Tamanu Oil

About Tamanu Oil

Tamanu oil comes from the fruit of the tamanu tree. The oil has been used for hundreds of years to clear up essentially any skin condition. It is a knowledge that’s been forgotten, but the benefits of tamanu oil are slowly being realized again & are trending worldwide. Tamanu tree flowers twice a year & produces a small fruit that contains a large nut which can be processed into tamanu oil. To get at this precious oil, nuts are left to dry under the sun for about 4 to 6 weeks. As the nut begins to dry, a dark green, sticky oil will form on the surface that can be extracted.

Tamanu oil naturally has a very strong herbal or curry scent. The oil is greenish in color & may look a bit murky. Nevertheless, it should not & does not clog pores. It can be applied on the whole body, including face as it absorbs quickly & easily into the skin without leaving greasy residue behind.
  1. High antibacterial activity. Tamanu oil is well known for its antibacterial property. Especially against the common strains of bacteria that causes skin infection & acne. Numerous studies has been done on this area & the results clearly justifies tamanu oil’s traditional use to treat infections.
  2. Strong antifungal property. Not every skin problem is caused by bacteria, some are due to fungi. Common fungal infection such as ringworm & athlete’s foot can be treated with tamanu oil as well.
  3. Reduces inflammation. Tamanu oil contains calophyllolide, it’s a natural anti-inflammatory agent which helps to calm down swelling, rashes, insect bites & even eczema.
  4. Amazing healing oil. This is its most valued benefit; promoting the formation of new tissues, medically known as cicatrisation. It has been scientifically proven that tamanu oil can provide your skin with the nutrients it really needs to regenerate new tissues & heal itself quickly.
  5. Deep healing. Most natural oils can absorb into the top layer of your skin, but few will penetrate through all three layers (the epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis) to heal from within. Hence, this is what makes tamanu oil an amazing healer.
  6. Anti-aging oil. Tamanu is rich with numerous antioxidants to fight off free radicals. It’s also rich in fatty acids to nourish & moisturize the skin. Recent studies also shown that tamanu oil helps to promote collagen production.

Our tamanu oil is extracted traditionally via cold pressing the tamanu nuts. Those nuts have to be cured under the sun for at least a month for it to produce oils. Commercialized tamanu oil is often extracted chemically via hexane because it’s quicker, inexpensive & able to extract more oils compared to the traditional cold pressed method. Hence, it’s generally very much cheaper. But this method will leave some hexane in the oils & may be harmful instead.

Our widely popular tamanu oil originated from the coastal Vohibola Forest in Madagascar. Although tamanu tree can be grown inland but based on tradition, tamanu trees that grow on coastal, sandy soil produces the highest quality oil. Madagascar’s environment is one of the cleanest in the world. Heavy metal, toxins & other pollutant are rarely found in Madagascar as it is an underdeveloped nation. Additionally, most Madagascan farmers uses traditional farming methods without chemical fertilizer, pesticides & herbicides because they cannot afford modern farming. Hence, the plants there are grown organically by default which leads to superior quality harvest.

However, due to deforestation, the Vohibola Forest is now one of the last piece of pristine coastal forest left in Madagascar. For over 85 million years, the wildlife of Madagascar evolved in isolation from the rest of the world, making it one of the most biodiversified place in the world with unique subspecies of plants & animals. It is most certainly a botanical treasure house with its own unique species of superior tamanu trees.

Therefore, by purchasing Shea Terra’s tamanu oil, you are not only getting a premium quality & highly effective oil. You are also helping to preserve this last piece of botanical treasure house. There are a lot of people’s livelihood which heavily dependent on this pristine forest.