Out Of Africa Part II

Another oil from Africa is gaining attention, Calodendrum capense (Cape Chestnut) oil or as it is more commonly referred to, yangu oil. It is a non-toxic, non-drying oil that is used in Africa in soaps and cosmetics and is reported to have UV protective properties.

PACT Kenya has funded a project to conserve the Calodendrum capense trees and help local people earn a second income from the oil. The oil has been singled out by cosmetic industry watchers (See Earthoil in the Cosmetic Concepts, Amsterdam link below) as something different.

Going by the fatty acid profile, which I have verified on other websites, I would say that it cannot not penetrate hair deeply. The majority of the fatty acids have double bonds and oils like that do not deeply penetrate the hair shaft in research studies I have read. It has no lauric acid content. The oil does have a tradition of use for skin.

Updated October 21, 2012
From the iodine value in the MSDS I added below, it may be a semi-drying oil, depending on the source. Classifying an oil is based on its average iodine values because botanical natural oils can vary in properties and constituents.

References
WildLiving.com and cape chestnut oil
Wild Living Technical Team 
Cosmetic Concepts, Amsterdam
http://www.naturalsourcing.com/msds/MSDS_Yangu_Oil.pdf
See Also
http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.ca/2011/12/understanding-drying-capacity-of-oils.html