mink oil
{{Short description|Oil derived from the fat of mink}}
Mink oil is an oil used in medical and cosmetic products. It is obtained by the rendering of mink fat which has been removed from pelts bound for the fur industry.{{cite journal | title=Final Amended Report on the Safety Assessment of Mink Oil1 |author=| journal=International Journal of Toxicology | publisher=SAGE Publications | volume=24 | issue=3_suppl | year=2005 | issn=1091-5818 | doi=10.1080/10915810500257154 | pages=57–64|pmid=16422264|s2cid=13285157}}
In spite of the term on products labeled “mink oil“, many commercial versions of so-named leather conditioner contain no natural mink oil.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}
Characteristics
Mink oil is a source of palmitoleic acid, which possesses physical properties similar to human sebum. Because of this, mink oil is used in several medical and cosmetic products. Mink oil is also used for treating, conditioning and preserving nearly any type of leather.
Botanical alternatives to mink oil as a source of palmitoleic acid include macadamia oil (Macadamia integrifolia) and sea buckthorn oil (Hippophae rhamnoides), both of which contain as much or more palmitoleic acid (17% and 19–29% respectively) than does mink oil (17%).{{Cite web|url=http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3123/2|title=Nuts, macadamia nuts, raw Nutrition Facts & Calories|website=www.nutritiondata.com|access-date=2016-10-03}}{{Cite book|url=http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/book/10.1139/9780660190075|title=Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.)|last1=T.S.C. Li|last2=T.H.J. Beveridge|date=2003-08-30|publisher=NRC Research Press|isbn=9780660190075|doi=10.1139/9780660190075|doi-broken-date=1 November 2024}}
Mink oil and its fatty acids are unique among animal-derived fats and oils.{{How|In what way?|date=June 2022}} The unsaturated fatty acids in mink oil account for more than 75% of its fatty acid content, but the oil, nevertheless, has a greater oxidative stability (resistance to rancidity) than other animal or vegetable oils.[http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/4038995/description.html US Patent 4038995 - Hair treating composition containing a mink oil fatty acid quaternary ammonium salt] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090704202000/http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/4038995/description.html |date=2009-07-04 }}{{cite patent
| inventor1-last = Edelberg
| inventor1-first = Norman L.
| inventor2-last = Davis
| inventor2-first = Chester A.
| title = Hair treating composition containing a mink oil fatty acid quaternary ammonium salt
| issue-date = 1977
| patent-number = 4038995
| country-code = US}}
See also
- Neatsfoot oil, leather treatment
- Saddle soap, leather cleaning and conditioning
- Antipruritic, as the oil is often an ingredient in insect bite-reliever sticks