Kukui Nut Oil

A natural history

Kukui nut oil comes from the candlenut tree, the official state tree of Hawaii, carried across the Pacific more than a thousand years ago in the canoes of Polynesian voyagers. Hawaiians treasured it for light, for healing, and above all for the skin. By long tradition the oil was smoothed over skin and hair and gently massaged into babies to shield their delicate skin from sun, salt, and wind.

The nut is so rich in oil that, strung one above another and lit in turn, the kernels burned like a living candle, which is how the tree earned its English name, candlenut, and how the passing hours were once measured. From light to lei to lullaby, kukui has been woven into Hawaiian life, and the soft, fast-absorbing oil it gives is its gentlest gift.

What it does for your skin

Kukui nut oil is a light, quickly absorbed oil unusually rich in the skin loving fatty acids linoleic and alpha linolenic acid. Analysis of kukui oil confirms this high content of nourishing unsaturated fats, the basis of its soft, fast-absorbing feel.^[1] Recent research also found the oil activates the skin's antioxidant defense pathway, a sign of its protective character.^[2] In a formula it is a gentle, conditioning oil that helps dry, exposed skin feel soft, soothed, and comfortable.

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