Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. Besides being used as a cooking oil in South India, it is used as a flavour enhancer in Middle Eastern, African, and Southeast Asian cuisines. It has a distinctive nutty aroma and taste.

DESCRIPTION
One type of sesame oil, a pale yellow liquid with a pleasant grain-like odor and somewhat nutty taste, is used as frying oil. A second type of oil, amber-colored and aromatic, is made from pressed and toasted sesame seeds and is used as a flavoring agent in the final stages of cooking.
Despite sesame oil’s high proportion (41%) of polyunsaturated (omega-6) fatty acids, it is least prone, among cooking oils with high smoke points, to turn rancid when kept in the open. This is due to the natural antioxidants, such as sesamol, present in the oil.

COMPOSITION
Sesame oil contains high levels of natural antioxidants called sesamol, sesamolin and sesamin oils. Sesamin is a lignin with anti-inflammatory properties, and contains vitamin E, which helps keep your skin strong and supple.

Meanwhile, sesamol possesses over two dozen beneficial pharmacologically active properties, most of which work to improve cardiovascular health. Sesame oil contains 15 percent saturated fat, 42 percent oleic acid and 43 percent omega-6 linoleic acid, with a composition similar to peanut oil. It is also loaded with B-complex vitamins, including thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine and folic acid.

It’s rich in amino acids that are essential in building up proteins, and minerals like iron, copper, calcium, manganese, magnesium, selenium, phosphorus and zinc. Sesame oil has been used for centuries in Asian cuisine. It also has medicinal purposes, especially in Ayurvedic medicine, where it is used as a base oil for about 90 percent of the herbal oils.

In Ayurvedic therapy, sesame oil is renowned for its ability to strengthen and detoxify the body and ensure the proper functioning of all the vital organs. Today, sesame oil is a common component of skin and massage oils, hair care products, cosmetics, soaps, perfumes and sunscreens. Sesame oil has great moisturizing, soothing and emollient qualities.

In aromatherapy, it is popularly used as a massage oil and a carrier oil for essential oils.

BENEFITS

Skin moisturizer – Apply it to your skin to keep it soft and smooth and help prevent wrinkles from forming. You can also add it to your bath water to help treat cracked heels and dry knees and elbows. Sesame oil also assists in soothing burns and helps prevent skin-related disorders.

Massage oil – Sesame oil gets deeper into our skin thanks to its high viscosity. This helps to nourish the skin from within, repairs damaged skin cells and gives it a healthy glow.

Natural sunscreen – Apply the oil all over your face and body. You may need to reapply it, though, as the oil is easily removed, especially after heavily perspiring or jumping into water.

Skin detoxifier – Oil-soluble toxins are said to be attracted to sesame seed oil molecules. Apply sesame oil on your skin, leave it for 15 minutes and then wash it off with warm water.

Boosts your scalp and hair health – Massage the oil into your scalp and hair to keep your locks strong and shiny. It also effectively helps relieve dry scalp, dandruff and hair loss.

Sesame oil has natural antibacterial – antiviral and antioxidant properties, and many studies prove its therapeutic and health-promoting benefits.

Diabetes — A 2006 study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food found that sesame oil used as the sole oil in your diet helps with lowering both blood pressure and plasma glucose in hypertensive diabetics.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) — In mice studies, sesame oil helped protect mice from developing autoimmune encephalomyelitis, leading researchers to believe that it may react similarly in human patients with MS.

Cancer — High concentrations of sesomol and sesamin in sesame oil have been found to induce mitochondrial apoptosis in colon cancer, as well as in prostate, breast, lung, leukemia, multiple myeloma and pancreatic cancers.

SOURCES :
https://articles.mercola.com/herbal-oils/sesame-oil.aspx
http://www.thevibrantwriter.com/an-ayurvedic-sesame-oil-massage-makes-us-strong-and-beautiful/