They are more and more often in our cosmetics. The "organic" trend is a major factor in the highlighting of their interest for this application. Hurray for the vegetable active ingredients and their peculiar properties!
For a long time, the cosmetic industry focused on manufacturing new synthetic ingredients. The hidden idea was that science could invent brand-new and efficient molecules, which would have so new effects on skin that they would be widely accepted … and would win impressive market shares! The on-going "cosmetics revolution" is nowadays based on somewhat different premises. Helped by the current flow of "more and more organic cosmetics", the Research and Development laboratories address their efforts to using natural resources and on the intrinsic properties of plants. Less transformation, less chemistry, more natural non-processed ingredients … for no lower efficiency!
There are plenty of plants
Sometimes leaning down is enough to pick them. Further, some very simple physical processes (desiccation, grinding, distillation, soaking, fermentation …) are needed to allow for their using in cosmetics. It is a platitude, but it is true: nature is bountiful!
A plant and many resources
Imagine a plant in your garden. Detail it. It comes with a stem, leaves, flowers, fruit, seeds, bark, roots … So many resources that are useful in cosmetics. Let us take an orange tree as an example: flowers and leaves may be distilled, juice is taken from its fruit, its …