Plant oils and butters are fabulous to decrease the infamous transepidermal water loss. It is part of a growing trend to use plant oil in so-called natural cosmetics. Marula oil is one of those fancy oils. Marula oil is extracted from the seed of the Sclerocarya Birrea tree.
On today’s post and video, I wanted to compare the Marula oil form Drunk Elephant sell at 72$ and the one from The Ordinary sell for a tiny 9.90$. I find acceptable that luxurious brand sells at a higher price range as long as the formula partially justify the formula.
Marula oil
The Marula tree has been used for nutrition for at least 10,000 years and since 2001 the Marula oil is also used in cosmetics formulation. This oil is rich in oleic acid (close to 70%) and in other small fatty acids in comparison to other plant oils. Marula oil contains a high proportion of low molecular weight fatty acids making it more runny and lighter on the skin. Marula oil is a very stable oil that doesn’t oxidize quickly. This could be due to specific sterols and phenolic molecules. Because this oil is essentially riched in oleic acid, it could be not a good option if you are acne prone. I always recommend to test it before and see how your skin reacts to it.
In my video, I compare the Marula oil form Drunk Elephant and The Ordinary. You will see that there is barely any difference between the two, so why spent 72$?
Thank you.