Macadamia oil improved skin hydration by 51.5% in a 2024 clinical study. Nearly double a standard moisturiser.
The reason is omega-7, the skin's own fatty acid. Macadamia oil contains 17-22% omega-7 (palmitoleic acid), among the richest plant sources, and the only one suitable for a daily leave-on formulation. It integrates directly into the skin's lipid layer. Water-based moisturisers cannot do this.
17-22% omega-7. Among the richest plant sources, and the only one practical for a daily leave-on formulation.
Omega-7 is a skin fatty acid, one of the primary building blocks of sebum, the oil your skin produces naturally. Most plant oils contain essentially none of it. Macadamia oil is the exception. Its fatty acid profile mirrors human sebum more closely than any other plant oil, which is why it integrates with skin rather than simply sitting on top of it.
| Plant Oil | Omega-7 Content | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Macadamia integrifolia Mac Pure products |
17-22% | Highest of any plant oil. Mirrors healthy human sebum (approx. 19%). |
| Argan Oil | 0.1 to 0.5% | Rich in oleic acid. Different fatty acid profile. Very low omega-7. |
| Sweet Almond Oil | 0.5 to 0.8% | Common in mainstream moisturisers. Very low omega-7 content. |
| Rosehip Oil | 0.1 to 0.4% | Rich in linoleic acid. Not a meaningful source of omega-7. |
| Jojoba Oil | 0% | Technically a wax ester, not an oil. Contains no omega-7. |
| Sea Buckthorn (pulp) | 30 to 40% | High content but bright orange pigment and strong odour make it unsuitable for daily skin use at full concentration. |
Omega-7 (palmitoleic acid) concentrations vary by origin, harvest, and cold-press process. Mac Pure Oil is tested by batch to confirm active omega-7 levels. Competitor oil ranges sourced from published fatty acid composition databases including USDA FoodData Central and peer-reviewed lipid chemistry literature. Sea buckthorn pulp oil excluded from formulation consideration due to pigmentation and odour profile at effective concentrations.
Beyond omega-7: everything else that's working.
Macadamia oil contains four distinct compound groups with documented skin-relevant activity. Every one of them is present in the oil naturally. Nothing added, nothing synthetic.
Omega-7 fatty acid
Omega-7
(Palmitoleic acid, C16:1)
Integrates directly into the skin's lipid layer. Supports the skin's natural fatty acid profile, which can decline with age, radiation treatment, and diabetes. Skin produces this naturally until production begins to fall.
Radiation, diabetic and aging skinPlant extract
Aloe Barbadensis
(Aloe vera leaf juice)
Rich in polysaccharides that help the skin hold moisture. Supports a calm, comfortable skin surface. Found in both Calm+ and Restore+ as the second ingredient by concentration.
All three skin typesPlant sterol
Phytosterols
(Beta-sitosterol)
Supports skin comfort and helps calm the visible appearance of redness and irritation. Found in small amounts in sebum naturally. Works alongside omega-7 in the lipid layer.
Reactive and irritated skinTriterpene hydrocarbon
Squalene
Structurally similar to human sebum. Antioxidant. Absorbs quickly and leaves no greasy residue. Found naturally in young healthy skin and depletes with age, making it particularly relevant for mature skin.
Chapped and dehydrated skinFat-soluble antioxidant
Tocotrienols
(Vitamin E)
A more active form of Vitamin E than the standard tocopherol found in most skincare. Protects cell membranes against oxidative damage from UV exposure and environmental stress.
Photo-damaged and aging skinPlant-derived soother
Allantoin
(Comfrey-derived)
Supports a calm, comfortable skin surface. Naturally derived from the comfrey plant. Present in both Calm+ and Restore+ to help maintain a settled skin environment, particularly relevant for skin undergoing ongoing stress.
Radiation and reactive skinWhat the research shows.
Four peer-reviewed studies on macadamia oil, its omega-7 content, and the twice-daily moisturiser protocol used in Australian aged care. No cherry-picking: these are the studies that exist.
51.5% improvement in skin hydration. Nearly double a standard moisturiser.
A 2024 clinical study published in Nanomaterials measured the effect of macadamia integrifolia seed oil on skin hydration using objective measurement (corneometer assessment). The macadamia oil formulation improved skin hydration by 51.5%, compared to 26.9% for a conventional moisturiser and 3.8% for control. The same oil also demonstrated antioxidant activity and inhibited hyaluronidase, the enzyme that breaks down the skin's natural moisture-binding compounds.
Nanomaterials (MDPI) · Vol. 14, Issue 8 · 2024 · PMC11054140
12-week clinical trial: omega-7 significantly improved skin barrier integrity and reduced moisture loss.
A 2023 randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial (Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, South Korea) enrolled 90 participants taking 500mg of palmitoleic acid daily for 12 weeks. The treatment group showed significantly improved skin hydration and reduced trans-epidermal water loss versus the placebo group. Trans-epidermal water loss is the clinical measure of how well a skin barrier is sealing. When it falls, the barrier is working. The randomised controlled trial is the gold standard of clinical evidence.
Koh et al. · Heliyon · 2023 · PMID 37292315 · DOI 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16711
Omega-7 blocks a key inflammatory switch in skin. Two independent studies reached the same conclusion.
Two peer-reviewed studies establish the anti-inflammatory mechanism. Research published in the Journal of Lipid Research (2024) showed that palmitoleate blocks a central inflammatory signalling pathway in skin cells, suppressing the cascade that triggers swelling, redness, and chronic irritation. Separately, El Mahi et al. in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2023) found that skin with higher oleic acid content showed a significantly lower chronic inflammatory signature. Macadamia oil contains both: 17-22% omega-7 and up to 66% oleic acid.
Journal of Lipid Research · 2024 · PMC11585775 El Mahi et al. · Journal of Investigative Dermatology · 2023 · PMID 37207807
Twice-daily moisturiser cut skin tear incidence by approximately 50% across 14 aged care facilities.
An Australian cluster randomised controlled trial across 14 Western Australian aged care facilities, run over six months, found that applying an emollient moisturiser twice daily reduced the incidence of skin tears in elderly residents from 10.57 to 5.76 per 1000 occupied bed days. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) recommends twice-daily emollient moisturiser as a preventive measure for skin tears in older patients. The Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs has run a national programme on the same protocol. Macadamia pure is formulated to support this protocol: rich in palmitoleic acid, the fatty acid found in healthy young human sebum, which declines with age.
Wound Practice and Research · Vol. 26 No. 2 RACGP guideline: Moisturiser for prevention of skin tears
around 17-22% omega-7.