Skincare products that moisturize, lift, and lighten your skin are an essential tool in your daily routine. They’re packed with all kinds of ingredients you may not recognize, Baobab or Adansonia. Pronounced bay-o-bab, this tree family is native to Africa and actually includes nine different species. Of the nine species, the Adansonia digitata L. is the most widely spread and used. It’s this tree that’s the source of the baobab seed oil used in SkinResourceMD’s Baobab Skin Correction Facial Cream. This natural ingredient has impressive antioxidant and regenerative powers.
A Tree with History
The Baobab is naturally found in the southern portion of the African continent. It’s sometimes called the upside-down tree because the branches of some varieties look more like a root system on a thick trunk than branches. These trees store water in a broad trunk, giving them longevity in Africa’s drought seasons.
Baobab trees are in it for the long haul, with some living up to 1,000 years. The oldest Baobab tree died in 2011 at an estimated age of 2,450 years old. Their long life and high nutrient concentration in their leaves, fruit, and seeds make them a powerhouse of healthy ingredients for cooking, medicines, and cosmetics. In fact, tribes around Africa have used the Baobab as a source of nutrition, salves, and ointments for centuries. The rest of the world is just catching up, especially now that Baobab trees are being cultivated in countries outside of the African continent.
Healing, Nutrition, and Regenerative Powers
The Baobab’s leaves, seeds, and seed oil provide a rich variety of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. For example, the leaves contain calcium, magnesium, and potassium. The fruit pulp and seeds are rich in iron, zinc, and phosphorus.
The seeds, in particular, are known for their high vitamin C content. Vitamin C nourishes the skin from the inside out. When you eat it, the ascorbic acid it contains helps in collagen production, which aids new cell growth and gives the skin strength and fitness. On the outside, vitamin C’s antioxidant properties neutralize free radicals, protecting your skin from harmful UV rays. It can also absorb into the skin to aid collagen production from the outside, too.
Baobab seed oil has a unique saturated to unsaturated fat ratio. Saturated fats, or fatty acids as they’re sometimes called, are thick while unsaturated fats have a thinner consistency. Baobab seed oil strikes a balance between the two that optimizes its use in everything from cooking soups to making medicines.
You mostly hear about fatty acids when talking about the heart, but they come into play with the skin, too. These fatty acids are an ingredient in the skin’s “mortar”, the substances that hold the skin cells together. Correct fatty acid levels help the body maintain healthy moisture levels, resist infection, and fight inflammation.
Baobab seed oil contains some of the essential fatty acids (EFAs), most prominently linolenic acid. It’s essential to the skin’s ability to maintain proper hydration. Without enough fatty acids, the skin can become flaky, dry, and irritated. Those EFAs are also important in protecting the skin from sun damage and foreign substances.
Linoleic acid also plays a part in preventing and correcting uneven pigmentation. As you age, sunspots and other skin damage becomes more visible and apparent. Baobab seed oil can counteract some of those effects, reducing dark spots and evening out your skin tone.
Baobab and SkinResourcedMD
We use cold-pressed baobab seed oil in our products, and that matters. Cold-pressed oils do not get heated above 115° F, which keeps the oil’s nutrients at full strength. When you apply it to your skin, the nutrients, like linoleic acid and vitamin C, sink into the skin and get to work.
Baobab seed oil appears in our Baobab Skin Correction Facial Cream, where it performs the corrective function in this formula. However, it works together with other moisturizing ingredients to tone, correct uneven pigmentation, and hydrate the skin. That combination of effects leaves the skin looking brighter, healthier, and younger. Within a few days you will start to see the effects of this unique formulation.
A Fresh Take on Skincare
The Baobab tree is making a splash as the world discovers this age old tree’s powerful healing properties. It’s a natural ingredient that can protect and restore your skin’s health. Skincare products are all about the ingredients. With this one, you’re nourishing your skin with each application.
