Bring life to your formulations with baobab oil

Botanical oils from Africa, particularly baobab oil, are trending natural ingredients in the cosmetics industry. Although it’s been around for centuries, baobab oil has only recently become a popular beauty ingredient. This article looks at some of the many reasons why.

Baobab oil, with its lengthy history, is produced locally by EcoProducts. Apart from it being a botanical oil with a great story around biodiversity and social development, arguably the biggest benefit of baobab is its many uses. It can be used as a key ingredient in skin and hair care products or it can be used alone in small amounts as a rich and nourishing treatment.

Often referred to as the ‘tree of life’, the baobab tree is native to Africa. These trees live for over 1 000 years, which is how they earned their highly-fitting nickname. Part of the appeal of baobab is that the pulp of its fruit – extracted from baobab pods and then transformed into raw powder – has been a favoured ingredient in wellness and beauty treatments for many years. More recently, the beauty industry has turned its attention to the oil, which is extracted from baobab seeds.

According to a technical paper entitled ‘Beauty in Baobab: A Pilot Study of the Safety and Efficacy of Adansonia digitata Seed Oil’, authored by Baatile Komane, Ilze Vermaak, Guy Kamatou, Beverley Summers and Alvaro Viljoen, and published in the Brazilian Journal of Pharmacognosy, about 5% of the seed content is oil – with oleic, linoleic and palmitic acids as the major fatty acids. The high content of linoleic and oleic acids is known to soften the skin and restore and moisturise the epidermis. In addition, the fatty acids regenerate epithelial tissues, which makes the seed oil a very good carrier oil that is of value to the cosmetics industry.

Pilot study with promising results

As documented in the Komane technical article, baobab oil, liquid paraffin, a market-leading intensive care lotion and a market-leading petroleum jelly were tested in comparison for their effect on TEWL, moisture retention (hydration) and skin barrier function (occlusive) properties.

Baobab oil and liquid paraffin exhibited similar skin recovery properties. Baobab oil is well-known for its non-siccative (non-drying) property which renders it a suitable cosmetic oil for the prevention of skin dryness. The small molecular structure of the oil results in rapid absorption while palmitic and oleic acids have been reported to be effective percutaneous absorption enhancers. It was further reported that linoleic acid (36.0% in the test sample) is the most frequently used fatty acid in cosmetic products as it moisturises the skin and aids in the healing process of dermatoses and sunburns.

An oil with good cosmetic potential

Seed oils are an important component of many plants and currently play a significant role in both the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. Baobab seed oil is one such ingredient, which has rapidly gained popularity on the global market and is highly regarded by researchers in the field of ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology, particularly for its cosmetic benefits.

The pilot study detailed in the Komane technical article aimed to elaborate on the scientific confirmation that baobab oil has good cosmetic potential with its non-irritating, hydrating, moisturising and occluding benefit on the skin. In addition, the unique ratio of saturated and unsaturated fatty acid present in the oil renders it an oil which may have pharmacological properties that could be highly significant in the cosmetic industry when applied topically.

Did you know

Baobab oil is the go-to multi-tasking mama of all botanical oils, helping to nourish dry, flaky skin; soothe sunburn; and calm skin irritations. This rich golden-amber oil absorbs quickly to hydrate and soften the skin. It is proven safe for the entire family, even on baby’s sensitive skin, and is safe for use during pregnancy. It’s also ideal in hair care products, such as Pantene’s Nutrient Blends range, which includes a Hydrating Glow shampoo formulated with baobab essence as a key ingredient.

A great story of biodiversity

Baobab trees are iconic trees in Africa. They are not only a source of food, fibre and medicine to thousands of people across the continent, but also provide homes to many animals, birds and insects. Baobabs produce a hard, capsule-like fruit that takes six months to mature before it drops off the tree and is ready to be eaten. Baobab flowers are magnificent saucer-shaped flowers that only open at night and last 12 hours before they die and are pollinated by bats and hawkmoths. Baobabs are resilient trees occurring in wide habitats right across Africa and contributing to the continent’s immense biodiversity.

The business of EcoProducts is centred entirely on these magical trees. The company was founded in 2006 by Dr Sarah Venter, who had a vision to start an organisation that would work to support rural communities and biodiversity alike. Over the last 15 years, EcoProducts has grown into a successful business, with an annual production volume of over 80MT of organic baobab powder for the food industry and 10MT of baobab oil for the cosmetics industry.

EcoProducts now supports up to 1 500 rural harvesters a year and employs up to 50 people in the processing of the fruit. Dr Venter also established the Baobab Foundation, a non-profit organisation, which supports the replanting of trees, biodiversity research, environmental education and preschools for the communities that live around baobabs. •

POSSIBLE COSMETIC CLAIMS

Baobab oil has been tested for its efficacy in several skin care applications. When formulating with baobab oil, the following cosmetic claims may be possible – though they are application and quantity specific:

• hydrates the skin

• moisturises the skin

• increases skin elasticity

• reduces skin temperature

• optimises skin pH

• non-irritating

• fragrance-free

• improves the skin’s barrier function

• protective, nourishing and soothing

• restores skin barrier function of dry skin

Baobab Foundation – www.baobabfoundation.co.za EcoProducts – www.ecoproducts.co.za