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Tamanu oil is a thick, earthy, dark green oil that is derived from the seeds of the Tamanu nut tree, a tropical evergreen that is found throughout Southeast Asia.
This ingredient comes with an incredibly rich history – it has been used by cultures throughout Asia, Africa, and the Pacific Islands for centuries for a variety of medicinal purposes (more on those later). So, while Tamanu oil may be a completely unknown quantity to you and the majority of the skincare industry (for now), it is by no means a novel idea to use it to improve the quality of your skin.
The thing that is so exciting about Tamanu oil is that because of how nutrient-rich it is, there are an endless number of benefits it can bring to your skin – so let’s get into it!
Two words: fatty acids.
Tamanu oil is chock-full of ‘em! That quality is so valuable because it makes this ingredient an incredible moisturizer. And it goes even beyond that – these fatty acids pair and bind to ceramides. What the combinations of rich fatty acids and ceramides does is they provide some much-needed support to your skin’s natural moisture barrier. So not only does Tamanu oil moisturize and hydrate your skin in the traditional sense, it also helps keep your moisture barriers strong so that your skin’s ability to retain moisture is boosted too! Plus, Tamanu oil is non-comedogenic, so these wonderful moisturizing benefits don’t come at the cost of clogging your pores and potentially causing breakouts like some other oils would.
Woohoo, fatty acids!!
Here are a few of the other reasons we love Tamanu oil:
It’s also full of strong antioxidants that are vital for protecting the skin from damaging free radicals we are exposed to by the sun and air pollution.
Ahhh collagen – the elixir of skincare life. If you’ve been following us for long enough you probably already know that collagen production is the major key for anti-aging skincare!
One of Tamanu oil’s major historical medicinal purposes was/is wound healing – and that’s because of its anti-inflammatory properties. Skincare-wise, anti-inflammatories are great because they help to soothe a whole bunch of skin concerns and irritation.
Along with its anti-inflammatory benefits, Tamanu oil also has antibacterial that make it incredible at targeting acne and acne scars! The ingredient has been proven to kill P. acnes and P. granulosum bacteria strains – two of the skin’s biggest culprits for causing acne.
Once again, shout out to those fatty acids. The nutrient richness of this ingredient, combined with its collagen production qualities, makes it effective at diminishing the depth and prominence of wrinkles.
These are two other common uses of Tamanu oil – it has been known to fade fresh stretch marks and even out hyperpigmentation that causes dark spots on the skin.
We told you – endless benefits! Yes, raw Tamanu oil is even used to treat athletes’ feet because there is a lot of evidence suggesting it has antifungal properties
You have a nut allergy (it’s derived from a tree nut).
If not, literally everyone else can and should be integrating this wonderful ingredient into their skincare routines. Whether it’s for acne prevention, scar-healing, antioxidant protection, general moisturization, moisture barrier support, or athlete’s foot – we should all be using it because there’s bound to be something everyone can benefit from!
