| | KEY INGREDIENTS
![WHAT TO EXPECT HERE]() | WHAT TO EXPECT HERE
Below are listed in alphabetical order, all the key organic ingredients we use in our products. Do note that if you click on any product in our shop, you have every ingredient listed and also relevant tips & directions etc,. |
|  | BEESWAX
Primitive people knew and used beeswax as an antiseptic and for wound healing. Hippocrates even recommended that a layer of beeswax be placed on the neck for quinsy.
Beeswax is one of natures most wonderful ingredients to use, and does a sterling job as a thickening agent, emulsifier, and humectant. It has wonderfully emollient, soothing and softening properties and helps the skin retain moisture.
People with acne sometimes incorrectly think that it is a comedogenic ingredient (an ingredient that promotes the formation of acne and pimples), whereas it in actual fact has an irritation potential of zero, and a comedogenicity rating of 0 - 2, which means that when it is properly used it will NOT promote the formation of acne or pimples.
When formulated and used correctly in cosmetic formulations, beeswax will not cause a problem or clog the pores, but brings a host of very positive attributes, such as healing, antiseptic, emollient and softening to a cosmetic product.
Techie Stuff
The honeybee, Apis Mellifera, secretes beeswax to build the walls of the honeycomb. When wax is secreted by the bee it is a transparent colorless liquid, which turns into a semi-solid substance on contact with the atmosphere.
It is purified from its raw state by freeing it of solid impurities through melting and centrifugation.
Even after technological processing, it still remains a biologically active product, retaining some anti-bacterial properties and also contains some vitamin A, that is necessary for normal cell development.
It is classified as a wax and is used as a binder, emulsion stabilizer, miscellaneous skin-conditioning agent, emulsifying surfactant, as well as a non-aqueous viscosity increasing agent. It is also known as beeswax absolute and beeswax concrete.
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|  | CALENDULA
Calendula officinalis, known as Pot Marigold or Scotch Marigold, is a plant in the Calendula genus. It was used in ancient Greek, Roman, Arabic and Indian cultures as a medicinal herb as well as a dye for fabrics, foods and cosmetics.
The leaves and petals of the Pot Marigold are edible, with the petals added to dishes as a garnish and in lieu of saffron. The leaves can be sweet but are more commonly bitter, and may be used in salads.
Calendula officinalis is used for the treatment of skin disorders and pain, and as a bactericide, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory. The petals and pollen contain triterpenoid esters (an anti-inflammatory) and the carotenoids flavoxanthin and auroxanthin (antioxidants, and the source of the yellow-orange coloration). |
|  | JOJOBA
Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis), pronounced "ho-ho-ba", is a shrub native to the Sonoran and Mojave deserts of Arizona, California, and Mexico. It is the sole species of the family Simmondsiaceae, placed in the core Caryophyllales. It is also known as goat nut, deer nut, pignut, wild hazel, quinine nut, coffeeberry, and gray box bush. Jojoba is grown commercially for its oil, a liquid wax ester, expressed from the seed. The plant has also been used to combat and prevent desertification in the Thar Desert in India.
Jojoba grows to 1-2 metres (3.3-6.6 ft) tall, with a broad, dense crown. The leaves are opposite, oval in shape, 2-4 centimetres (0.79-1.6 in) long and 1.5-3 centimetres (0.59-1.2 in) broad, thick waxy glaucous gray-green in color. The flowers are small, greenish-yellow, with 5-6 sepals and no petals. Each plant is single-sex, either male or female, with hermaphrodites being extremely rare. The fruit is an acorn-shaped ovoid, three-angled capsule 1-2 centimetres (0.39-0.79 in) long, partly enclosed at the base by the sepals. The mature seed is a hard oval, dark brown in color and contains an oil (liquid wax) content of approximately 54%.
Jojoba foliage provides year-round food opportunity for many animals, including deer, javelina, bighorn sheep, and livestock. The nuts are eaten by squirrels, rabbits, other rodents, and larger birds. Only Bailey's Pocket Mouse, however, is known to be able to digest the wax found inside the jojoba nut. In large quantities, the seed meal is toxic to many mammals, and the indigestible wax acts as a laxative in humans. The Seri, who utilize nearly every edible plant in their territory, don't regard the beans as real food and in the past ate it only in emergencies.
Despite its scientific name Simmondsia chinensis, Jojoba does not originate in China; the botanist Johann Link, originally named the species Buxus chinensis, after misreading Nuttall's collection label "Calif" as "China". Jojoba was briefly renamed Simmondsia californica, but priority rules require that the original specific epithet be used. The common name should also not be confused with the similar-sounding Jujube (Ziziphus zizyphus), an unrelated plant.
The name "jojoba" originated with the O'odham people of the Sonoran Desert in the southwestern United States, who treated burns with an antioxidant salve made from a paste of the jojoba nut.<Actinic:Variable Name = '1'/>
Jojoba is grown for the liquid wax (commonly called jojoba oil) in its seeds. This oil is rare in that it is an extremely long (C36-C46) straight-chain wax ester and not a triglyceride, making jojoba and its derivative jojoba esters more similar to human sebum than almost any other oil.
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|  | ROSE GERANIUM OIL
"Rose Geranium has a delightful fragrance, which when applied to the lips is remenisent of old style lipsticks. Apart from all this, just about all essential oils are anti bacterial which is a wonderful bonus!
But best of all, Rose Geranium works wonders on the skin. It is traditionally used for combination skin as it has the ability to balance sebum secretion. It is also said to help balance hormone secretion and as such is often used to counteract pre menstral and menopausal problems." |
|  | SHEA BUTTER
Shea butter or Shea nut butter is a slightly yellowish or ivory-colored natural fat extracted from fruit of the shea tree by crushing and boiling. Shea butter is widely used in cosmetics as a moisturizer and an emollient. Shea butter is also edible. It is used as a cooking oil in West Africa, as well as sometimes being used in the chocolate industry as a substitute for cocoa butter.
The shea or karite tree, formerly Butyrospermum paradoxum, is now called Vitellaria paradoxa. It produces its first fruit (which resemble large plums) when it is about 20 years old and reaches its full production when the tree is about 45 years old. It produces nuts for up to 200 years after reaching maturity.
Shea butter is known especially for its cosmetic properties as a moisturizer and emollient. Some claim that it is also an anti-inflammatory agent.[citation needed]Shea butter is marketed as being effective at treating the following conditions: fading scars, eczema, burns, rashes, acne, severely dry skin, blemishes, dark spots, skin discolorations, chapped lips, stretch marks, wrinkles, and in lessening the irritation of psoriasis.[citation needed] Shea butter provides natural ultraviolet sun protection, although the level of protection is extremely variable, ranging from nothing to approximately SPF 6.[citation needed] Shea butter absorbs rapidly into the skin without leaving a greasy feeling. In Nigeria, it is known to be very effective in the management of sinusitis and relief of nasal congestion.<Actinic:Variable Name = '1'/> This is due to its emollient properties which helps in relaxing the tension in the face skin thus easing respiration.
Shea butter is known for its skin softening effect. It is also used in hair conditioners to add and maintain moisture in dry brittle hair, in addition to retaining softness and preventing breakage.
Shea butter is used in some indigenous ceremonies. Followers of the Holy Spirit Movement rebel group of Uganda smeared their bodies with shea butter in the belief that it would stop bullets.
Handcrafted shea butter is used in Togo, West Africa for ceremonies among the Fulani ethnic group.
Many carvers of djembe shells and other African drum shells use shea butter to condition the wood. Shea butter is also used to condition the goat or cow skin heads of these drums.
Shea butter is also a favorite among soapmakers. It's typically used in small amounts (5-7% of the oils in the recipe). Shea butter is a complex fat that contains many non-saponifiable components (cannot be fully converted into soap.) Thus the shea butter leaves a small amount of oil in the soap, which seals moisture into the skin after washing.
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|  | SUNFLOWER OIL
Sunflower oil is the non-volatile oil expressed from sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seeds. Sunflower oil is commonly used in cosmetic formulations as an emollient and has smoothing properties.
Sunflower oil, like other oils, can retain moisture in the skin. It may also provide a protective barrier that resists infection. Studies using sunflower oil have been conducted involving low birth weight pre-term infants that are often susceptible to infection due to their underdeveloped skin. The study determined that infants receiving a daily skin treatment of sunflower oil were 41% less likely to develop infections in hospital. |
|  | TEA TREE
Tea tree oil has been proven to be a powerful yet natural antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal essential oil.
It is used as a very effective first aid remedy and against countless skin ailments, infections, cuts, scrapes, burns, insect bites, spots etc.
Tea tree oil is effective against nail fungus, ringworm, athlete's foot, dandruff, acne, blackheads and many types of infestations including lice, mites, scabies and mosquitoes etc... (For humans and animals alike)
Tea tree oil is not just soothing and disinfecting, it is capable of penetrating into the lower skin layers with its anti-inflammatory, disinfectant, analgesic (pain-killing) and cicatrizant (wound-healing) qualities.
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