Tamanu oil, also known as beauty leaf oil, is a non-edible liquid derived from Polynesia and Southeast Asia. Nuts from the tamanu tree are cold pressed and the yellowish-greenish result is what gets used today in various skin care treatments and even as biofuel. Here’s a look at some of the reported benefits of tamanu oil.
Healing Skin
Tamanu oil is known for healing damaged skin. If you are plagued with any type of unwanted mark such as stretch marks, scars, or rashes, tamanu oil may be able to help improve your condition.
Anti-inflammatory
Tamanu oil is reported as an anti-inflammatory agent, helping to reduce swelling and return your skin to a state of good health. In conjunction with topically applying the oil to an inflamed area of skin, you may be able to improve the situation by additionally applying a cold pack a few times a day for twenty minutes at a time. Depending on the problem, you may also be able to benefit from elevating the extremity that is in question, a move that can also help with reducing inflammation.
Antimicrobial
With antibiotic and germ-killing powers, tamanu oil can help eliminate unwanted microorganisms, keeping your wounds and skin free from infections and complications. The oil can even help improve conditions like athlete’s foot and scabies. If you are planning on using the oil as a part of dressing an open wound, make sure that you know your body can handle tamanu oil well. You don’t want to risk aggravating an open sore in the event that you personally have some sensitivity to the natural product. When applying any treatment to a cut or sore, you may feel a stinging sensation of pain as a consequence of the contact.
Antineuralgic
Helping to relieve pain, tamanu oil can actually aid your recovery in more ways than just the long-term benefits of speeding up healing and preventing infection. In the short-run, the oil may be able to help minimize the discomfort you’re feeling right now. Although tamanu oil is a liquid, the product can solidify, or even just separate, at cold temperatures. Mix the bottle up before use to combat separation and, as needed, scoop a small portion out and place it into a microwave-safe dish so you can heat up the size of treatment that you want to apply to your skin in that moment.
Aromatic
When dealing with some skin conditions, odor can be a big part of your embarrassment, which is why tamanu oil can be particularly helpful. Rather than masking your problem with another distasteful smell from chemical ointments, you can use this natural, nutty-scented product. Although you want your skin condition to completely improve in due time, using a nicely-fragranced treatment that can additionally help with smell in the short-term may make a big difference.
Treating Your Scalp & Hair
Tamanu oil can make for a great scalp and hair treatment, giving you a natural way to soothe an afflicted head and to tame unruly locks. If using pure tamanu oil is too runny for your preferences, combine one tablespoon of a solid like coconut oil with two tablespoons of tamanu oil to spread over your scalp. Leave the oil treatment on for around twenty or thirty minutes before rinsing with lukewarm water and then shampooing and conditioning.
Hydrating
The oil spread can moisturize your scalp and strands alike, locking in hydration and leaving you with a smooth and manageable texture. If you really want to maximize the moisturizing benefits, make sure to rub the oil from root to tip, covering each strand throughout your head.
Antifungal
Dandruff problems can commonly come from having excess oil or fungal growth so using a tamanu oil treatment on your scalp can help minimize any related issues. If desired, you can add a few drops of tea tree oil to your tamanu oil hair spread for added antifungal properties.
Providing Biofuel
As a source of renewable energy, tamanu oil has actually been put to the test under a variety of different circumstances to generate usable power. With proven results, tamanu oil continues to be on the rise.
Offering Light and Heat
Tamanu oil has historically been used to fuel lamps and can even be used in the place of kerosene in certain modified pressure stoves when lowering the viscosity of the polynesian liquid.
Powering Radios
The natural oil has been used in times of war to generate electricity for the sake of powering radios, helping us to realize how valuable tamanu oil could be if we would put effort into creating the proper systems and technologies to run our devices on such sources of biofuel.
Fueling Cars
Through a chemical reaction, tamanu oil can actually be turned into biodiesel and is a bright, up-and-coming resource for those interested in alternative fuel possibilities. Additional research and follow-up studies are obviously needed before pursuing such an option on a grand scale.
Where Do I Get Tamanu Oil & What Should I Keep In Mind When Shopping?
Health-Food Stores and Online Shops
You may be able to locate a bottle of tamanu oil at your local health-food market and the product is widely available online as well. Internet powerhouses like Amazon carry various versions and healthy-living options like Vitacost similarly offer the oil so look around on some different sites and determine what kind of order works best for you.
Read the Labels
Some products are one-hundred-percent pure tamanu oil while other picks will feature a combination of liquids such as tamanu oil and olive oil. Depending on your reason for purchasing tamanu oil, you may be interested in picking out a tamanu-oil-based product like a body butter that features additional ingredients like shea butter and coconut oil to solve your problems.
You may also be interested in looking for a certified-organic option so you know that you’re getting an authentically-natural product without having to worry as much about corrupt manufacturing processes. Avoid purchasing any questionable options that don’t come from online stores you trust.
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