Sanu - Body Melt
Sanu - Body Melt
Cupuaçu · Kokum · Meadowfoam · Shea · Coconut · Beeswax
Sanu is a concentrated body melt made from unrefined botanical oils and butters, virgin coconut oil and Trinidad beeswax, created to soften, condition and help the skin retain moisture.
Its richness comes from the materials themselves. Unrefined meadowfoam seed oil gives the melt a long, elegant glide across the body. Cupuaçu brings a soft, generous emollience, while kokum gives Sanu much of its density, structure and substance. Shea deepens the conditioning quality of the formula, virgin coconut oil opens readily with body heat, and local beeswax gathers the composition into a cohesive melt while leaving a fine protective layer over the skin.
Sanu has a naturally dense, textured character in the jar. Warmed between the palms, the oils and butters begin to loosen and move more freely, allowing a small amount to spread slowly and generously over the body. The finish is rich and supple with a soft satin quality that remains present after application.
It is particularly suited to skin after bathing, when a trace of water still remains on the surface. Worked into warm, slightly damp skin, the botanical lipids help soften dry areas and reduce moisture loss while the hands are given enough slip to move deliberately across shoulders, arms, legs, feet and the places that often need more sustained care.
Because the formula contains no added water and is not expanded with air, the product remains concentrated. Each jar is composed primarily of the oils, butters and waxes that remain on the skin.
There is no added fragrance. Its subtle aroma belongs to the ingredients themselves.
Skin character: Rich · Nourishing · Supple · Melting · Satin
Net Wt. 90g
HANDMADE IN STUDIO NADI SANGAMA
WATER FREE FORMULA
100% NATURALLY DERIVED
NO ADDED FRAGRANCE
NO SYNTHETIC ADDITIVES OR PRESERVATIVES
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO BEESWAX
The Name
Sanu comes from Bambara, a Manding language spoken primarily in Mali and across parts of West Africa.
The word means gold.
We chose it for the warmth and substance of the body melt itself—the deep colour of the butters and oils, the way it softens with heat, and the richness it leaves on the skin.
For us, Sanu is less about ornament and more about value: something elemental, tactile and worth keeping close to the body.
Something valuable, held close to the body.
Ingredient Composition
Sanu brings together botanical oils, plant butters, wax and supporting ingredients selected for the specific benefits they bring to the skin and for the way they work together within the finished melt.
Unrefined Meadowfoam Seed Oil
Meadowfoam, Limnanthes alba, originates from western North America and is particularly associated with the Pacific Northwest.
Its seeds produce an unusually stable oil with a distinctive long-chain fatty acid composition. We use unrefined meadowfoam seed oil, preserving more of the natural character of the material while benefiting from the elegant slip for which the oil is valued.
On the skin, meadowfoam acts as an emollient, helping soften and smooth the surface while leaving a light lipid layer that supports moisture retention. Within Sanu, it gives the richer butters room to move, allowing the melt to travel comfortably across the body and contributing much of its satin finish.
Unrefined Cupuaçu Butter
Cupuaçu, Theobroma grandiflorum, is native to the Amazon basin and belongs to the same botanical genus as cacao.
Its seeds yield a soft, rich butter naturally composed of fatty acids and plant sterols. Cupuaçu is prized in body care for its generous emollient character and its ability to leave dry skin feeling supple and deeply conditioned.
Our unrefined cupuaçu butter gives Sanu much of its softness and pliability. It responds beautifully to warmth, helping the melt open beneath the hands while bringing richness and comfort to dry or weather-exposed skin.
Unrefined Kokum Butter
Kokum butter comes from the seeds of Garcinia indica, a tree native to western India and closely associated with the Western Ghats.
It is naturally firm and rich in stearic and oleic fatty acids, giving it a substantial structure alongside an elegant emollient quality.
We use unrefined kokum butter as one of the foundations of Sanu. It gives the body melt much of its density and physical presence, helping it hold together in the jar while contributing meaningful softness and conditioning once warmed onto the skin.
Kokum is central to what makes Sanu feel substantial. Its firmness gives the formula weight, while its lipid character allows that structure to become supple through contact with the body.
Unrefined Shea Butter
Shea butter is produced from the kernels of Vitellaria paradoxa, a tree indigenous to the African shea belt stretching across much of West and parts of Central Africa.
Its use in the care of skin and hair extends through generations of local knowledge and practice. Shea is naturally rich in fatty acids and contains an unsaponifiable fraction that contributes to its distinctive conditioning character.
Our unrefined shea butter brings deeper emollience to Sanu, helping soften rough or dry skin and supporting the lipid-rich surface that keeps skin feeling supple and comfortable.
Virgin Coconut Oil
Virgin coconut oil is pressed from the mature kernel of Cocos nucifera, a palm woven into food, body care and domestic traditions throughout the Caribbean, South and Southeast Asia, the Pacific and other tropical regions.
We use virgin coconut oil for both its skin-conditioning qualities and the way it responds to warmth.
Coconut oil is an effective emollient and has been studied for its ability to improve the condition and hydration of dry skin. Within Sanu, it also helps the denser butters become more fluid as the product is worked between the hands, contributing to the ease with which the melt spreads across the body.
Its presence also feels naturally at home in a product made in Trinidad.
Local Trinidad Beeswax
Our beeswax is sourced locally in Trinidad & Tobago.
Beeswax has a long history of use in balms, salves and protective body preparations. On the skin, it forms a fine semi-occlusive layer that helps slow moisture loss while supporting a soft, conditioned surface.
Its role in Sanu is equally structural. Beeswax helps gather the oils and butters into a cohesive body melt, contributes substance in Trinidad's warm climate and shapes the protective finish that remains on the skin after application.
It also carries something important into the composition: material gathered from the same landscape in which Sanu is made.
Cetearyl Alcohol
Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol used in cosmetic formulation for its emollient and structural qualities.
Despite its name, it is very different from the volatile alcohols commonly associated with drying the skin. It has a wax-like character and is used to help improve texture, consistency and spread.
Within Sanu, cetearyl alcohol supports the relationship between the oils, butters and beeswax, helping the melt remain cohesive while giving the finished product a more refined movement across the skin.
Mixed Tocopherols
Mixed tocopherols are forms of vitamin E included primarily to protect the quality of the botanical fats.
In a water-free formula composed largely of natural oils and butters, oxidation is one of the primary processes that can affect freshness over time. Mixed tocopherols help slow that process and support the stability of the finished melt.
They also contribute the emollient qualities associated with tocopherols in cosmetic skin care.
Made in Studio Nadi Sangama
Sanu is made by hand in Studio Nadi Sangama in Trinidad & Tobago as part of our Earthmade practice.
Its composition brings together ingredients shaped by very different landscapes and histories: meadowfoam from western North America, cupuaçu from the Amazon basin, kokum from western India, shea from Africa, coconut from the tropical world and beeswax gathered here in Trinidad & Tobago.
That meeting of difference sits close to the meaning of Nadi Sangama.
Our work is rooted in the idea that distinct materials, cultures and ways of making can meet without losing the qualities that make each of them recognisable. Unity does not require sameness.
Sanu expresses that idea through material. Meadowfoam retains its particular glide. Kokum brings firmness and structure. Cupuaçu gives its pliable richness. Shea carries generations of use in body care. Coconut connects naturally to tropical life, while local beeswax anchors the composition in Trinidad.
Each ingredient arrives with its own character. Their relationship creates the finished product.
We prepare Sanu in small batches, carefully bringing the oils, unrefined butters and waxes together before pouring the melt into dark blue glass jars. The formula is left unwhipped, preserving its concentration and allowing the natural density and texture of the composition to remain part of the experience.
There is no added fragrance. The natural aroma, colour and subtle variation of the ingredients are allowed to remain.
This attention to origin, material and process extends throughout Nadi Sangama, from botanical incense and body care to wild clay and our wider studio work. Sanu carries that philosophy directly to the skin.
Product Details
Sanu is a concentrated, water-free body melt handmade in small batches in Trinidad & Tobago.
A small amount spreads generously once warmed between the hands and is particularly suited to application after bathing while the skin remains slightly damp.
Water Free · No Added Fragrance · Unwhipped · Local Trinidad Beeswax · Small Batch · Handmade in Studio Nadi Sangama
Presented in a dark blue glass jar.
Ingredients:
Unrefined Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Unrefined Cupuaçu Butter, Unrefined Kokum Butter, Unrefined Shea Butter, Virgin Coconut Oil, Local Beeswax, Cetearyl Alcohol, Mixed Tocopherols.
INCI:
Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter, Garcinia Indica Seed Butter, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Cetearyl Alcohol, Tocopherol.
How to Use
Sanu is especially suited to the period just after bathing, while the skin remains warm and slightly damp.
Take a small amount and warm it between the palms until the melt begins to soften. Massage slowly over the body, allowing the oils and butters to spread into a fine, rich layer across the skin.
Applying Sanu while a little water remains on the body allows the emollient oils and butters to work alongside that existing moisture, while beeswax and the lipid-rich composition help reduce the rate at which it is lost from the skin.
Begin with a small amount. The formula is concentrated and spreads generously with warmth.
Use across the entire body or give particular attention to hands, elbows, knees, feet and areas prone to dryness.
Care & Climate
Sanu is made entirely from butters, oils, and waxes, so its texture will respond naturally to temperature.
The melt also responds to temperature. Warm conditions may make it softer, while cooler temperatures give the natural fats more firmness. Slight grain, variation across the surface or changes in texture can occur as the butters and waxes cool and crystallise.
These variations belong to the nature of the ingredients and do not diminish the quality or performance of the product.
Store closed, away from direct sunlight and excessive heat. Always use clean, dry hands or a clean cosmetic spatula to avoid introducing water into the jar.
For external use only. Discontinue use if irritation occurs.
