The Winged Seed

In Leonardo’s time, scientists of his caliber rarely considered the skin to be anything more than a decorative covering, necessitating removal to study the more fascinating parts underneath.  Today, most of us know that our skin is our largest organ and serves as armor to protect all those precious inner parts.  To the naked eye, the skin doesn’t appear to be complex or interesting, and before the invention of the microscope in the 17th century we really didn’t understand how it works.

Now, we can see how intricate the skin actually is, along with the vital role it plays.  The epidermis (outer layer of skin) continually produces new cells to renew itself, while shedding outer cells as they die off and shed.  You might not know that much of the dust in a room is actually tiny fragments of human skin.  As much as thirty to forty thousand skin cells fall unseen from your body every minute. continually replaced by vibrant new cells rising to the surface. We might call this renewal system your “skinecosystem”.  Hah. Say that 10 times real fast.

The skin is also the body’s heaviest organ, weighing from 9 to 15 pounds in a healthy adult, usually around one-twelfth of your total body weight.  It’s primary function is to protect all those well-functioning inner parts from damage or harm.  Looking more closely through our microscope, you will see a subcutaneous fat layer just under the outer skin (dermis) that works like padding in a quilt to keep your body warm and absorb knocks and bumps.  The skin is so tough because skin cells contain the protein keratin, more prevalent in fingernails and toenails and less prevalent in softer skin such as that under arms.  Microscopically, you can also see those dead, flattened cells that interlock and overlap tightly packing together, making skin an excellent germ barrier. Your skin produces natural oils and waxes from the tiny sebaceous glands that keep the skin flexible and supple.  These waxes also contain the body’s own germ-killing chemicals, acting as disinfectants against harmful microscopic organisms.  Another important function of the skin is the production of Vitamin D when exposed to sunshine, a very important nutrient for a healthy immune system. It is also your body’s radiator, producing perspiration over the skin surface when necessary to cool you when your body overheats.  Overall, the skin is a pretty important organ and well worth taking care of.

Skin Permeability:

The epidermis’ outermost layer is called the stratum corneum, and is important for allergy and sensitivity.  The SC is comprised of a network of cells on the surface that provides immediate protection from the outside world and helps restrict loss of water.  This outermost layer requires lipids (fats) to form a healthy cutaneous barrier.  Combined with the dying cells that compact and form a sort of “cement”, healthy skin does a good job of providing a sturdy barrier.  However, when there is disruption in the number and compactness of the intercellular lipids, the skin barrier can become more permeable. This disruption can explain how some toxins might seep through SC cells, enter the tiny blood vessels in the dermis and subcutaneous fatty tissue and possibly spark an antibody-mediated reaction.  This explains why some people do not suffer with allergic contact dermatitis when exposed to poisonous plants. Their skin barrier is intact and able to effectively protect the body from the toxin.  Atopic dermatitis can also be sparked by numerous allergens, inhaled, ingested and contacted substances.  Some foods (especially eggs) or inhalants (dust mites and cat dander) have been established as being the most common allergens.

Causes of Skin Barrier Damage:

 
Essential fatty Acid Deficiency: 

Usually most Americans have adequate supplies of cholesterol or ceramides for the skin, both from dietary sources and internal metabolism, but they may not get enough polyunsaturated fatty acids (essential fatty acids, EFAs) that are only available through diet. The skin barrier requires an abundance of omega-6 essential fatty acids.

There are two primary types of omega-6 EFAs, linoleic acid and arachidonic acid, both of which are only found in foods. Linoleic acid is found in the oils of safflower, sunflower, corn, soy, and sesame. An enzyme is responsible for converting linoleic acid into gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), a fatty acid that is needed to complete the skin surface lipid structure. GLA is found naturally in evening primrose oil, black currant oil, and borage oil.

Changes in Humidity:

Exposure to humidity changes seems to cause an increase turnover rate of skin cells, which exhausts the oils in the skin barrier and exacerbates inflammatory skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.

Dehydration:

Many of us know that we need to drink lots of water.  You may not know, however, how important it is for healthy skin. The surface skin is thicker than the interior tissues of the body. Circulation comes to the base of the skin, and the water has to seep upwards through all the strata of the skin to reach the outer layer. The exposed surface of the skin is also constantly losing water due to environmental factors such as sun, wind, and chemicals, to name a few. When the body itself is dehydrated, circulation to the base of the outer skin may be shut down as an emergency measure so that water is not lost through evaporation from the skin’s surface. Chronic dehydration shows in the face with wrinkles, lines and furrows. It’s best to drink filtered water. There are many quality filtration systems on the market.

Ultraviolet Radiation:

We know that both types of UV rays, UVA and UVB, can lead to skin cancer and eye problems if left unprotected from the harsh radiation. What most people don’t realize is that UV radiation also increases skin permeability and can be a significant factor in sensitization. Studies have shown that skin lipid synthesis significantly declines 72 hours after UVB exposure but recovered after 96 hours, suggesting that UVB-induced barrier damage may not be permanent.  Wait a minute, you may say, you just told me that the skin needed sunshine to produce vitamin D, important for the immune system.  How many of you have a tendency to overdo when you do get out in the sun?  This is where the most damage occurs.  It is a fact that rates of skin cancer are typically higher in areas of the body that are generally kept covered and only exposed during sun bathing.  Regular, consistent, small amounts of exposure to the sun (without burning) has a protective effect on the skin, increases vitamin D, can improve mood, help with depression and myriad other benefits.  Rule of thumb is that a very fair-skinned person with northern heritage should only get 10-15 minutes of sun exposure over the majority of the body during peak hours.  Someone with darker skin and a heritage that originated closer to the equator should be able to get longer exposure without doing more harm than good.  So, moderate sun exposure can actually help reduce the potential for cancer risk.  It is difficult to get all the necessary vitamin D from dietary sources. So make sure you get moderate sun and avoid over-exposure, especially during peak sunshine hours.

We’ll cover more about  skin and its care in future blogs.

IN THE SAMARA SPA

You’ll find about forty-five natural Samara Botane formulated skincare products, including our Healthy Skin Hydrosol, Facial Massage Oil, several Herbal Steams, unscented and wonderfully scented lotions in single notes and blends, our fabulous Rosewater Crème and Rose Luxurious Lip Balm (made with real rose otto and absolute).  Just click here.  Superior cleansing with our carefully crafted handmade soaps (bars and liquid) can be found here.

According to Goethe, the most evolved plants go through a transformation from the primitive germ to the exuberance of the flower in a natural movement toward spirituality where the flower, in its impermanence and openness, represents an instant of rapture and jubilation. No other floral fragrance compares to that of the precious rose, often inspiration for poetry, prose and tales of love and sorrow. The natural fragrance extracted from the rose has become the cornerstone for many signature perfumes since time began.

‘Rosa’ comes from the Greek ‘roden’, meaning ‘red’, as the ancient rose was thought to be crimson. Avicenna, the 10^th century physician and chemist used the rose as his first distillation. Perhaps the first rose distillery existed in 1612 in Shiraz, Persia. Roses have a long history of use in celebrations. Rose petals have been scattered at weddings to insure a happy marriage. Also traditionally used in meditation and formal inaugurations.

It takes about 60,000 roses (approximately 180 lb.) to make one ounce of rose otto, and similar quantities are required for other extraction methods. If you consider that it takes about a dozen and a half roses to produce 1 drop of essential oil, you will have a greater appreciation of the preciousness.

Samara Botane has carried many different extractions of rose over the years.  Here are a few to choose from along with a few tidbits of information about each.

Rugosa Rose, Ramanas Rose or Japanese Rose (Rosa rugosa) Native to Japan, China and Korea, the petals are used to flavor Chinese tea. The plant bears slightly purplish-pink flowers and is often cultivated for its enormous rose hips, which contain a high quantity of vitamin C. This rose is said to be "richly fragrant", having "one of the most delicious fragrances to be found among roses, and very strong".  Michael Shoup recommends, "plant it where you have access to its delicious fragrance or you will end up with a well worn path leading to it." We have two rugosa bushes on the property, one now towering at about 9 ft.  The other was planted later and is a little slow poke, only about 4 ft. in height and diameter. The essential oil of the flowers in our collection is obtained by hydro distillation. Using capillary GC-FID and GC-MS; 35 major constituents are identified, and include over 100 components including citronellal, geraniol, nerol, citronellyl acetate making up over 76% of the total. In Chinese medicine, both petals and roots are used. The fragrance of Rugosa Rose is more honeyed than Bulgarian otto with a peppery or spicy note in dry-down.

May Rose Absolute, Rose de Mai, Cabbage Rose or Provence Rose (Rosa centifolia var. Nabonnand or Rosa centifolia L. var. Lunier) Macoboy writes, "the artists do not exaggerate its beauty, but they could hardly convey the wonderful sweetness of its perfume. Indeed it has for over a century been grown in the south of France to supply the perfume industry there with attar of roses," This rich Old Rose fragrance is extracted early in the Springtime, hence the name “May” Rose. Highly sought after in perfumery, it is rare to obtain outside that industry. Considered a superior odor amongst roses, concrete production now is less than ¾ ton, representing a 22% yield from the flower. This fragrance is a full rose with cinnamon-spicy undertone, with a fresh, herbaceous sweet-honeyed note. Most rose absolute is produced in Morocco in the valleys between the High Atlas and Jbel Sarhro mountains east of Marrakech. Rose absolute is a refined, liquid extraction of fragrant compounds from the fresh blossom. Although absolutes contain essential oil compounds they differ from distilled essential oils. An absolute is a refinement of a concrete, which is a thick, fragrant material extracted from the plant using a hydrocarbon solvent. The concrete contains essential oils, fatty acids and waxes. Absolutes are extracted from concretes with pure alcohol. The alcohol dissolves and absorbs the fragrant material from the concrete. Waxes, fats and other non-aromatic contents precipitate out and are removed by filtering. The alcohol is removed through evaporation. What’s left behind is the pure, fragrant absolute – a concentration of aromatic compounds including essential oil constituents.

Bulgarian Rose Otto (Rosa damascena) Known as the finest rose essence or ‘otto’ in the world, Bulgarian damask rose oil has been distilled for over 300 years. The exact origins cannot be traced, however, there are fossil records that show roses have existed for millions of years. It is the oldest cultivated European plant in the United States, and has been called the Queen of Flowers all over the world. The uses of rose oil date back to the ancient civilizations of Persia, Asia, Greece, Rome and Egypt. It has been and still is a symbol of love and beauty. Rose otto is steam distilled and has a pale yellow color. Most rose otto is produced in southern Bulgaria from roses grown in the valleys of the Stryama and Tundzha rivers near Plovdiv. The best oil is distilled from newly opened flowers, picked in the cool morning hours before the sun has warmed away the aroma. In order to extract every trace of the precious oil, the distillation is done in two phases. An initial distillation yields a small quantity of concentrated green essential oil and a large amount of rose flower water. The flower water is then redistilled to produce an additional amount of pale yellow colored oil that is combined with the green oil from the first distillation. The primary base notes are deep, sweet and floral with spicy middle notes. It combines well with most other essential oils for perfumery or medicinal use. Its primary constituents are citronellol, gerianol and nerol. Although most Rose Otto is used in perfumery, the therapeutic uses include: Analgesic (pain reliever), Antibacterial, antidepressant, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antiviral, aphrodisiac, cosmetic, deodorant, disinfectant, diuretic, emmenagogue (tones female reproductive organs and menstruation), Germicidal, hepatic sedative tonic, vulnerary (heals fresh cuts or wounds). Internal applications in the medical field include asthma, high blood pressure, bronchitis, poor circulation, diarrhea, dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation), cough, fever, fluid retention, Indigestion, insomnia, palpitation, stress, urinary tract infections. For topical applications, Rose otto is specific for abrasions, boils, burns, fragile capillaries, postnatal depression, dermatitis, eczema headache, insomnia, poor memory, rashes, sores, oral thrush and tinea.

Rose Ruh Gulab (Rosa damascena ) Another precious oil from the flower of love & passion. This extremely rare and sacred rose oil is carefully hydro distilled to produce the finest Ruh Gulab for use in love, celebration or relationship spiritual work, meditative, healing & calming rituals, sacred products, or anointing. Ruh Gulab is the most expensive attar, priced higher than gold in weight. Rose essence or Gulab Ruh, is used in flavoring Gulab Jamun (a Bengali sweet) and rose sherbet. A mild, delicate fragrance of desi (Indian) roses can be sprinkled on guests from silver rose-water sprayers’ at weddings. In the traditional process various flowers, roots, herbs, spices, etc are hydro distilled in copper vessels into a receiving vessel, using an ancient process. This means that a certain proportion of flowers or other aromatic plants is put into a copper vessel containing water, sealed and the aromatic vapors produced from a wood or cow dung fire, rises through bamboo pipes and passes into another copper vessel, sitting below the larger distilling one. There the vapors condense and after the day’s distillation the water and oil separate. This process is similar to that of producing traditional attars with the exception that no sandalwood is added.

Rose Gallica (Rosa gallica) is commonly called Gallic Rose, French Rose, Rose of Provins and Apothecary’s Rose.  In the 19th century it was the most important species of rose to be cultivated and most modern European rose cultivars have at least a small contribution from R. gallica in their ancestry. Botanical classifiers say that R. damascenas are created from a hybridization of R. gallica and R. phoenicia occurring in Asia Minor then distributing throughout Syria and the Near and Middle East. R. gallica is a deciduous shrub much like R. rugosa with pinnate leaves and flowers clustered up to four together.   When assessing the quality of the otto produced in central and southern Europe, it is sometimes described as a crude distillation, with a few twigs and leaves included in the process. This somewhat brash, sultry cousin to the more refined damascenes from Bulgaria or Turkey should not be overlooked as a respectable perfume ingredient and it has all of the same chemical constituents as R. damascena which makes it an economical choice for aromatherapy and massage.  One might accuse the snooty finishing school damascenes of dismissing their colorful cousin from SE Europe as irrelevant, however, upon closer examination she has an exciting, street savvy personality and sings her bawdy song quite sexily with her raspy voice, especially when combined with other florals to sweeten along with perhaps some citrus and wood bottom notes.  The affordable cost of Gallic Rose also makes it a beneficial addition to creams, lotions, toners, facial masques and a wide range of skincare and bath applications.

In addition to the aromatic delights one revels in when using any of the various ottos and absolutes made from rose petals, it is a joy to grow roses in the garden for bouquets, dried petals, potpourri and other crafts.  In the kitchen, rose petals can be added to a robust black tea for flavor or made into rose petal jam.  I suspect that if women were polled across the world to name their favorite flower, it would undoubtedly be the rose.  What are some of your favorite stories about the magnificent rose?  Please share them with us.

Many of us are reeling when we envision the negative impact the FDA Globalization Act of 2008 could have on small beauty businesses, and the resultant curtailing of consumer choices when it comes to handmade natural products.   The restrictive annual and product registration fees that could be charged under this act could become so burdensome that many of these small businesses would have to close their doors.  Some of our small business customers could be facing a $12,000 product registration fee for each formula for a bar of  soap.

Donna Maria Coles Johnson, CEO of the Indie Business Network has worked diligently to support and provide a wide umbrella of education and services to support independent beauty products manufacturers, most of whom began in their own kitchens.  Many of these companies, after years of diligence and hard work have now emerged as successful, thriving alternatives to mass produced big box cosmetic products. Donna Maria is a big reason for this success.  She now has rallied her legal skills and the energies of the IBN membership to stop this potentially stifling legislation.

Watch the video, then go to her blog  and sign on as a signatory to the petition.  

Indie_Business_Blog 

Then, contact your own representatives in Congress to voice your objection to this pending legislation.  Your choices will be dependent upon the ultimate status of this bill.

We have sourced an exciting new cosmetic ingredient with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory effects.  This innovation is showing promise for topical dermatitis and psoriasis, and is useful in a range of aromatherapy applications.

Amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus) is one of the world’s oldest useful plants and eaten as a grain or cereal since biblical times.  Revered as a holy plant by the Aztecs,  it has long been a staple food crop in South America.  The name originates from the Greek, meaning "immortal" or "unfading".

Its newly discovered use for skin care comes from unsaturated fatty acids and a unique high content of squalene, tocopherols and tocotrienols.   Perhaps the single plant showing a high concentration of squalene, a triterpene, up to 6-12%, as compared to olive oil with perhaps under 1% and similar to the SSL (skin surface lipids) of human skin.  This is what supports the skin and its varied functions, as well as keeping it elastic and healthy.  Antioxidative properties create a network of effective scavengers to protect against damaging environmental influences.   The addition of linoleic acid as well as high amounts of  tocopherols and tocotrienols give the Amaranth Seed CO2 an outstanding place in the natural cosmetic tool box.   The lipid fraction of amaranth seeds consists primarily of triglycerides, and linoleic acid, oleic acid and palmitic acid represent the main components in the fatty acid spectrum.

This cosmetic additive is excellent for the treatment of chronic skin dryness, damaged or unhealthy skin.  In a randomized double-blind study of 30 people between the ages of 23 and 73, including 19 psoriasis dermatitis patients and 11 atopica dermatitis patients resulted in positive results for those with psoriasis and dramatic results for the patients with atopica dermatitis.

We should have our first shipment by May 20.  Contact me at samara@wingedseed.com or by phone at 800.782.4532 to receive details about the introductory pricing along with formulation ideas for aromatherapy products.