Baobab
Adansonia digitata
Cold-pressed, fatty-acid balanced, vitamin E rich carrier oil
The baobab tree (Adansonia digitata) is one of the most distinctive plants of the African savannah, with a thickset trunk that can store thousands of litres of water. The seeds inside the fruit yield an oil with an unusually balanced fatty acid profile and high vitamin E content.
Baobabs live for thousands of years. The largest known specimens in Limpopo are over 1,000 years old. The trees are protected by both customary law and South African environmental legislation; only fallen or shed material can be commercially harvested.
The science
Baobab oil's fatty acid profile is roughly 30–40% oleic, 25–30% linoleic, 20–25% palmitic, with smaller fractions of stearic and arachidic acids. The balance between oleic (slip and softness) and linoleic (essential fatty acid for skin barrier) makes it complementary to oleic-dominant oils like marula. Vitamin E content is naturally high (up to 800 mg/kg), providing intrinsic oxidative stability.
