Lush* source sesame-based ingredients from a few different places. For example, our Fair Trade Organic Sesame Oil comes from East Africa, where our supplier maintains a fully transparent, traceable supply chain. Our Black Sesame Oil, meanwhile, is sourced from a supplier in Japan, where the Yamada Seiyu family has overseen sesame oil production for over 100 years. You can read more about our sources and buying stories by clicking on individual ingredients.

*With several manufacturing sites across the globe, this information may vary depending on where your Lush products were made.

- Rich, nutty aroma
- Contains polyphenols, such as sesamin, that help protect the skin
- Full of Vitamin E to help support firmer, soothed and well-cared-for-looking skin
- Fatty acids make it very moisturising for skin and hair
- Sesamol is a natural preservative. It helps support product stability, helping formulas to last longer

Alongside its highly nourishing properties, scientists have been exploring sesame's other characteristics. They have studied the compound sesamin, which may have an effect on melanin, the pigment responsible for skin, hair and eye colour. By influencing melanin activity, it may contribute to a natural tanning effect in the skin. It is sometimes used alongside sunscreen agents to support overall formulation performance.

Sesame is an annual plant in the family Pedaliaceae, native to Asia and North Africa. Different varieties can grow from 0.5m to 2.5m tall, with rose-coloured flowers that produce capsules containing black and white seeds. Once ripe, the seeds pop free from the capsule, scatter, and are ready for harvest. Sesame has one of the highest oil contents of the seed world, and is one of the oldest known oilseed crops. Baskets of sesame seeds were even found in the tomb of the infamous Egyptian Pharaoh, Tutankhamun.