LANOLIN

Lanolin is the oily secretion from the skin of the sheep that becomes trapped in the sheep’s wool. When the sheep is shorn each year, the wool is washed, processed and the lanolin oil extracted and refined. Lanolin is the Sheep’s natural nourisher and protector against the extremes of its environment. The oils of lanolin are extremely similar to those natural oils we secrete from within our own skin (after all, we are both animals). Thus, lanolin is the only human-compatible oil obtainable without having to kill an animal. Most moisturizing creams and lotions use as their base oils that are either of vegetable or mineral origin. These oils do not have the compatibility with our skin that lanolin has.

History

Wool grease is the natural oil that helps make wool water repellent, protecting sheep from the harsh effects of weather. Secreted by the sheep's skin, it continuously collects on the wool so that by the time the fleece is harvested it makes up between 15 and 25 per cent of the total weight of freshly cut wool. The ancient Greeks were among the first to seize the potential of this natural emollient as a preservative, protectant and lubricant, as an ointment and on everything from clothing, and shelters to spears. And while this rather crude use of wool grease continued from 700 BC onwards, it was the late 19th century before a process was developed to refine what we know as lanolin. These days it is recovered during the three-stage wool cleaning or scouring process. It is separated from the fleece by a solvent extraction in a process not unlike dry cleaning clothes. After removing the solvent, dirt, debris and whatever sheep may roll around in, you are left with a sticky substance a bit like petroleum jelly. The use of lanolin in cosmetics and skin care has a history longer than almost any other ingredient. A century of scientific investigation has evolved qualities, traditionally unparalleled in their stringency and surety. The performance of this quite remarkable substance and its many derivatives has been endlessly demonstrated down through the ages. Nature is abundant with materials that are beneficial to humans and their well-being. Lanolin is such a material. Predating science, it was never “invented” and has never been bettered for versatility. It is the ultimate emollient. The stratum corneum is the outer layer of the epidermis and is a lipid-rich system, being bathed in an oily coating of sebum, which is secreted by the sebaceous glands of the skin. The sebum plays a vital role in moderating the moisture balance of the stratum corneum and thereby its condition. The moisture within these cells is considered to be in an emulsified form, maintained through the action of naturally surface active lipids of the sebum. The presence of cellular moisture within this layer is responsible for the plumpness, smoothness, elasticity and translucency of healthy, young skin. Aging, sunlight and the vagaries of life in general result in a reduction in the ability of the stratum corneum to retain its ideal moisture content, so the skin gets drier, rougher and looses its youthful elasticity. Certainly this is a natural and inevitable process, but incorporating lanolin in skin care systems can be highly effective. Australia is the top country in terms of quality and volume, followed closely by New Zealand. Most of our lanolin products are made with New Zealand lanolin, and purified to pharmaceutical-grade in Australia. Our Australian products are also made with the purest lanolin available. If you are born in New Zealand, the wonderful aroma and feeling of lanolin will be imprinted in your brain forever.

MANUKA HONEY

Please visit the Manuka Honey Information Center

TASMANIAN LEATHERWOOD HONEY

These ingredients are brought raw and unprocessed (not bleached with peroxides as in mainstream commercial products!) direct from the hive. Made from flower nectar, these uncontaminated, organic gifts from nature have been produced by bees for over 220 million years, and used by man for millennia for their powerful healing properties. Containing many useful trace elements, both are valued in skin care for their natural wound healing, soothing, emollient, softening, protective and moisturizing qualities, nourishing and gently 'polishing' the skin. The color and aroma of the products - like fine wine - directly reflects the varying seasons of the year and resultant differences in the wax and honey. Honey is increasingly being recognized as a potent wound healer with research under way world wide.

ROSEHIP OIL

The rose hip, also called the rose haw, is the pomaceous fruit of the wild rose plant. It is typically red to orange but may be dark purple to black in some species. Rose hips of some species have been used as a source of Vitamin C. Rosehips are commonly used as a herbal tea, often blended with hibiscus and as an oil for skin care. They can also be used to make jam, jelly and marmalade. Rose hip soup is especially popular in Sweden. Rosehips are particularly high in Vitamin C, with about 1700-2000 mg per 100 g in the dried product, one of the richest plant sources, and they also contain vitamins A, D and E, and antioxidant flavonoids. Other constituents, apart from ascorbic acid (vitamin C), are boron, capric acid, tannins, catechin-tannins, citric acid, essential oil, epicatechin, flavonoids, gallocatechin, invert sugars, isoquercitrin, kaempferol-3-glucoside, leucoanthocyanins, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, lycopene, magnesium, malic acid, pectin, protein, rubidium, rubixanthin, succinic acid, sucrose, alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E), vanillin, xanthophyll and zeaxanthin.

During World War II, British school children were given the job of collecting rosehips from hedgerows. These were converted into rosehip syrup, a source of vitamin C. This was to replace the imported oranges that were being denied by the German U boat blockade of Britain in the Battle of the Atlantic. After World War II, the use of rosehip oil was extended to skin care, in order to take advantage of its antiseptic and healing properties.

Research on Organic Rosehip Oil

In 1988, Dr Horst Kehl published his findings on the dermatological uses of rosehip oil in a paper titled “Contributions to Identification and Application of Active Components Contained in Rosa Aff Rubignosa.” The following paragraphs are extracts from the paper:

Application on Aged Skin Changes produced on skin by the action of the skin, ie photoaging (dermotoheliosis) are very common in all countries of warm climate. Exposure to sun causes important morphological changes in skin. Dermotoheliosis appears in different ways and varying intensity ranging from surface wrinkles, active keratosis and variation in the distribution of the melanin granules. For this test, volunteers were selected among people who usually spend the three months of summer in resorts by the sea or who go to the beach everyday. The tests were carried out on twenty women aged between 25 and 35 who were controlled and assessed during the summer of 1988. The most frequently noted cutaneous signs were surface wrinkles, brown spots, efelids and, in some cases, only an intense tan. All applied rosehip oil on the face during four months. Observations were made every eight days. Significant changes were noted starting on the third week. Firstly, surface wrinkles started to disappear, spots started to fade until, at the end of the fourth month, the disappearance was complete.

Application on Surgical Scars

For this test, Dr. Kehl used scars that had equal features. Ten women, aged between 45 and 68, were selected who have suffered unilateral or bilateral mastectomy. Applications of rosehip oil were made, starting on the day that the surgical stitches were removed. After washing the area with tepid water and soap and careful drying, the oil was applied by soft massage. After three months of applying twice daily (morning and evening) it was noted that the scars were less apparent, without lumps and that skin elasticity had improved and the color of the area had improved significantly. These observations were carried until four months after the operations and the treating doctors indicated that the skin conditions were improving considerably, allowing implantation of prothesis or plastic surgery in far better conditions than with patients who had not been treated. Several teams of plastic surgeons are presently using Rose Hip Oil to complement the treatment of scars. The oil of Rosehip seeds (Rosa Rubiginosa Aff) has helped in the recovery of thousands of people who have suffered burns. Dr Leonardo Rusowsky, acting president of the Corporation For Aid To Burnt Children, is currently studying Rose Hip Oil as applied to burnt children in the way of compresses and massotherapy (massages carried out by kinesiologists to loosen up scars). Dr Rusowsky says that while it is too early to obtain scientific conclusions, it is possible to state the following that Organic Rose Hip Oil improves the texture and quality of the burnt skin by increasing its elasticity. Its effect, more than to flatten out hypertrophic and hyperplasic scars (raised and bulky scars), is to improve the color of the scars and of the skin in the affected area. Dr. Hans Harbst, M.D, Surgeon, Radiotherapist and Oncologist at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, has also worked with Rosehip oil and found it to be excellent for treating skin problems following radiation therapy. Dr. Harbst explains about his experience with Rosehip oil: “As a radiotherapist, I work with several patients that have been operated upon and, therefore, have scars. Also, the radiation to which they are exposed may produce secondary effects on the skin such as inflammations, darkening and actinic dermatitis.  These effects are, in most cases, unavoidable because in the same way that a surgeon leaves a scar when he or she operates, a radiotherapist leaves a mark on the radiated areas, which are not injuries as such but skin reactions.” This means a problem for the patient, especially when he or she are left with marks in areas exposed to view like the face, head or neck. I have applied Rose Hip Oil on all types of skin. Rosehip Oil acts on scars reducing hyperpigmentation, flattening hypertrophia (bulky scars) and loosening up fibrous chords. All these effects end up in a near complete attenuation of scars.” In one case, says Harbst, a man who had his whole head radiated due to a brain tumor had no signs of radiation damage after four weeks of treatment with Rosa Mosqueta oil.  Another patient who showed an acute dermatitis after radiation had an excellent recovery 24 hours after treatment with the oil. The skin had actually regenerated.”

Rosehip oil is a traditional skin treatment in New Zealand, and this oil is the primary ingredient of our Nancy Evans, Rosabay and Trilogy lines. Cold pressed cosmetic nut, fruit, vegetable oils and butters. Fruit, vegetable oils and butters virgin wheat germ, apricot and peach kernel, sweet almond, castor, palm, coconut, sunflower (certified organic BFA ), sesame (certified opa, organic USA), cocoa butter, carrot oil. Used effectively in generous quantities in our products all these superfine quality oils obtained from fruit stones, beans or grain germ - are rich in naturally occurring valuable fatty acids, amino acids and vitamins and renowned for their fine lubricant texture, skin softening and penetrative qualities.

ESSENTIAL OILS

We only use absolutely pure essential oils for their scent and therapeutic benefit. Natural resins/mineral salts, Siam Benzoin gum/Benzoin Sumatra gum (Styrax benzoin) - This delicious vanilla scented balsamic resin which has skin protective, healing properties, comes to us in its natural state (crystalline 'tears') from the trees grown in Thailand/Sumatra. Australian certified organic/biodynamic plant and nut oils. Certified organic oils (Biological Farms Australia, National Association for Sustained Agriculture) are 100% guaranteed chemical-free the highest quality oils available, guaranteed grown without synthetic chemicals of any kind, in soils uncontaminated by pesticide residue of chemicals etc. for at least ten years. Purchase is made from small family/cooperative plantations where possible.