From forest rituals to skincare labs, the mahua tree’s renaissance is here

The first agitations of the rebirth of Mahua rightly come from its own heart. Sohrai, a brand of skin care of Rupesh Pawar and Khanak Gupta, takes its name from a tribal harvest festival and its power from the exquisite lipid profile of Mahua oil. “While most oils are based strongly on a single olive of fatty acid on oleic, coconut on saturated fats, the roship on the linoleic-mashua is distinguished with its beautifully balanced profile”, explains Gupta, CEO of Sohrai. “With 46% oleic, 20% stearic and 19% palmitic acid, Mahua offers both deep hydration and light food,” she said, citing recent studies on her fatty acid profile published in the Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society and the Indian Journal of Natural Products and Resources.

Pawar, the Sohrai technical director in chief, qualifies as a “oil scientist”. He grew up in the district of Nanded du Maharashtra, a tribal belt, with the throat of Mahua groves. “In our folklore, Ganja and Mahua are brothers and sisters,” he explains. “Mahua is the sweet and nourishing sister. Ganja, the wild and wild brother. Mahua soothes the body; Ganja releases the mind.”

Pawar is only positioned, rooted in his education and trained in research and development. His Mahua butter extracted from the owner enzymes claims to provide lipids more deeply in the skin. “This is India’s response to cocoa or shea butter,” he said.

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“The interests of the beauty industry are stung. In 2023, the new Estée Lauder incubation companies awarded its impact price to Sohrai, with plans to incorporate velvet texture butter into future formulations.

Before the rise of Sohrai, the world beauty secrets joined forces with Mrinalika M Bhanjdeo of the royal family of Mayurbhanj to launch Kukmu Mahua front oil. “I grew up looking at the tribal communities weaving wonders of the Mahua tree,” said Bhanjdeo. “Its seed oil, dense fatty acids, was too extraordinary to go in the shade.” Its oil is appreciated for eczema, psoriasis, dry skin and body pain, explains Dr. Gunvant Yeola, ayurvedic doctor and director of Dr Dy Patil College de Pune d’Ayurved. “His bark calms redness and itching them while Mahua Wine forms the base or the wines of most drugs.”

“The belief in the immortality of the Mahua flower comes from its unusual resilience. Once dried, it can be brought back to life simply by being soaked in water. These “reborn flowers are then fermented in the exhilarating floral liqueur which forms the centerpiece of tribal birth, marriage and death rituals. While some parts of post-colonial India have become delicate on alcohol, these communities have never abandoned their sacred infusion.