✓ Enzyme activation of oils – a biocatalytic process capable of breaking down triglycerides in oils to their constituent parts (fatty acids and glycerides), releasing all the energy stored in vegetable oil. In nature, oils are one of the most effective forms of energy and carbon storage and possibly the first cosmetic ingredient ever used. As with plant germination, human cells are unable to directly absorb and metabolize triglycerides. When a cell in our body has a specific metabolic need related to triglycerides transported by plasma lipoproteins, these triglycerides must undergo an activation process catalyzed by specific enzymes. This process allows free fatty acids and glycerides to cross the cell membrane through active and passive transport mechanisms and be used in various metabolic pathways.

✓ Extraction – Plant extracts are liquid preparations obtained from fresh or dried medicinal plants by appropriate physical extraction processes; these include the use of appropriate solvents and the use of maceration or permeation or other appropriate procedures. To ensure proper recovery of the substances, the plants must be ground to an appropriate degree of fragmentation, while the choice of solvent depends on the type of active ingredients to be extracted.

✓ Cold pressing – Mechanical extraction process, also known as expression or mechanical separation. Cold pressing helps maintain the integrity and potency of these oils, which offers greater health benefits. As the term implies, “cold pressing” does not involve the external application of heat. This is important because in some plants, high temperatures cause the breakdown of delicate molecules in oils, which can reduce health benefits.

✓ Distillation – An ancient method of extracting active ingredients from plants, and today – highly sophisticated. Most essential oils are produced by steam distillation, but a number of process variations can be used to produce other assets. It retains the characteristics of the extracted substance, so that its biological functions can be transferred to the cosmetic product in which it is used.