INCI: Terminalia Ferdinandiana (Kakadu Plum) Seed Oil - Also known as: Gubinge Seed Oil, Billy Goat Plum Oil, Australian Superfruit Oil

QUICK FACTS

What is Kakadu Plum Seed Oil (Terminalia Ferdinandiana)?

Kakadu plum (Terminalia ferdinandiana) is a small native Australian fruit with the extraordinary distinction of containing the highest recorded concentration of natural vitamin C of any food source - estimates typically range from 2,000 to 5,000mg per 100g of fresh fruit, compared to approximately 50mg per 100g in orange and 600-700mg in amla. This exceptionally high ascorbic acid content has made the whole fruit a focus of growing research interest, and the seed oil - cold-pressed from the seeds within the fruit - retains polyphenol compounds and a distinctive fatty acid profile even though the ascorbic acid itself is found primarily in the fruit pulp rather than the seed.

Kakadu plum seed oil's fatty acid profile is dominated by oleic acid (omega-9, approximately 35-45%) and linoleic acid (omega-6, approximately 25-35%) - a balanced emollient and essential fatty acid character that gives it good spreadability and skin compatibility alongside meaningful linoleic acid delivery. It also contains naturally occurring vitamin E tocopherols and gallic acid derivatives - phenolic compounds that carry antioxidant character and are associated with the broader polyphenol profile of the Terminalia genus.

Gallic acid is a particularly relevant phytochemical in the context of skincare: it is the same compound found as a primary polyphenol in green tea, pomegranate, and amla, and is studied in connection with antioxidant activity and the appearance of a more even skin tone. The gallic acid naturally present in Kakadu plum seed oil contributes a brightening-associated botanical dimension even within the oil form of the ingredient.

At Sweet Chemistry, organic Kakadu plum seed oil is present above 1% in the Elasticity Reinforcing Lipid-Cream and at greater than 5% in the Barrier Repairing Oil-Serum - one of only two Australian native botanicals in a formulation system built primarily around European, American, and Asian botanical traditions.

What does it do for skin?

Kakadu plum seed oil's contributions to skin operate through its fatty acid, tocopherol, and gallic acid content. Its linoleic acid content contributes to the essential fatty acid dimension of the botanical oil panel, supporting the barrier lipid environment alongside the other high-linoleic seed oils in the same formulas. Its oleic acid content adds emollient richness - oleic acid is a skin-softening fatty acid that contributes to comfortable, non-drying skin feel without the comedogenic risk associated with oleic acid-dominant oils at high concentrations.

The gallic acid derivatives naturally present in the seed oil are studied in connection with antioxidant activity and their association with a more even-looking skin tone - a research-based property consistent with the broader brightening approach of THD ascorbate, niacinamide, and amla in the same formulas. These are research associations rather than clinical claims, and individual results will vary.

In the Oil-Serum at greater than 5%, Kakadu plum seed oil contributes to the diversity of the organic botanical panel - a panel that specifically includes multiple Australian native botanicals and fruit species that bring distinctive phytochemical profiles unavailable from Northern Hemisphere botanical traditions. The inclusion of Terminalia ferdinandiana alongside the European blueberry, elderberry, rosehip, and sea buckthorn species reflects the formulation team's deliberate choice to source antioxidant botanical diversity from multiple geographic traditions.

FOUND IN

In 2 Formulas

Organic Kakadu plum seed oil is present in Sweet Chemistry's two most emollient formulas - above 1% in the Lipid-Cream and at greater than 5% in the Oil-Serum.

Hydration - Dry to Dehydrated

Elasticity Reinforcing Lipid-Cream Terminalia Ferdinandiana Seed Oil (above 1%) - 1.7 oz / 50 ml

The Lipid-Cream pairs Kakadu plum seed oil with shea butter, sea buckthorn, jojoba, pomegranate, rosehip, raspberry, and cranberry seed oils alongside 3% Matrikynes® peptides and 2% THD ascorbate for dry and dehydrated skin.

Nourishment - Dry to Combination

Barrier Repairing Oil-Serum Terminalia Ferdinandiana Seed Oil (Organic, >5%) - 1.0 oz / 30 ml

In the Oil-Serum, organic Kakadu plum seed oil is one of eleven organic botanicals each present at greater than 5% - contributing its linoleic acid, gallic acid derivatives, and natural tocopherols to the most comprehensive organic botanical antioxidant and lipid panel in the Sweet Chemistry system.

WORKS TOGETHER WITH

Stable Vitamin C THD Ascorbate

INCI: Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate.

At 7% in the Oil-Serum and 2% in the Lipid-Cream. Synergy Note: Kakadu plum is associated with the highest natural vitamin C concentration of any known fruit. In the Oil-Serum, Kakadu plum seed oil's gallic acid antioxidants work alongside 7% THD ascorbate - the synthetic, stable, oil-soluble vitamin C derivative - creating a botanical and synthetic vitamin C-associated antioxidant approach within the same formula.

Botanical Extract Amla Extract (Emblica Officinalis)

INCI: Emblica Officinalis (Amla) Fruit Extract.

Organic and above 1% in the water-based formulas; organic >5% in the Oil-Serum. Synergy Note: Kakadu plum and amla are independently recognized as the two richest natural sources of vitamin C in the plant kingdom - their co-presence in the Oil-Serum and Lipid-Cream creates a dual-Australian-and-Ayurvedic vitamin C-associated botanical approach of notable phytochemical breadth.

Essential Fatty Acid Linoleic Acid

INCI: Linoleic Acid.

Present as a free fatty acid in the Oil-Serum alongside Kakadu plum seed oil's linoleic contribution. Synergy Note: Kakadu plum seed oil delivers linoleic acid within a whole botanical oil matrix alongside gallic acid antioxidants - a combined barrier lipid and antioxidant contribution from a single botanical source.

ECM Peptide Complex Matrikynes® Bone Peptides

INCI: Hydrolyzed Cow Bone Extract.

At 3% in all four formulas. Synergy Note: Kakadu plum seed oil's antioxidant and fatty acid contributions support the surface lipid and oxidative environment associated with favorable conditions for Matrikynes® peptide activity.