july 2010
 Ideal for dry and mature skin: wild rose oil and goji berry extract
Which natural ingredients and active agents are particularly valuable? I should like to start this new series with wild rose oil and goji berry extract
Wild rose oil (Rosa canina fruit oil)
In comparison with some other roses, the wild rose – also known as the dog rose – is of modest appeal. Its advantage lies in its inner beauty. Any rose species that has developed without human intervention is known as a wild rose. Worldwide there are about 200 species. The INCI term “Rosa canina fruit oil”, for example, refers to wild rose oil extracted from a European species of wild rose. Cosmetics ingredients extracted from wild roses may also have the INCI references “Rosa mosqueta” or “Rosa rubiginosa”.
- As a Bach flower, the wild rose is used to restore a joie de vivre and the willingness to face life, to free oneself from old habits and resume an active role in life.
- The fruit of the wild rose – the rosehip – is used to produce healthy teas and jams. Rosehip contains a lot of vitamin C, counteracts lethargy and boosts the immune system.
- Wild rose oil is a beauty elixir because of its high content of unsaturated fatty acids and especially its unusually high levels of alphalinoleic acid. Only sallow thorn oil, which is very expensive, contains comparable levels.
- More than most other oils, wild rose oil helps to regenerate the skin, stimulates the production of collagen and thus improves the ability of the skin to retain moisture. As wild rose oil also has a positive effect on cell regeneration, it is an ideal oil for dry, mature and sensitive skin.
Goji berry extract (Lycium barbarum fruit extract)
Many new cosmetics ingredients are especially used for their advertising effect. This does not apply to goji berries, as goji berry extract offers some real advantages. Also, the goji berry is new only to Europeans.
- In China, goji berries have long been a part of the diet and play an important role in naturopathy. Modern science has even managed to come up with some solid proof of the medical efficacy of these sweet berries.
- This deciduous bush grows in China and Tibet and has conquered the world. To us, it is better known as “wolfberry”.
- Its vitamin content (vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamins B1 and B2) and its wealth of minerals make goji berries a healthy fruit and an effective cosmetic ingredient, especially for protecting the skin against premature aging.
A July highlight: the lotus blossom
 In our latitudes, the legendary lotus flower is considered a little capricious. This is understandable, as in its home regions – India, southern China, south-east Asia – it gets a lot more sunshine. Here it is quite frequently deprived of sunlight, which does not do it any good at all. Nevertheless, you will not have to travel half-way round the globe to admire wonderful lotus blossoms. You could simply take a trip to your local botanical gardens. Lotus should be in full bloom from the middle of July to the middle of August – provided that the sun is cooperating.
- Buddhists consider the lotus to be a holy flower. It embodies the complete harmony of yin and yang, as lotus comes from water (yin) and reaches for the sky (yang). It symbolizes immortality, serenity, constant change and the victory of good over evil. Thus, according to a legend, all arrows with which Buddha’s enemies aimed to kill him fell into a pond, where they turned into lotus flowers.
- In Asian naturopathy, the use of the lotus plant has a long tradition. The rhizome, leaves and fruit can also be eaten. Seaweed soup with small dumplings made of ground lotus rhizome is considered to be a delicacy, for example.
- Nelumbo nucifera flower extract is the INCI term for lotus blossom extract from Indian lotus flowers. It has excellent astringent properties, for example, thus refining the skin.
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