A producer of speciality plant extracts for personal care applications, Botanica Natural Products is ideally positioned to assist brand owners in meeting the needs of consumers for more diverse and high quality, natural and organic products.
Botanica is a South African based, family-owned social enterprise established in 2009 with the focus on developing a variety of interesting African raw ingredient concepts. Located in rural Limpopo, the company offers both organically certified and conventional plant extracts for use in a variety of personal care applications.
‘We aim to produce cosmetic raw ingredients that are effective, affordable and organically certified. Our mission is to improve skin health by promoting the use of indigenous plants and traditional knowledge from Africa,’ says Will Coetsee, managing director at Botanica. ‘Our agricultural processes used to cultivate 10 hectares of Bulbine and Moringa plants are Ecocert approved. We also distribute a range of actives for cosmetics, throughout Africa and further abroad.’
These sustainable skincare ingredients are based on extracts from the leaves of the Carob (Ceratonia siliqua) tree and Bulbine frutescens plants. Their properties make them ideal for a range of cosmetic cream formulations and skincare products.
Improving skin’s appearance
Africa’s search for a safe and relevant alternative to traditional skin lightening ingredients is finally over with the launch of BotanicaLite. This active, which has been developed and tested in South Africa, is suitable for use in even tone skincare products. The active is formulated using a targeted extract from the leaves of the Carob tree, Ceratonia siliqua. By inhibiting the production of melanin in a safe manner, BotanicaLite has been proven to address severe pigmentation issues for its consumers. It is naturally plant derived, irritant-free and cost effective.
The efficacy of three percent BotanicaLite in a cosmetic formulation to inhibit tyrosinase has been verified in South Africa during independent in vitro and in vivo tests. In vivo protocol saw the BotanicaLite formulation tested against three commercially available skin lightening actives, namely Arbutin, Kojic acid and Niacinamide. Results showed even toning and brightening of the skin after 28 days of use of BotanicaLite and, when used in conjunction with Niacinamide, positive results were seen after only 14 days.
Bulbine Frutescens Leaf Juice for cosmetics
The company’s flagship offering, BotanicaTimola® is a cosmetic raw material extracted from the South African indigenous plant, Bulbine frutescens. It has a long history of traditional use in South Africa as an effective remedy for various topical skin, scalp and hair conditions. This is as a result of its soothing and moisturising qualities. This unique product has shown to be highly effective as an active ingredient in skin and hair care formulations, even when used at a small percentage.
Through the commercialisation process, Botanica has developed and patented the extraction technique of the water-based gel. This is to ensure the product can be marketed to the cosmetics industry as an active ingredient. The agricultural process used to produce Bulbine frutescens is also certified organic by Ecocert.
BotanicaTimola® is marketed to brand owners and manufacturers of cosmetics for use in a variety of products focused on soothing and moisturising claims. Suitable applications include after sun lotion, bar soap, body wash, anti-itch shampoo, scalp spray, nappy rash cream, after shave gel, anti-itch lotion and post-hair relaxer applications. The ingredient has also undergone required safety and stability tests in the EU, and conforms to the highest international standards for cosmetics raw materials. Furthermore, efficacy trials on BotanicaTimola® are currently being conducted in Europe and South Africa.
BotanicaTimola® has been tested for toxicology and stability in Europe, and has been approved according to EU regulatory standards for cosmetics.
Contact Botanica
Contact us for more information on our plant extracts. Alternatively, click below for more detail on each of our plant extracts for cosmetic and personal care formulations.