Ananda Mahony
NaomiEthno botanical Actives for Skincare
January 18th 2008 08:36
Link: www.vitalenatural.com.au
In this two-part article Lisa Phipps, creator of Remedica Australia, writes about unique skin care ingredients from Africa.
African oils or Vegetals are no longer just popularly linked to ceremonies and tribal folklore.
Right across Africa there are thousands of plants used for their value in both perfumery and skincare, stemming back - tribally as ritual and ceremonial- to at least 2000 BC as commercial commodities by the Priests in Egypt. More and more is becoming known about the great flora culture stemming from the African/Egyptian soils, such as iris, jasmine, lotus, narcissus and rose, but what about the incredible natural skincare treasures these lands share?
While we may still in some instances think that the rich array of aromatics and vegetals originating form Africa are more useful as “snake bite remedies”, more high-end cosmetic formulations are including the great vitamin, mineral and skin nourishing benefits of Africa’s rich natural treasures in skincare.
Some of the most popular, useful and respected botanicals indigenous to Africa for skin care are:
Buchu, Sweet Almond (high in Essential Fatty Acids or EFAs and Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, E)
Shea Butter/ Shea Oil
Black Soap (Anago) – a compound of various organically grown plants, butters and oils
Baobab Oil (Sthn & East Africa)
Marula Oil (South African)
Somalian Frankincense
North African Myrrh
African Rose Oil
African Cocoa Butter,
Avocado (high in A, B1, B2, B5, D, E, minerals, proteins and Lecithin)
and one of my absolute favourites, Black Seed Sesame.
I have chosen a few of the most outstanding oils Africa has to offer as an introduction to her treasure trove.
One of the most popular and well known of course is from the Karite tree of the Savannah….
Shea Butter (inci: Butyrospermum Parkii)
The solid fat expressed from the Shea Kernels of the Karite tree contains very high levels of vitamins A, E, Iron and a natural form of the sun protective cinnamate.
No other single butter is as useful for the skin as unrefined, unprocessed shea butter. A superior therapeutic emollient for aged, cracked, and damaged skin, it also acts as barrier against moisture loss otherwise known as Trans Epidermal Water Loss or (TEWL).
Once this dense butter has melted at body temperature, it has a high skin penetrative ability and is often used to sooth or help treat severe skin pathologies such as eczema on young children.
Some people will say that Shea Butter is perhaps the only ingredient you will ever need on your skin. Though probably too rich for most facial skin and too slow to melt for the hands, it does have a physical restructuring effect on the epidermis and latex (elasticising) characteristics which work wonders on stretch marks.
In all, this miracle butter in it’s organic and unrefined state is considered anti aging, UV protective (natural cinnamate) and climate protective. The more processing this butter goes though in terms of some skin care products, may mean the loss of some nutritional elements of the butter, however it will still provide the skin with a great moisture barrier or climate defence and may still contain the natural elasticising properties that help so much with physically stressed skin.
In the second half of this article, Lisa writes about two really are hidden treasures…stay tuned.
Ananda Mahony ND is a naturopath and holistic skin specialist. Ananda owns Vitale Natural Skin & Body Care, a natural & organic skin care store in Paddington. www.vitalenatural.com.au
African oils or Vegetals are no longer just popularly linked to ceremonies and tribal folklore.
Right across Africa there are thousands of plants used for their value in both perfumery and skincare, stemming back - tribally as ritual and ceremonial- to at least 2000 BC as commercial commodities by the Priests in Egypt. More and more is becoming known about the great flora culture stemming from the African/Egyptian soils, such as iris, jasmine, lotus, narcissus and rose, but what about the incredible natural skincare treasures these lands share?
While we may still in some instances think that the rich array of aromatics and vegetals originating form Africa are more useful as “snake bite remedies”, more high-end cosmetic formulations are including the great vitamin, mineral and skin nourishing benefits of Africa’s rich natural treasures in skincare.
Some of the most popular, useful and respected botanicals indigenous to Africa for skin care are:
Buchu, Sweet Almond (high in Essential Fatty Acids or EFAs and Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, E)
Shea Butter/ Shea Oil
Black Soap (Anago) – a compound of various organically grown plants, butters and oils
Baobab Oil (Sthn & East Africa)
Marula Oil (South African)
Somalian Frankincense
North African Myrrh
African Cocoa Butter,
Avocado (high in A, B1, B2, B5, D, E, minerals, proteins and Lecithin)
and one of my absolute favourites, Black Seed Sesame.
I have chosen a few of the most outstanding oils Africa has to offer as an introduction to her treasure trove.
One of the most popular and well known of course is from the Karite tree of the Savannah….
Shea Butter (inci: Butyrospermum Parkii)
The solid fat expressed from the Shea Kernels of the Karite tree contains very high levels of vitamins A, E, Iron and a natural form of the sun protective cinnamate.
No other single butter is as useful for the skin as unrefined, unprocessed shea butter. A superior therapeutic emollient for aged, cracked, and damaged skin, it also acts as barrier against moisture loss otherwise known as Trans Epidermal Water Loss or (TEWL).
Once this dense butter has melted at body temperature, it has a high skin penetrative ability and is often used to sooth or help treat severe skin pathologies such as eczema on young children.
Some people will say that Shea Butter is perhaps the only ingredient you will ever need on your skin. Though probably too rich for most facial skin and too slow to melt for the hands, it does have a physical restructuring effect on the epidermis and latex (elasticising) characteristics which work wonders on stretch marks.
In all, this miracle butter in it’s organic and unrefined state is considered anti aging, UV protective (natural cinnamate) and climate protective. The more processing this butter goes though in terms of some skin care products, may mean the loss of some nutritional elements of the butter, however it will still provide the skin with a great moisture barrier or climate defence and may still contain the natural elasticising properties that help so much with physically stressed skin.
In the second half of this article, Lisa writes about two really are hidden treasures…stay tuned.
Ananda Mahony ND is a naturopath and holistic skin specialist. Ananda owns Vitale Natural Skin & Body Care, a natural & organic skin care store in Paddington. www.vitalenatural.com.au
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