Why Lanolin is such a good skin care ingredient

Lanolin is one of the most wonderful natural products to protect your lips, hands, feet, and your entire body. Lanolin helps keep the sheep’s coat protected and dry throughout the year.  Lanolin is extracted from the wool after shearing, and refined to the highest grade available.

The  composition of lanolin is very similar to that of human skin lipids. Therefore, it is more skin-compatible than any other natural or synthetic ingredient in skincare. Lanolin forms a protective layer on the skin that allows air to get in but holds water in, allowing the skin to hydrate naturally. Lanolin can also be a water reservoir, holding up to 400% of its weight, contributing to the natural skin hydration of lanolin products.

With more than 50 lanolin products in our collection, Koru Naturals offers the most extensive selection of lanolin skin care available today. But, the question is often asked: how do you pick the right one? To help with this decision, let’s first classify our lanolin products according to lanolin content:

• Pure lanolin – 100% USP grade lanolin. It comes in 2 oz pots, lip balm tubes, and small and large lip balm pots.
• Lanolin and sunflower wax lip balm
• Balms – 40% to 60% lanolin.
• Creams and lotions – Less than 10% lanolin

Pure Golden Lanolin

Our top selling product since 2001, our lanolin has an exceptional level of purity.  Simple and highly effective, our Australian Golden Lanolin is used regularly as skin moisturizer and protectant. It’s also a favorite of DIY crafters, who use it to create creams, lotions, and balms.

Pure lanolin is a wax, which can be pretty hard, particularly in cold weather. What I do is to use a hair dryer on low to soften it to a semi-liquid consistency that is easy to apply. If you use it on your feet it’s best to do it at night and wear woolly socks. Do it daily for a week and you’ll be amazed at the results!

Our 100% pure lanolin is also available in lip balm containers:

• Blue Label set of four tubes
• Set of four small pots
• Single larger pots

Lanolin and Sunflower Wax Lip Balm

Whereas the blue label tubes are the most popular lip balm form, they cannot be shipped in summer because the lanolin melts. The Green Label tubes have a small amount of sunflower wax added, which increases the melting point. Green Label tubes can be shipped year around and they are convenient for warm climates.

Balms

Pure lanolin can be blended with oils and butters to create products that are softer and easier to spread than pure lanolin. These balms are also free of colorants and fragrances.

• Koolpurrie Balm: Lanolin and Emu Oil
• Hydrous Lanolin: Lanolin, Water, Glyceryl Stearate, Phenoxyethanol preservative

Creams and Lotions

Too numerous to list all, you can browse all products on our main lanolin page. In general, lanolin creams and lotions contain less than 10% lanolin because otherwise they would feel sticky. Our products can be divided between the classics and the newer versions. The classics have been used in New Zealand for decades, and many of our customers have adopted them as basic, excellent, daily moisturizers:

Classics

• Pure and Simple Lanolin Cream by Beauty Spa
• Pure Lanolin Lotion by Beauty Spa

New Lines

Launched within the last two years, these lines are elevating lanolin skin care to new levels:

• On the Lamb Lanolin Co
• Wild Ferns Natural Lanolin Line

Your skin will thank you

Lanolin was the beauty secret of the 20’s and 30’s, but then it was neglected in favor of newer and more expensive ingredients. However, there was never a good reason to neglect lanolin as excellent skin care ingredient, other than generally false claims used to justify high prices. What lanolin does for sheep is also good for your skin, so regardless of what product you choose your skin will thank you.

Anti-aging action on the delicate skin around your eyes

Creating natural skin care products is as much art as science. Cosmetic chemists that specialize in natural products always begin by searching the scientific literature for ingredients that offer desirable properties, are available regularly and are produced with respect for people and the environment.

Although the reasoning process for selecting ingredients is similar across the industry, the outcomes are often unpredictable. It’s not unusual for a new product made with excellent ingredients to show little, if any, improvement over what’s already available. On the other hand, a product designed along similar lines may turn out to be exceptional and far superior to what was previously available. A little luck and black magic, both unpredictable, make all the difference

The NZ Fusion Botanicals Rooibos Tea and Manuka Honey Eye Cream is one of those pleasant surprises. Combining Manuka honey with antioxidants is not new. However, it is now becoming increasingly clear that the nature of the natural antioxidant used can make a big difference.

Rooibos (pronounced ROY-boss) is a South African shrub that grows in the mountainous region around Cape of Good Hope. The deep red tea brewed from its leaves has a long history in traditional South African medicine, with numerous uses that include topical application for skin disorders.

Rooibos has 50% more antioxidants than green tea and it is also rich in vitamin C, a key component of a healthy skin. The combination with Manuka Honey results in a rich cream with a light red color derived from the honey and the tea. This cream does not have any artificial fragrances or colorants, and the total natural content is 95%.

How about beauty within?

We now know that nutrition plays a key role in beauty. In particular, a diet rich in antioxidants results in healthier skin and hair. Many nutritionists recommend incorporating Rooibos into a daily routine of healthy foods, plenty of hydration, exercise and stress control. With its delicious taste and relaxing effects, a couple of cups of Rooibos every day can be the perfect addition to your daily routine. And, of course, try the NZ Fusion Eye Cream and see what the combination of Rooibos and Manuka can do for the skin around your eyes.

A frequently asked question: Can I add Manuka Honey to my tea?

An the answer is yes, as long as the tea is not too hot. Remember that heat is the enemy of active manuka honeys. Rooibos tea with our Natural Solutions UMF honeys is a wonderful and healthy combination. Just brew the tea, allow it to reach lukewarm temperature, and add half a teaspoon of either 15+ or 20+ honey.

One for her, one for him.

Poet’s Narcissus

From the fields of Southern France we get pure extracts of Narcissus poeticus flowers which, combined with other natural ingredients, result in this beautiful new fragrance.

The daffodil flowers that inspired this fragrance are intensely fragrant and have a beautiful combination of white petals and yellow corona.  The aroma is reminiscent of jasmine, hyacinth and a light citrus. To this initial flower base we add herbal, earth, orange, and wild notes that result in a feminine, soft yet persistent, solid fragrance.

The Dark Side

Boozy, earthy and woody, our new solid fragrance for men caters to the bad side of the best of gentlemen. It took a very long time to develop this fragrance, but it was definitely worth it. Perfect to alternate with our Bay Rum fragrance, and as a sensual and meaningful gift.

INDIAN MYTHOLOGY AND FRAGRANCE

Fragrance, culture and history

Those of you who follow our blog already know how we like to connect mythology with the products we sell. It is so much fun to learn about how cultures have used natural product through history than to deal with something that was made in a lab recently and is devoid of cultural significance.

The recent launch of the PATCH solid fragrance gave us an opportunity to explore the history of fragrance in India. And how rich and fascinating that history turned out to be!

After a lot of reading, we selected these myths and stories that we found particularly captivating.

The Sad and Beautiful Legend of the Parijata Flower

The Parijata flower is a form of Jasmine that flowers only at night. By day the fragrance is gone, so if the flower is to be offered to the Gods it must be picked at night and offered immediately. Legend has it that Parijata was a mortal princess that fell in love with Surya, the Sun God. Against her father’s advice, Parijata got together with Surya on Earth. Predictably, Surya quickly got tired of Earth and abandoned her, going back to the Sun. Brokenhearted, Parijata tried to follow Surya, but was burned to death by his heat. The Gods felt sorry for her, so they decided to reincarnate Parijata as a tree that would only flower at night to avoid the heat of the sun. Today, Parijata extracts of flowers collected at night are used extensively in perfumery and incense sticks.

The legend of Kamadeva

Kamadeva is the Hindu god of love and desire. Like Cupid, he carries a bow and arrow, but his bow is made of sugar cane, the string a line of honeybees, and his arrows are tipped by five kinds of flowers: mango, jasmine, white lotus, blue lotus, and ashoka.  It was the fragrance of these flowers that made Kamadeva’s arrows so irresistible at capturing hearts.

Gardening Accords

Sophisticated gardens in ancient India combined flowering plants on the basis of the compatibility of their aromas and the timing of flowering. This is in contrast with gardening in the West, where visual integration is generally the norm. In perfumery an accord is a combination of notes that result in a unified single aroma. The gardening practices in India made us think of a “gardening accord”. In fact, the concept of skillfully combined natural aromas was a key part of South Asian cultures: “A good perfume should be like a well-run kingdom, with the correct balance of allies (mild components), neutrals, and enemies (pungent materials).  A good perfume should also be harmonious with incense and garlands, the season and the humoral character of the person wearing it. The skilled use of perfumes delighted the gods, appeased kings, and excited lovers” (4).

Gardens were the center of a plush life that also included poetry readings, music, and multiple day and night aromas from flowers, candles and burning woods. The Sultan’s bedchambers would open directly to the garden, and he would enjoy baths in violet and rose water.

The Book of Delights

In 1469 Ghiyath Shahi assumed the throne of Malwa in central India. In his inauguration speech he was very clear about his plans: he would dedicate his sultanate to his enjoyment of life. At least he was honest, and he shared his expertise of life’s pleasures in a book he wrote called the Book of Delights.

The Book of Delights covers both cooking recipes and the making and enjoyment of perfumes. A true gentleman at that time was expected to have an encyclopedic knowledge of both cooking and perfumery, together with poetry, gardening, and seduction. Much of the book is dedicated to perfumes for the House of Pleasure, which was his harem, and includes detailed descriptions of how to scent a woman’s body.

Perfumes and Life

The history of fragrances in ancient India is a lesson on integrating perfumes with art, spiritually, religion and seduction.  Whereas in the West we tend to think of perfumes as part of fashion and celebrity marketing, extensions such as aromatherapy, candles and room diffusers bring similar connections to loftier aspects of life. Indian perfumery has been in decline because of the dominance of Western, primarily French, fragrances and the extinction of unique sources such as sandalwood and karmawood.  We like to think that with PATCH we are bringing some of that magic back.

Articles we enjoyed reading for this post:

1. Alexis Karl, Royalty and Fragrance
2. William Dalrymple, The perfumed past
3. TanyaDutt, The fragrant myth of Parijat
4. James McHugh, Sandalwood and Carrion: Smell in Indian Religion and Culture

We are asked all the time whether bees are killed to extract the bee venom used in the products we sell. The answer? Never! We love bees and we would never contribute to their destruction.

So how is the bee venom extracted? Through a unique and patented method developed by New Zealand scientists. Bee venom is produced in the venom gland of the bee, and is stored in an adjacent sac in the bee’s abdomen. The amount of venom a bee has depends on age. Newly hatched bees don’t have any venom at all, but the amount increases rapidly for the first two weeks of a worker bee’s life, reaching a plateau of about 0.3 mg (dry weight).

New Zealand scientists have invented a collection device for venom that doesn’t kill the bees. The device consists of a glass sheet placed on the bottom of the beehive. The glass sheet conducts a gentle electric current. When the current is turned on, bees that are on the sheet automatically stick out their stingers, and the action of the muscles pushing the stinger also pumps a small amount of venom out the end of the sting. This venom falls on the glass where it is collected and purified for storage, and freeze-dried to ensure that the venom’s bioactive materials are not degraded. It takes one million sting deposits on a collector board to make 1 gram of dry venom. This is the reason the cost of bee venom skin care products is so high.

So if you love bees and New Zealand Bee Venom skincare, you can buy our products without hesitation knowing that bees were never harmed in the process.

Patch joins Bay Rum, Sandalwood, OUD, and Fire and Flowers in the collection of NZ Fusion solid fragrances.

If you are a fan of gorgeous patchouli you may know this sensual fragrance has been around for centuries. The exact history is actually quite fascinating when you look deeper into its mystery and allure to find out where the fragrance originates. That’s why at Koru Naturals, we’re adding the brand new NZ Fusion Patch Solid Fragrance to a stellar lineup of favorite scents. Let’s dive deeper into the history of patchouli, so you know a little bit more about this warm and inviting scent. Or if you haven’t tried patchouli for yourself, maybe this will tempt you to add it to your collection.

Patch Solid Fragrance

Patchouli is complemented by Australian Sandalwood, Egyptian Jasmine, Madagascar Vanilla, and Turkish Rose Oil. This results in a complex, rich, and intense fragrance.

As with the other NZ Fusion solid fragrances, you may personalize it by combining with other fragrances. Adding Sandalwood makes it woodier, whereas blending with Bay Rum provides spicy notes.

The Origin of Patchouli

The word “patchouli” itself means “green leaf” because it comes from a herb growing green bush that’s part of the mint family. It does bloom delicate pink flowers that show up in the fall with seeds that are all part of becoming the patchouli scent we know today.

Even though it’s native to Southeast Asia, the South Indian people, known as the Tamil, actually developed some of its first uses and named the plant. They used it for medicinal purposes, insect repellent, and even in some culinary ways or through herbal teas they drank. Growing best in a moist and tropical climate, without direct sunlight, the leaves of the patchouli plant can reach heights of up to three feet when healthy.

Centuries later the herby bush made its way up through the Middle East on trade routes when adventurers used to bargain silk, goods, spices, and oils like the ones made from the patchouli’s leaves.

The French conqueror Napoleon Bonaparte brought from Egypt cashmere and silks protected from moths with patchouli leaves, so he may have been the one to introduce it to parts of Europe. People just fell in love with its heady rich scent that was distinctively all its own, exquisite and beautiful. So in Europe  Patchouli went from insect repellent to upscale fragrance.

It wasn’t until 1837 that the patchouli was known as a recognizable scent and quickly made its way to the rest of the Western world.

The Modern Era of Patchouli

The counterculture in America, mainly in the 60’s and 70s really embraced everything the scent of patchouli had to offer. People loved to use it in essential oil form, burning in incense, and it became a common note in many popular fragrances. The essential oil is created by steam distillation of the leaves to produce the pure oil that was very popular at the time.

The rich earthy aroma with a slight mint undertone became a very well known aura around people who were referred to as “hippies.” Men and women with long hair, a free spirit, and a carefree way of dressing became associated with the fragrance.

However, most of the Patchouli used in the 60’s was either synthetic or of low quality. This is in contrast with the pure Patchouli Essential Oil used in our new fragrance, which is extracted only from the top 3-4 leaves of the plant and aged for at least 3 years. This Patchouli has a rich, dark, earthy-sweet, and mellow aroma. Sandalwood, a touch of sweet Madagascar vanilla, and lush Turkish rose complement the Patchouli notes of this fragrance. This is a fragrance with outstanding depth and warmth that will allow you to treasure wearing patchouli all day long.

Try Patch today!