BAOBAB SEED OIL

Adansonia digitata

There are dozens of stories and myths about the Baobab tree. Its odd appearance, with its branches looking more like roots, has given rise to the belief that it grows upside down. It is believed that spirits gather in its branches and it has strong connections with the African ancestor cult. Occasionally, the hollow trunks are used as birthing chambers or even tombs. Yet it is also regarded as a tree of fertility and life and often a repository of life-giving water. Thus, in many African tribal cults it plays a role in the mysteries of life, death and regeneration.

Few trees present a more strikingly bizarre appearance than the Baobab tree, a native of Madagascar and the African savannahs. Yet, in the hearts and minds of the people it is revered like no other. A tree that provides so many gifts to humans and animals - gifts of food, medicine, clothing and shelter - is widely celebrated as a tree of life. In France, the Baobab is called the monkey-bread tree because baboons love to eat the ripe, fallen fruit. Another common name is the 'Cream of Tartar' tree, so called because of the fruit's traditional use as a source of potassium bitartrate. The leaves provide nourishing wild food to humans and animals alike, while the seeds yield a powdery pulp that is mixed with water to obtain a replenishing drink. They also yield a wonderfully moisturising and rejuvenating oil that has become very popular in natural skin care preparations. It is rich in palmitic acid as well as various vitamins that nourish and replenish the skin thus helping to maintain its youthful elasticity. This oil is easily absorbed, leaving the skin feeling smooth and velvety. Baobab oil is very stable and has a naturally long shelf life of about two years.