Baobab Oil

A natural history

The baobab is among the most extraordinary trees on earth, a giant of the African savanna with a swollen trunk that can store tens of thousands of liters of water against the drought. Some living baobabs are well over a thousand years old, and one dated tree had stood for nearly two and a half thousand years, the oldest flowering plant ever recorded. Across the continent it is called the tree of life, for it gives food, water, shelter, and medicine.

It is also known as the upside-down tree. For much of the year it stands bare, its sparse branches splayed against the sky like roots, and an old legend says the gods planted it the wrong way up. The vitamin C rich fruit is treasured as a superfruit across Africa, while the seeds inside have long been pressed into a golden oil for skin and hair.

What it does for your skin

Baobab seed oil is a balanced emollient, rich in oleic and linoleic fatty acids that soften and condition skin. In a pilot study, baobab oil was gentle on the skin and linked to reduced water loss and improved moisture readings, the marks of a good emollient.^[1] Compositional analysis confirms its balance of palmitic, oleic, and linoleic acids, the profile behind its skin conditioning feel.^[2] In a formula it is a nourishing oil that helps dry, tight skin look and feel supple. A pilot study and its balanced fatty-acid makeup both point to that supple, conditioned feel.

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