Chenopodium quinoa—white, red, and black. In the laboratory, solvent extraction yielded 5.7 to 6.2% oil relative to the weight of the seeds: this is the maximum theoretically available, and cold pressing used in cosmetics yields significantly less. The fatty acid profile is distinctly polyunsaturated: 43.7 to 51.8% linoleic acid, 23.9 to 25.8% oleic acid, and 4.6 to 8.2% alpha-linolenic acid depending on the varieties. Total tocopherols, the vitamin E family, range between 117 and 157 mg per kilogram, with a clear dominance of gamma-tocopherol.

Translated into terms of texture: this is a light, dry-feel oil that spreads without leaving a greasy film—the exact opposite of a saturated vegetable butter. It is this sensory signature, as much as its composition, that makes it interesting for use at the end of a routine or mixed with a more enveloping oil.

Understand the science of this ingredient and integrate it into your routine: