Emu Oil is shown to increase subcutaneous fat and increase thickness of skin ^.
It is also far more effective at penetrating all dermal layers than mineral oil used in beauty products. Unlike Coconut oil it doesn't smell for hours and gets absorbed much better.
Emu Oil Burn Study Results (AEA Funded, 1995-1998) Report by Margaret Pounder, AEA President. (Reprinted from AEA EMU Update, Summer 1998 issue).
Summary: A long term study was initiated by Dr. John Griswold, Director of the Timothy J. Harner Burn Center (affiliated with Texas Tech University Medical Center, Lubbock, Texas) in 1995 to analyze the potential effects of emu oil in the healing of re-epithelialized burn wounds. The study found that the patients, "almost unanimously favored emu oil as an end result and during application", and that there was statistically significant difference in scar reduction and inflammation of the emu oil treated wounds.
Fatty Acid Analysis of Emu Oil (AEA Funded study , 1994) By: Dr. Paul Smith, Dr. Margaret Craig-Schmidt, and Amanda Brown at Auburn University. (Reprinted from AEA News, September 1994 Issue).
Summary: Analysis of fatty acids in emu oil reveals that it contains approximately 70% unsaturated fatty acids. The major fatty acid found in emu oil is oleic acid, which is monounsaturated and which comprises over 40% of the total fatty acid content. Emu oil also contains both of the two essential fatty acids (EFA's) which are important to human health: 20% linoleic, and 1-2% alpha-linolenic acid.
Emu Oil: Comedogenicity Testing: (Study done for E.R.I., 1993) By: Department of Dermatology, at Texas Medical School, Houston.
Summary: Testing using rabbit ear histological assay, with emu oil in concentrations of 25%, 75%, and 100% show that emu oil in concentrations up to 100% is non-comedogenic, i.e. it does not clog the pores of the skin.
Moisturizing and Cosmetic Properties of Emu Oil: A Double Blind Study (1994) By, Dr. Alexander Zemtsov, Indiana University School of Medicine: Dr. Monica Gaddis, Ball Memorial Hospital; and Dr. Victor Montalvo-Lugo, Ball Memorial Hospital (Reprinted from AEA News, October/November 1994 Issue).
Summary: Eleven human subjects took part in a double-blind clinical study which compared emu oil with mineral oil in texture, skin permeability and moisturizing properties, as well as comedogenicity and irritability to the skin. No irritation to the skin was observed with either oil. However, comedogenicity of emu oil was significantly lower than that of mineral oil, and all subjects stated a unanimous preference for emu oil.
Composition of Emu Oil: The Micro View (1997) By Dr. Leigh Hopkins, AEA Oil Standards Team (Research Leader). (Reprinted from AEA News, Spring 1997 issue).
Summary: When compared with human skin oil, the fatty acid composition of emu oil is found to be quite similar. In both types of oil, monounsaturated oleic acid is the most prevalent fatty acid, followed by palmitic acid, then linoleic acid, which is an EFA (essential fatty acid). This similarity may be one of the factors enabling emu oil to have such a positive action on human skin.
Emu Cream Assists Lidocaine: Local Anesthetic Absorption Through Human Skin (1997) By: Dr. William Code. (Presented at the 88th American Oil Chemists Society annual meeting, May 1997, Reprinted from AEA News, Summer 1997 issue.)
Summary: In his initial work with an emu oil based cream combined with spearmint oil and lidocaine, Dr. Code has found that this mixture appears to produce a reduced sensation in the skin as compared with another mixture of local anesthetics without emu oil. The goal is to reduce sensitivity to the skin in a safe, fast and effective way for procedures such as suturing or giving injections.
Emu Oil: A Source of Nontoxic Transdermal Anti-inflammatory Agents in Aboriginal Medicine (1997) By: Dr. Michael Whitehouse and Athol Turner, Dept. of Medicine, University of Queensland, Australia.
(Source: Inflammopharmacology, San Francisco, March 1997 conference proceedings. Reprinted from AEA News, Summer 1997 issue).
Summary: Ongoing studies on the anti-inflammatory activity of emu oils, as tested using the arthritis-induced rat model, indicate that different emu oils vary in their ability to suppress arthritic symptoms and that a chemical test for biological activity is needed rather than continuing to use the rat model.