Author: Josh White

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is impacting all our lives, mentally and physically.

Here at ProTec Botanica, we understand the importance and necessity of mental and physical wellbeing for all our clients and their customers during these unprecedented times. The mental health charity Mind has identified common feelings and emotions associated with the Coronavirus Pandemic. Many include feeling depressed, low, hopeless, tired, worried, stressed and scared.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, depression and low moods affect hundreds of millions of individuals globally, and understandably this figure has dramatically increased during the Coronavirus Pandemic. Their recent study suggests that Aromatherapy could be a positive and cost-effective reinforcement against these symptoms, improving various other factors, such as emotions, sleeping pattern, memory and appetite.

There are close to 100 commonly used essential oils, all with different claims to enhance energy, motivation, focus and reduce stress levels. Below are our top recommended essential oils to improve your mental and physical wellbeing.

• Rose Oil

Rose Oil has various properties that help decrease anxiety, stress, tension and depressive symptoms. This is done by reducing blood pressure, heart rate and breathing rate. Rose Oil also has antibacterial and anti-fungal properties, actively fighting against microbes that cause infections.

• Lemongrass Oil 

Lemongrass Oil is a highly beneficial essential oil with many benefits to the body. Known to reduce stress and anxiety, Lemongrass Oil can also relieve headaches and migraines through its pain-relieving properties. Alongside this, Lemongrass also has antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties. When applied to the skin, the antioxidant properties found within the Lemongrass Oil (the leaves are rich in phenols, flavonoids and tannins) can remove impurities while detoxifying the skin and leaving it feeling clean, clear and scented.

• Geranium Oil  

Geranium Oil has anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties making it a relaxing and calming ingredient commonly used in Aromatherapy. It can help lift depression and treat anxiety whilst also enhancing the mood and balancing the mind.

• Chamomile Oil  

Chamomile Oil has many favourable properties that help improve the overall wellbeing of the body. Chamomile Oil is effective in relieving anxiety and is known to help promote sleep. With anti-inflammatory and healing properties, Chamomile Oil has been used to help indigestion, nausea and skin conditions such as eczema.

• Lavender Oil 

Lavender Oil is one of the most popular essential oils used in Aromatherapy due to its versatile properties. Commonly used to reduce anxiety and improve the mood, Lavender Oil can also help treat insomnia, depression and skin conditions such as eczema. 

To view our full range of essential oils, please visit our essential oil’s page.

Our Neroli Oil is one of the numerous products obtained from the Bitter Orange tree Citrus aurantium var. amara, a highly sustainable and endurable plant with products being processed using the plant’s blossoms, leaves, twigs, and fruits. The Bitter Orange tree takes 3 – 4 years to start yielding blossoms and 7 years to reach full maturity.

Our Egyptian producer has been at the forefront in developing its country’s Neroli Oil, supporting farmers to plant the Bitter Orange tree and helping increase its production of Neroli Oil from a mere 100kg in the year 2000 to 2,000kg in 2020. The farming community require patience, having to understand that any revenue return will not be for 3 – 4 years after planting, and the cost of oil production is significant with the limited harvest period available.

On average, 1 acre of land will produce 5,700kg of blossom and it will take 1,000kg of blossom to yield 1kg of Neroli Oil. Fortunately, Neroli Oil is very versatile in its uses, its fresh, floral, green notes demanded by fine fragrances and high-end perfumery and the ease at which it blends and works perfectly alongside other essential oils makes it a perfect formulation component.

Properties, benefits & uses of Neroli Oil:

There are various properties, benefits and uses of our Neroli Oil that would be highly beneficial in numerous products. Neroli Oil is most commonly used in body lotions, perfumes and cosmetics due to its various healing properties and a luxurious and lavish scent. When applied on the skin, Neroli Oil intensely moisturises the skin and boosts the epidermis’ natural processes.

Thanks to its calming effects, Neroli Oil can help achieve a better night’s sleep and be used for a simple mood boost.

Working with local communities and supporting our farmers is always one of our top priorities when it comes to sourcing butters and oils from around the world. 

As you may know, we have previously worked with the Baobab foundation to sponsor Baobab trees, something we are proud to have done and are proud to continue doing. 

No matter where you’re from, education is the most important tool any child could have, that is why we are gifting the Baobab foundation with $1,000 USD to help them get started on building a new pre-school in the village of Dambale. 

The school will be modelled on the two that have previously been built in different villages in the region. Once built the pre-school will consist of three classrooms, an open-air kitchen, storeroom, toilets and a perimeter fence.

Our $1,000 USD donation is the first they have received for the pre-school so it allows them to buy the building materials they need and to actually break ground on the project. 

None of this would have been possible without you, purchasing our Baobab oil which we’re proud to re-invest in the local community. 

If you would like to find out more about the project or to donate towards building their new school, do get in touch with us. 

You can find out more about the Baobab Foundation here. 

Dhatelo is a deciduous shrub native to the Himalaya Mountains in Nepal. The plant can grow up to 3 metres high at an altitude of 2000 to 3500 metres in central to western Nepal.

ProTec Botanica source our organic Dhatelo oil from the remote and unspoilt north-west Himalaya region of Nepal. Dhatelo is widely found throughout open areas in the wild and is often planted as a fence around cultivated land. It is estimated that 25 – 30% of oil can be extracted from fully ripe dried Dhatelo seeds, and with the resource being fully available in Dhatelo in Nepal and within the expected oil yields, approximately 30 tons of Dhatelo oil can be produced per year.

We’re proud to be able to support the local community whilst bringing this product to market and work closely with the co-operative management who ensure landowners and farmers are fully supported at every step of the process.

Properties, benefits & uses of Dhatelo Oil:

Increasing interest for use in cosmetic formulations such as moisturising creams, massage oils, face scrubs, lip balms, and hair care products with the following benefits:

Skin Care:

• Moisturising
• Nourishing
• Calming
• Photoprotection
• Anti-wrinkle

Hair Care:

• Repair
• Shine
• Scalp soothing

If you have any questions about this product or any other products in our range or would like to request a sample, please do get in touch. 

Often referred to as the ‘King of Oils’ or ‘Liquid Gold’, Frankincense often brings memories of Christmas and Autumnal celebrations as well as many biblical callbacks.

Aside from this, Frankincense has many uses, such as within Aromatherapy, helping to ease Anxiety, Colds, Coughs & Indigestion.

When it comes to personal care applications, it has anti-inflammatory properties which calm the complexion. On irritated or sun-damaged skin, Frankincense can help restore the epidermis, soothing and nourishing the skin. On top of this, Frankincense also has anti-ageing properties.

Used in fine fragrance, the oil is an important ingredient and offers character associated with Oriental bases and “masculine” fragrances, it also offers profile support for florals, citrus and spice when blended with respective oils.

We are able to offer traditional Boswellia carterii, UK distilled from Somaliland resin as-well-as Boswellia neglecta which is Kenyan sourced and distilled at origin.

Both operations follow a co-operative business model, individual farmers and collection groups across both origins totalling 2100 registered collectors that are trained in sustainable harvesting techniques in semi-desert, community conservation areas.

Our latest article for Personal Care Magazine has been printed in the latest Europe edition as well as the most recent North America Issue. You can read the article below.

The demand for natural and organic ingredients from the consumer strengthens not only the support of a healthy lifestyle but brings with it an awareness of sustainability. New product development based on natural or organic themes are a core growth focus for both brand owners and manufacturers and in the UK alone, the natural and certified organic product sector increased by 23% in 2019 with a value of £106.4m. The Soil Association Organic Beauty and Wellbeing Market 2020 Report further details that 2019 results showed a ninth year of consecutive double-digit growth and, since 2010, was the third largest growth in percentage terms.

The-Evolution-of-Cosmetic-Butters

Medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) is a fat often found in foods such as coconut oil. MCT’s are widely popular in the health and wellbeing sector, especially when it comes to weight loss applications. 

We want to introduce you to the possible uses of Organic MCT’s in personal care applications.

According to the Soil Association, “83% of people felt it was better for their health if a beauty or wellbeing product was organic”. That’s where we come in, our Organic MCT Oil is suitable for a wide range of personal care applications.

We know that MCT oils have several sought after properties such as very low viscosity, good resistance to oxidation and good solubility in alcohol. 

When it comes to personal care applications it acts as a viscosity regulator and can easily penetrate the skin, whilst also caring for the skin. 

Taking the above properties into account, MCT Oil can help in your emulsion formulations to ease spreadability and to reduce greasiness on the skin. In sun protection products the MCT Oil can help to carry the active ingredients and again ease with spreadability on the skin. 

Lastly, MCT oil can be used in a range of colour cosmetics, including lipsticks and lipgloss as it helps to disperse pigments. 

Be sure to get in touch to learn more or request a sample.

Mint’s versatility offers fragrance and flavour in many applications, its characteristics making it a core ingredient for perfumers and flavour teams globally.  Personal care, oral care, pharmaceutical, food, beverage and household industries all use mint oils for the natural characteristics they offer, the feeling of freshness and cooling or the aromatic notes of herby and earthy.

Working with a long-established farmer group located in the main mint growing area of Bareilly, 440 farmers from the villages of Khajuria and Bhujia have the ability to yield 35,000kg of Peppermint piperita Oil; 10,000kg Mint arvensis Oil and 4,000kg Spearmint Oil.  This short supply chain from grower to end user is key in ensuring control of origin, harvest and production and we can offer both certified organic and 100% pure & natural conventional.  The provenance and traceability assures ProTec Botanica’s position as a trusted source.