Naked Bear Ximenia Oil

One of the great secret oils of southern Africa. Ximenia Oil is pressed from the seeds of the wild sourplum, a thorny tree that fruits in the dry country of Namibia, and it is pure ximenia and nothing else — no carrier, no filler, no blend. What's in the bottle is what came off the press.

Himba and San women have used sourplum oil on skin and hair for as long as anyone has kept track, and it is still gathered by hand from wild trees rather than farmed. What makes it unusual is ximenynic acid, a long-chain fatty acid found in almost no other plant oil, alongside a high share of oleic acid. Very little of it reaches the rest of the world.

WHAT IT'S LIKE
Pale gold and surprisingly light for how rich it feels, with a faint almond-like smell. It sinks in fast and leaves skin soft rather than slick.

BEST FOR
Dry, tight, weather-worn skin. Thirsty hair and dry ends. Anyone who wants a wild-harvested oil almost nobody else is selling.

HOW TO USE
Two or three drops pressed into clean, slightly damp skin, morning or night. For hair, warm a few drops between your palms and work them through the lengths and ends. It layers well under a moisturizer.

WHERE IT COMES FROM
Ximenia isn't farmed. The trees grow wild on communal land across northern Namibia and into Angola and Botswana, and the fruit is gathered in the short season after the rains — the same way it always has been. The harvest runs through rural women's groups, who collect the fruit, dry it, and crack the kernels by hand; Namibia has built a real indigenous-plant sector around this work, alongside marula and Kalahari melon, with benefit-sharing written into how the raw material is bought. The kernels are then cold-pressed, and nothing is added or taken out — which is why the oil still smells faintly of the seed it came from.

HOW LONG IT KEEPS
Around 18 to 24 months sealed, and about 12 once you've opened it. Ximenia is high in oleic acid, which makes it far steadier than the omega-3-rich oils in the range — it won't turn on you the way chia or perilla can. Keep it capped, out of direct sun, somewhere that doesn't get hot; a bathroom cabinet is fine, a sunny windowsill isn't. If it ever smells sharp or crayon-like rather than faintly nutty, it's past it.

WHAT'S IN IT
Ximenia Americana Seed Oil. That's the whole list — one ingredient, undiluted, and the same oil whether you buy it here or in the Namibia set. No fragrance, no essential oils, no carrier, and no vitamin E added as a preservative. Ximenia is a fruit-seed oil rather than a true tree nut, despite the almond-like smell, and contains no nut, soy, sesame, or coconut.

QUESTIONS
Will it clog my pores? Ximenia is oleic-rich, so it's a richer oil. Most people get on fine with it, but if your skin is oily or breaks out easily, a linoleic-rich oil suits better — Kalahari Melon Seed Oil or Prickly Pear.
What does it smell like? Faintly nutty, almost almond. That's the seed itself; nothing is added. It fades within a minute or two on skin.
Can I use it on my hair? Yes, and it's one of the better ones for it. A drop or two through the ends of damp hair, or a few drops massaged into the scalp before you wash.
How long before I notice anything? Skin feels softer the same night. Anything you'd see — texture, the look of dryness — takes a few weeks of steady use.
Face or body? Both. Light enough for the face, rich enough to be worth it on elbows, shins, and hands.

Patch test before first use. Keep away from eyes. For external use only.