Highly moisturising, unrefined desert date oil is non-greasy and soaks quite well into the skin with a lovely sheen.
The oil helps to regenerate + replenish the skin including scars and acne. Desert date oil can also be applied to hair after shampooing or used as a facial serum/massage oil/hair & scalp treatment.
Suitable for all skin types.
The fruits which contain up to 48% fixed non-volatile oil are harvested, washed, mechanically sorted by a union of women’s groups in West Africa.
Highly moisturising, desert date oil is non-greasy and soaks quite well into the skin with a lovely sheen. The oil helps to regenerate + replenish the skin including scars and acne. Desert date oil can also be applied to hair after shampooing or used as a facial serum/massage oil/hair & scalp treatment. Suitable for all skin types.
Desert oil is used as a great massage tool to help alleviate pains.
After more than 5 years searching for this amazing oil, I finally stumbled across the seeds on my trip to Northern Ghana – April 2011. The seed is hard with a slight thick covering. Taste is sweet but with a slight bitter taste. The dried fruit smells gorgeous and has a slight sticky feel. It is apparently boiled for stomach problems
INCI : Balanites aegyptiaca
PRODUCT OF WEST AFRICA
INFO VIA FAO.ORG - IMPORTANT USES
#1: MEDICINE
The fruits have been used in the treatment of liver and spleen diseases. The fruit is also known to kill the snails which carry schistosomiasis and bilharzia flukes (Tredgold 1986). The roots are used for abdominal pains and as a purgative. Gum from the wood is mixed with maize meal porridge to treat chest complaints.
#2: FRUIT
The fruit pulp though bitter, is edible. It produces fruit even in dry years which makes it a highly appreciated food source in dry areas. Pounded fruits make a refreshing drink which becomes alcoholic if left to ferment.
#3: GENERAL PURPOSE WOOD
Balanites aegyptiaca has fine-grained dense and heavy heartwood, it is easily worked and takes a good polish. Although valued for furniture it may be twisted and difficult to saw. The wood is durable and resistant to insects making it good for tool handles and domestic items such as spoons.
OTHER USES: Root cuttings readily form a live fence. Protein rich leaves and shoots are an excellent source of fodder. The leaves make very good mulch and the tree is nitrogen fixing, it is also valued as firewood since it produces almost no smoke and has a calorific value of 4600 kcal per kg (Webb 1984).
NATURAL + UNREFINED: We work directly with cooperatives and artisanal producers who process our range of pure natural exotic oils without the use of chemicals. Some of these are organic in nature and filtered for use retaining the natural characteristic scent and quality.
We sell our range of oils by volume [with the exception of organic babassu, virgin coconut oil, unrefined palm/palm kernel which is sold by weight]
UNDERSTANDING PLANT OILS: Most butters and oils are made up of two components - olein (liquid) and stearin (stearic). This is why some butters easily melt depending on the amount of olein and some solidify under colder temperatures depending on the amount of stearin. This does not affect the product in anyway.
Oils that will solidify include the following: Organic argan, Babassu, Organic virgin coconut oil, Golden jojoba oil, Monoi de Tahiti, Moringa, Unrefined palm kernel, Organic sapote, Shea oil, ..... this list goes on
Oils are made up of 3 fatty acids which help to determine the shelf life. These are:
1. Saturated : a long carbon chain with no unsaturated fatty acid - long shelf life
2. Monosaturated : a long carbon chain with one unsaturated fatty acid - decent shelf life
3. Polysaturated : a long carbon chain with two unsaturated fatty acid - very fragile shelf life
CHUNKS IN MY OIL
Have you ever wondered why your oil sometimes ends up with semi solid chunks?
This tends to happen when the temperature drops and is due to the natural content of stearic +/- palmitic acid.
This image shows our fast absorbing silky unrefined baobab oil which thanks to Mother Nature is semi solid due to the cold temperature.
Baobab has approximately 6% stearic and 30% palmitic acid.
It is quite fascinating watching liquid oil [coconut + babassu] slowly solidify – it looks like something out of a biology class 😉
If you receive your bottle with solid oil, unscrew the lid slightly to release any pressure and stand the bottle in warm water to liquify - never use microwave to warm the oil!