Calophyllum Inophyllum (Tamanu) Seed Oil
Calophyllum inophyllum · INCI Calophyllum Inophyllum Seed Oil
Tamanu oil is pressed from the nut of Calophyllum inophyllum, a tree that grows along the shores of the Pacific and tropical Asia, where its oil has been used on the skin for generations. It is one of the richer conditioning oils in the Dry and Dry Sensitive blends, and one where the traditional reputation and the human evidence sit some distance apart.
Its traditional reputation runs well ahead of the human evidence, so we describe it for its conditioning fatty acids and stay candid about the rest.
What it is
Tamanu is a cold-pressed organic oil, thick and green, made up of oleic, linoleic, palmitic and stearic acids along with an unusual set of plant compounds found in few other oils. As an emollient it is genuinely good: rich, cushioning and well suited to drier, harder-worn skin, which is the job it does in our blends.
The rest of its reputation, for healing scars, calming acne and fighting bacteria, comes almost entirely from laboratory work, animal studies and long traditional use. That is interesting, and worth reading about, but it is not the same as being shown to work on human skin, and we keep those two things apart.
What it does in our formulas
One thing we do stand behind, and a good deal we will not claim.
It conditions the skin
Tamanu is a rich oil of oleic, linoleic, palmitic and stearic acids. On the skin it works as a nourishing emollient, softening and conditioning drier, harder-worn areas.
Well characterisedWhat the research does not show
Tamanu is sold on some of the boldest claims of any plant oil. The activity behind them is real in the laboratory, but the setting matters.
Marketed as A proven scar and acne healer
Marketed as An antibacterial active
So we claim the one thing we can stand behind, that it is a rich, conditioning oil, and we describe the rest as the promising, unfinished evidence it is.
On the label and in the range
Tamanu appears in the Dry Sensitive and Dry blends, high on the ingredient list since it is one of the main oils. On the label it reads by its INCI name, shown with its common name, and marked as cold-pressed and organic. The exact percentage is published on each product page.
Is it suitable for me?
Tamanu suits a vegan routine and carries no restrictions under UK or EU cosmetic law. One honest caution, though: it is pressed from a tree nut, and there are documented cases of allergic reactions to it, so anyone with a tree-nut allergy should avoid it, and everyone else is wise to patch test before first use. We would rather flag that plainly than tuck it away.
Tamanu is pressed from a tree nut and has been linked to occasional allergic reactions, so patch testing first is wise, and it is best avoided if you have a tree-nut allergy.
The research behind this page
We review the published literature. We do not conduct the studies below.
- Pribowo AY, Hartrianti P. Potential of Tamanu (Calophyllum inophyllum) Oil for Atopic Dermatitis Treatment. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2021;2021:6332867. "https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6332867", "url"=>"https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6332867"}" rel="nofollow">→
- Dweck AC, Meadows T. Tamanu (Calophyllum inophyllum) — the African, Asian, Polynesian and Pacific Panacea. Int J Cosmet Sci 2002;24(6):341-348. "https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1467-2494.2002.00160.x", "url"=>"https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1467-2494.2002.00160.x"}" rel="nofollow">→
- Le Coz CJ. Allergic contact dermatitis from tamanu oil (Calophyllum inophyllum, Calophyllum tacamahaca). Contact Dermatitis 2004;51(1):45-46. "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0105-1873.2004.0424h.x", "url"=>"https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0105-1873.2004.0424h.x"}" rel="nofollow">→