North Africa / Mediterranean · Tunisia
Olive Oil
Olea europaea fruit oil
“Cortex conditioning, elasticity, scalp balance, smoothness and shine”
How It Works
The mechanism.
Olive oil's high oleic-acid content gives it the rare ability to pass beyond the hair's surface and condition the cortex itself, where it improves elasticity and leaves Type 4 hair more supple and resistant to everyday breakage. Its natural squalene helps the scalp keep its healthy, slightly-acidic balance - the state in which the cuticle lies flat and hair looks smooth and catches the light.
Origins & Tradition
Where it comes from.
Olive oil has been used across North and East Africa in hair and scalp care for millennia. Ancient Egyptian texts reference olive oil infusions with herbs as hair treatments. In Berber culture (North Africa), olive oil mixed with rhassoul clay is still used in hair rituals today. Tunisia is the world's second largest olive oil producer, and communities there have documented continuous cosmetic use of the oil since Phoenician times. The use of infused oils — steeping botanicals in olive oil — is a universal African and Mediterranean tradition that Sanyu Botanicals honours directly.
Active Compounds
The chemistry.
The Research
What the science says.
Used across North and East Africa for millennia, olive oil's penetration into the hair cortex has been confirmed by electron microscopy, explaining the suppleness and shine it has always been valued for. Infusing botanicals in olive oil is itself an ancient African and Mediterranean tradition that Sanyu honours directly.
