Baobab Oil.

The oldest baobab has been carbon dated to around 1,700 years, and myth and legend have grown up around the tree. It is called the Tree of Life, the Upside-Down Tree and the Monkey-Bread Tree, and with reason: it stores water, grows large enough for people to live inside, feeds animals with its huge, gourd-like fruit, and gives bark for cloth, paper and rope.

This oil is cold-pressed from baobab seeds, wild-crafted and Fair Trade, from organically certified producers in Zimbabwe and South Africa. It is yellowish to slightly orange, with a very light, faintly nutty aroma, and it is non-greasy and absorbs into the skin very quickly. Rich in omega 3, 6 and 9, with palmitic, oleic and linoleic acids as its three major fatty acids, it is an excellent oil for mature skin and quickly softens dry skin. In the hair it is a friend to dry, brittle ends.

Details

• Botanical name: Adansonia digitata
• Origin: Zimbabwe and South Africa; wild-crafted; Fair Trade; organically certified producers
• Method: cold-pressed from the seeds
• Shelf life: 18 to 36 months, stored well

How to use

Use it in skin care for mature or very dry skin. For dry hair, add it to your shampoo, or massage it into wet hair, leave it for five minutes, then wash out any residue with a light shampoo. If you have a nut allergy a reaction is possible, so patch test first; otherwise there are no known contraindications. An oil from the Tree of Life, for your own long ritual.