Ingredient Spotlight: Tamanu oil

What is it and how is it used?

Although it may just now be hitting the mainstream, people from the Polynesian islands have been using Tamanu oil for centuries.The Tamanu tree blooms twice annually with fragrant, white flowers that later yield clusters of yellow-skinned spherical fruit. Tamanu oil is produced from nuts that naturally fall from the tree when mature. The nuts are then collected and cold processed to make a thick dark green medicinal grade oil. Natives hold the Tamanu tree as a sacred gift of nature because the plant’s oil is such a powerful element of traditional healing remedies. Historically, Polynesians have used this oil for its properties as an emollient, burn balm, analgesic, scar minimizer and overall promoter of skin-healing.

Once again, emerging scientific research has confirmed ancient wisdom. When hand-harvested and cold-pressed the traditional way, it turns out that Tamanu oil is indeed a remarkable topical healing agent with skin healing and antioxidant properties. Most of these regenerative and soothing properties are derived from complex naturally-occurring molecules called fatty acids. A typical sample of Tamanu oil will contain the following fatty acids:

• Oleic- 41.4%
• Palmitic- 14.5%
• Linoleic- 29.7%
• Linolenic- 0.2%
• Stearic- 12.9%

The antioxidant properties of these fatty acids also make Tamanu oil a powerful soothing ingredient for damaged, burned, or irritated skin. Traditionally, it has been used for acne, scars and nerve irritation. A recent peer-reviewed study actually found Tamanu oil to be better than Aloe Vera at soothing burned skin!

Tamanu Oil for Skin and Hair

Because of its gentle yet effective healing properties, Tamanu oil works great on its own, mixed with other moisturizing agents, or as a carrier for other botanical agents like essential oils. It can be applied at full-strength to skin, including sunburns and healing wounds. Tamanu oil’s high fatty-acid concentration helps promote wound healing while reducing the chance of scarring. And because it isn’t likely to clog pores, Tamanu oil can even be used on facial blemishes.
As a moisturizer it works fantastically all over the body, and is especially beneficial when used directly after showering. As a hair moisturizing treatment, we recommend rubbing Tamanu oil into the hair and scalp, letting sit for 20 minutes, and then shampooing and conditioning as usual.

Get Botanically-Boosted Private Label and Wholesale Products with Rainshadow Labs

Tamanu oil takes private label skincare to new levels with an exotic twist of soothing and rebuilding botanical compounds. You can add it to your existing ingredient decks, incorporate it into your new private label plans, slather it on as is or use it in the pre-formulated skincare products available in our Buy Direct store. To learn more about starting your own private label skincare line check out the “Private Label” section of our website or send us an email. If you would like to purchase your own Tamanu oil or pre-formulated stock products, go to our Buy Direct section.