Sustainable algae actives forge significant part in natural cosmetics

“Our algae is derived from aquaculture farms in the Baltic sea – one of the world's most closely monitored seas,”​ said Inez Linke, managing director of Ocean Basis, a Germany-based business that is one of the world’s leading suppliers of marine-derived algae for the personal care industry.

“Because our marine scientists have great expertise in coastal management and administrate Germany's one and only bio-certified offshore farm, we pay attention to the sustainable origin of our sources.” ​

Simple extraction process retains natural elements​

In fact the extraction process for the algae is very simple and is harvested using machines that have been designed and built by the company for an optimal result, which Linke says contributes to retaining all the natural elements of the product.

Marine algae forests play an extremely important part in maintaining a healthy marine environment, acting in much the same way as the rain forests do on land in helping to provide a healthy and balanced eco system.

This is, Linke believes that the sustainable farming of algae is crucial, and also reflects the reason why it is the source of so many minerals and salts that are deemed to be crucial for a healthy skin.

Natural composition of sea salts​

“The main benefit of algae extracts and other marine sources is the natural composition of sea salts,”​ said Linke.

“Marine algae is an ideal medium for balancing deficiencies in the skin by making it bioavailable to the body. Special algae sugars help retain moisture in the skin, and complex antioxidants prevent damage from free radicals.” ​

Linke added that the fact that her company’s algae extracts tap into the growing demand for both sustainable and natural-based products, it is now looking to expand the business.

“We plan to expand our actives rage to have a natural and a fermented extract of all three algae families: brown, red and green algae. We also spent many years to isolate collagen from jellyfish, because of its special properties that are not comparable to that of other sources. This collagen we use in our new pro-age line, but we also do research to use it in our biotech section.”​

Inez Linke will be giving a presentation about how Ocean Basis has managed to grow its business on the back of sustainably sourced marine algae extraction at the forthcoming Sustainable Cosmetics Summit​, to be held in Paris, November 21 – 23.