Marula Oil "Tree of Life" Beauty Oil

This second post in our ongoing exploration of the world’s most cherished and ancient beauty ingredients finds us once again in AFRICA. We’ll be here for a few more posts, simply because the continent is too vast a source of botanical oils for a mere overnight stay!

Marula Oil – Revered for good reason

Marula oil comes from the round yellow fruit of the marula tree (sclerocarya birrea) a lush, wide-spreading tree native to the southern and western regions of Africa. It is revered in Namibian culture, and considered one of the most important wild indigenous African fruit trees.

Archeological findings site earliest uses of the fruit (which contains eight times the vitamin C of an orange!) as early as 9000 BCE, and Namibian women still use techniques to harvest the fruit and process its oil that have been passed down to them for generations. With its high fat content, marula oil was first used as a preservative for meat, and for sustenance during long journeys and draughts. Marula oil’s cosmetic use later began to spread throughout southern Africa as Zulu, Tsonga and Owambo women applied it as a moisturizer to treat cracked, dry, or damaged skin, and to prevent stretch marks. Marula oil still plays an important cultural role in cleansing and marriage rituals.

Today, Marula oil has found its way into some of our most prized natural beauty products world-wide – for good reason. Its concentration of omega-9 and -6 fatty acids makes it an extremely effective moisturizer and barrier to dehydration caused by cold, hard water and harsh sun. Marula oil is easily absorbed and a great natural treatment for reducing hyperpigmentation. An added bonus: applied to curly hair, marula oil tames flyaways and ragged ends, leaving behind a slight fruity-floral scent.

Marula oil is a key ingredient in Silktage’s miracle face serum - Pure African Fusion Oil.