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Tamanu Oil
Calophyllum Inophyllum Seed OilBarrier
A thick, dark nut oil with a rich, heavy slip. It softens skin, and its dense feel makes it a pick for dry skin.
What it does
A thick, dark oil pressed from the nuts of the tamanu tree. It softens skin and adds a rich, heavy slip to balms and oils. Its dense feel makes it a better fit for dry skin than for oily or breakout-prone skin.
The EU’s ingredient database lists it as an antioxidant (slows reactions with oxygen, like going rancid) and a UV absorber (protects the product from UV light, not your skin).European Commission, CosIng (© European Union, CC BY 4.0) · uses put in plain words by Drop ↗
The evidence, graded
moderateÁcsová et al. (2021), at a Slovak university and the Czech public health institute, tested 14 plant oils. Rosehip seed oil measured SPF 2.6 on people, and the oils overall gave no or negligible protection. Tamanu oil stood out only in a lab test, at SPF 11.2. Popiół-Adamska et al. (2026), at Jagiellonian University, measured tamanu oil at SPF 21.5 in a lab test, falling to 5.2 after light exposure, and concluded plant oils can't replace UV filters.Ácsová 2021 · Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences ↗ Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
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