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Botanical Index / everything about

Marula

Silky, oleic‑rich oil from the marula kernel

Sclerocarya birrea

A woman reaches up to pick fruit from a marula branch.
Illustration

The short version

Marula oil is pressed from the kernels inside the marula fruit stone. It’s naturally high in oleic acid, so it feels plush and cushions dry skin. People use it to soften rough patches and slow water loss from the skin’s surface.

Family
Anacardiaceae
Part used
Kernel (pressed oil)
Comes from
Southern and East Africa

Good for?

Popular as a simple face and body oil to soften skin and reduce transepidermal water loss. Works well as an occlusive top layer over humectants. Because it is oleic‑rich, it tends to suit normal to dry skin more than very oily types. A review notes high‑oleic oils may be unhelpful on inflamed skin, though they are usually fine on non‑affected skin.

Does it actually work?

Real trials.

Controlled trials on people back it up.

Evidence grade 4 out of 5.

What the studies say

A small randomized clinical study assessed marula oil’s irritancy, moisturising, hydration and occlusivity outcomes on healthy adult skin, indicating formal, controlled human testing exists, though the abstract provides limited detail on results. A broader review of vegetable oils suggests high‑oleic oils like marula are generally tolerated on normal skin but may aggravate barrier issues in inflamed skin; this is based on mixed clinical data across several oils, not marula alone. In vitro, marula extracts and the oil have shown inhibition of elastase and collagenase, hinting at anti‑ageing potential, but these are lab assays without confirmed benefits in people. A ceramide made from marula‑derived fatty acids improved barrier measures in a small clinical study, but that benefit belongs to the ceramide ingredient, not to marula oil itself.

What's inside

  • major componentOleic acid (C18:1)Drives the rich, cushiony feel.
  • notable componentPalmitic acid (C16:0)Adds slip and occlusivity.
  • minor–moderate componentStearic acid (C18:0)Contributes to texture and film‑forming.
  • minor componentLinoleic acid (C18:2)Lower than in ‘dry’ feeling oils like rosehip.

Read this first

In a controlled human study, marula oil was specifically assessed for irritancy and was acceptable in healthy adults. People with active eczema, barrier damage, or very reactive skin may wish to patch test and use sparingly, as high‑oleic oils can be less friendly on inflamed skin according to a clinical review. As with any botanical, patch test before wider use.

The stories

1 in the Journal

Research Desk · Face oils

Face oils for oily skin: linoleic vs. oleic, ranked

The idea that 'linoleic oils are better for oily, acne-prone skin' rests largely on small lab studies and a few pilot clinical observations; the literature here is promising but mostly preclinical and frequently tests oils inside blends or nano‑formulations.

  • Skin

Reviewed

Sources

  1. Safety and efficacy of Sclerocarya birrea (A.Rich.) Hochst (Marula) oil: A clinical perspective. — Komane B, Vermaak I, Summers B, Viljoen A. · Journal of ethnopharmacology · 2015
  2. Vegetable Butters and Oils as Therapeutically and Cosmetically Active Ingredients for Dermal Use: A Review of Clinical Studies. — Poljšak N, Kočevar Glavač N. · Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022
  3. Anti-aging potential of extracts from Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst and its chemical profiling by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. — Shoko T, Maharaj VJ, Naidoo D, Tselanyane M, Nthambeleni R, Khorombi E, Apostolides Z. · BMC complementary and alternative medicine · 2018
  4. Efficacy Evaluation of N-Acyl-Phytosphingosine Prepared from Marula Oil Derived Fatty Acids in Skin Barrier Repair. — Liu Z, Zhu H, Yang Y, Chang H. · Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology · 2026
  5. South Africa's Best BARK Medicines Prescribed at the Johannesburg Muthi Markets for Skin, Gut, and Lung Infections: MIC's and Brine Shrimp Lethality. — Khumalo GP, Sadgrove NJ, Van Vuuren SF, Van Wyk BE. · Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021
  6. Plants used to treat skin diseases in northern Maputaland, South Africa: antimicrobial activity and in vitro permeability studies. — Nciki S, Vuuren S, van Eyk A, de Wet H. · Pharmaceutical biology · 2016
  7. Are plants used for skin care in South Africa fully explored? — Lall N, Kishore N. · Journal of ethnopharmacology · 2014
  8. Ethnobotanical knowledge on indigenous fruits in Ohangwena and Oshikoto regions in Northern Namibia. — Cheikhyoussef A, Embashu W. · Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine · 2013
  9. The ameliorative effect of hemp seed hexane extracts on the Propionibacterium acnes-induced inflammation and lipogenesis in sebocytes. — Jin S, Lee MY. · PloS one · 2018
  10. Cannabidiol exerts sebostatic and antiinflammatory effects on human sebocytes. — Oláh A, Tóth BI, Borbíró I, Sugawara K, Szöllõsi AG, Czifra G, Pál B, Ambrus L, Kloepper J, Camera E, Ludovici M, Picardo M, Voets T, Zouboulis CC, Paus R, Bíró T. · The Journal of clinical investigation · 2014
  11. Evaluation of a Retinol Nanoemulsion Gel Enriched with Black Seed and Rosehip Oils for Acne Management. — Reddy A, Ravichandran A, Magham SV. · Drug research · 2025
  12. Self-Nanoemulsion Loaded with a Combination of Isotretinoin, an Anti-Acne Drug, and Quercetin: Preparation, Optimization, and In Vivo Assessment. — Hosny KM, Al Nahyah KS, Alhakamy NA. · Pharmaceutics · 2020
  13. Unveiling the mechanisms for the development of rosehip-based dermatological products: an updated review. — Oargă Porumb DP, Cornea-Cipcigan M, Cordea MI. · Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024
  14. Safety Assessment of Rosa canina-derived Ingredients as Used in Cosmetics. — Johnson W, Bergfeld WF, Belsito DV, Hill RA, Klaassen CD, Liebler DC, Marks JG, Shank RC, Slaga TJ, Snyder PW, Gill LJ, Heldreth B. · International journal of toxicology · 2022
  15. Evaluation of Biophysical Parameters of the Skin of Patients With Atopic Dermatitis After Application of an Ointment Containing 30% Cannabidiol and 5% Cannabigerol. — Burczyk DD, Wcisło-Dziadecka D, Olczyk P, Chełmecka E, Burczyk WK. · Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology · 2025
  16. CBD-Containing Hemp Extracts and Isolated CBD for Acne: A Systematic Review of Anti-Inflammatory Mechanisms, Clinical Signals and Sustainability. — Komane B, Kaye T. · Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026