A relaxing Hawaiian vacation is a dream for most people. If you can’t make it there any time soon, do the next best thing – bring a bit of Hawaii to you! Kukui nut oil comes from the Aleurites moluccana tree, also known as the kukui or candlenut tree. It’s the state tree of Hawaii. The oil that is cold pressed from the kukui nuts is prized for its ability to leave the skin and hair feeling smooth and silky.
What makes kukui nut oil so amazing is its unique fatty acid profile. It contains a good amount of both linoleic and oleic acid. Those fatty acids give the skin much-needed moisture. If you want to learn more about fatty acids, check out this blog post by Susan with Swift Crafty Monkey.
Another unique aspect of the oil is the texture. When applied to the skin, it absorbs quickly and doesn’t leave behind a greasy feeling. Instead, the skin feels soft. It is comparable to sweet almond and avocado oil, which have similar lightweight textures. In addition, it has a fairly long shelf life of 1-2 years. As for the smell, it has a neutral nutty odor that is very subtle in finished products. All those great qualities make kukui nut oil perfect for a variety of recipes.
Cold Process & Melt and Pour Soap
You can use kukui nut oil in soap up to 20%. We like to use it around 12-15%. It will give your bars the lovely silky properties mentioned above. Because it’s a soft oil (liquid at room temperature), it will make your soap softer and more moisturizing. This oil is ideal for intricate designs, as it won’t speed up trace. Learn more about formulating a recipe for intricate designs in this post. As for melt and pour, we don’t recommend adding extra oil. It can make the bases oily or soft. If you do add kukui nut oil, use no more than 1 teaspoon per pound of melt and pour soap.
Lotion/Conditioner
If you’re in the market for a silky lotion or conditioner, you can use kukui nut as the only oil in the batch. That would be about 23% or more, depending on your recipe. You can also pair it with another liquid oil like argan to get the beneficial properties of both. If you like a lotion or conditioner that’s a bit thicker, adding a butter like avocado or shea would be a good option. Learn more about making lotion in this post. If you want to make conditioner, this video shows you how.
Balms
A traditional body or lip balm formula is 1:1:1 wax, butter and oil. Kukui nut oil can be used at 5% and up. It pairs nicely with beeswax or candelilla wax. As for butter, the sky is the limit! Cocoa, mango or kokum butter (a new product as well!) are great options. Before you get started on your balm, pop a few spoons in the freezer. This is called The Spoon Trick. When you dip the cold spoons into the melted balm, it hardens instantly so you can check the texture. If it’s too soft or too firm, you can adjust from there. Learn more about formulating balms in this post. Look out for a moisturizing lip balm recipe made with kukui nut oil later this week.
A lip balm recipe with kukui nut oil, white beeswax and Coconut Flavor Oil will be on the blog later this week.
Body Butter
Kukui nut oil adds a silky, spreadable texture to your body butter recipes. You can use it at 5% or more. You can use the oil with any butter you like. The All About Butter post has more information on options for your recipe. In the Green Smoothie Whipped Body Butter Recipe, kukui nut oil would be a great addition or substitute for grapeseed oil.
Scrubs
Because kukui nut oil absorbs quickly, it’s a great option for scrubs. You can use it at 5-100% in your recipe with the exfoliant of your choice. You can also add potassium cocoate or liquid soap if you prefer a more cleansing scrub. Find scrub recipes here.
Bath Bombs
Oil and butter wet bath bombs, which helps them hold their shape. They also moisturize the skin. You can add about .5 oz. of kukui nut oil per 1.5 cups of fizzy mixture to start. If you want the bath bombs wetter, you can add more from there. Get more tips in the Bath Bomb Questions and Answers post. The oil would work really well in the Midas Touch Bath Bombs in place of or in addition to the meadowfoam oil.
Add kukui nut oil to the Midas Touch Bath Bombs for moisture.
Have you used kukui nut oil before? What do you like to use it in?
I make body butter and would love to sub kukui nut oil so I can use it on my son who has eczema. Do you mean that I should only sub kukui nut oil for 5% (1/20) of the total oil volume? Thanks!
You can start with the 5% of the total weight of the body butter. Then, give it a try on your arm. If you want more, you can add from there.
I just want to say, out of all the essential oils and products I have tried, yours are the absolute best! I just love your products!
Thank you Geri, that means a lot to us. 🙂
I’ve used kukui nut oil in some of my lotions. It’s similar to hemp lotion, but with a much longer shelf life. The combination of kukui nut oil with a small amount is Sodium lactate (2% or less is considered safe) makes for a very absorbent, silky feeling lotion. Personally, I hate greasy feeling lotions, so kukui is a great choice. I’m really glad to see that Soap Queen is now carrying this lotion.
Also, is like to note that Bramble Berrys prices for kukui nut oil are very reasonable compared to other places I’ve shopped.
I’m a big fan of lightweight lotions too, so kukui is perfect! Thanks for your sweet comment Barbara. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Lovely post, thank You!
I have used this oil in cp soap and while it did contribute to a very nice bar I can’t say it transformed it for me. I will qualify that comment by saying it wasn’t the only luxury oil in the recipes I used it in.
Is there a reason you omitted lotion bars from your recipe round-up? I’d have thought this would be an outstanding oil in lotion bars. And after reading your article I’m sorry I don’t have any on hand to try a batch out right away! In the mean time I’d be very interested in your opinion on such a project.
So glad you enjoyed the post! Lotion bars have a similar formula to balms, so that’s a great place to start. A traditional balm or lotion bar formula is 1:1:1 wax, butter and oil. You can add the kukui nut oil using that formula, then adjust from there. If you want it softer, you can add more oil. If you want it firmer, you can add more butter or wax. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry