Nervonic acid (C24:1, n-9) is a monounsaturated fatty acid with 24 carbon atoms and one double bond found at the 9th carbon from the end of the chain. It’s considered to be a very long chain fatty acid.
It has a melting point of 42˚C to 43 °C (108˚F to 109 °F), so it’s solid at room temperature. Its molecular weight is 366.62 g/mol. Any liquid oil that contains this fatty acid will have increased viscosity because it’s a very long chain fatty acid and because of this high melting point. This fatty acid is an essential nutrient for maintenance of our brains, and it’s found in breast milk, Ximenia seed oil, borage oil, sea buckthorn oil, mustard oils, and jojoba oil.
I wasn’t able to find anything about how it works on our skin as a topical ingredient, but like any fatty acid, it will offer moisturizing and softening of our skin.
The proper name is selacholeic acid or cis-15-tetracosenoic acid (C24H46O2).