Seawater is full of physiological functions:
There are many indisputable benefits of seawater, especially because of its incredible richness in trace elements and minerals. It contains all 92 minerals and trace elements identified in the periodic table*. Seawater extracts such as calcium is known to stimulate cellular metabolism while potassium promotes the hydration of the skin and magnesium slows down the aging process by helping to regulate and optimize cell energy.
Since the first living cells were born in the ocean, there is a unique affinity between our cells and seawater. The mineral composition of liquids in the human body (such as extracellular fluid, blood plasma, tears, cerebrospinal fluid) is similar to that of seawater. Seawater comes close to a physiological serum and therefore naturally enters into symbiosis with our skin.
Example of OLIGOMER:
This seawater concentrate contains the essential trace elements necessary for the balance and vitality of the skin. It delivers remineralizing properties to strengthen the skin and recharge it with energy.
Algae have an optimal affinity with the skin.
Whether micro or macro, brown, red or green, algae also have many cosmetic applications. Their benefits are all the more interesting because they are easily absorbed by the epidermis thanks the considerable similarities between algae and the skin, including their biochemical structure. This similarity ensures optimal diffusion of the active ingredients derived from algae, at the heart of the skin, and also excellent tolerance. Algae do not show any particular skin toxicity and are perfectly compatible with skin tissue.
Many molecules extracted from algae are better assimilated by the skin than their mineral or synthetic equivalent most likely because algae are the origin of life on earth. There are two distinctive examples: marine calcium and marine taurine.
Example of marine calcium:
Coralline algae are red algae that are characterized by their calcified structure. Like all algae, they assimilate carbon by a process common to all plants: photosynthesis. They have an additional carbon fixation mechanism, which is called the calcification process. According to some scientists, coralline algae could represent the largest carbon stock on the planet.
The high calcium content of coralline algae makes them particularly attractive candidates for marine cosmetics. But beyond this high level of calcium, scientists have shown that the calcium coming from marine algae was much better assimilated by skin cells than calcium from mineral water. It has a very interesting bioavailability for our cells.
Example of marine taurine:
Taurine is an amino acid well known for its energizing properties. While the taurine currently used in food and cosmetics mostly comes from synthetic sources, it is a compound found in many foods with animal origins (eggs, cow's milk, breast milk). In the plant world, only some red algae synthesize taurine, including Jania rubens. Once again, the plant and marine origin of this element gives it remarkable bioassimilation. Used in doses one thousand times smaller than synthetic taurine, marine taurine is still more powerful in activating the energy mechanisms of our skin cells.
Finally, algae are superfoods of exceptional nutritional value. They are one of the richest sources of minerals and nutrients in the plant kingdom. With algae, we offer our skin a high quality and nutritious cocktail, including polysaccharides, vitamins A and E, trace elements, etc.
Micro-algae have remarkable similarities with our skin cells:
These unicellular algae, the source of life on earth, have a lot in common with our skin cells. Some of their defense and protection mechanisms have remained the same despite the evolution of life on earth. Today, our skin cells have mechanisms identical to those of micro-algae that appeared on Earth billions of years ago.
Example of Phormidium persicinum blue micro-algae
These primitive micro-algae have survived through the ages, and in the most extreme environments, thanks to an incredible antioxidant system called thioredoxin. Thioredoxin is found today in our skin cells (fibroblasts and keratinocytes) and even more surprising, after nearly 3 billion years of evolution, the structure of human thioredoxin remains completely identical to that of the thioredoxin in blue micro-algae. Such similarities explain the remarkable bioaffinity marine active ingredients have with our skin.
Marine micro-organisms, at the heart of our skin:
Water and micro-algae are the origin of our skin cells. According to the Endosymbiotic Theory, mitochondria, structures in our cells that are responsible for energy production, are nothing more than micro-organisms that have merged with our cells during evolution. Would our skin cells be able to intuitively recognize marine micro-organisms? They are in any case quite capable of recognizing some of the unique molecules (EPS**) produced by these micro-organisms.
In conclusion, marine active ingredients have multiple benefits and are well recognized and absorbed by the skin. Our cells recognize some molecules from algae more easily than others from terrestrial plants. This powerful bioaffinity can be explained by our evolution: Since the beginning, our cells have evolved in a marine environment.
Marine cosmetics guarantee excellent assimilation by the skin and, therefore, increased efficiency.
* The Periodic Table of Elements lists and characterizes all known chemical elements. Created in 1869 by Russian chemist Dimitri Mendeleev, it is today a universal reference system that continues to evolve.
** EPS (ExoPolySaccharides) are polymeric carbohydrate molecules secreted by certain micro-organisms in their environment to ensure their nutrition and protection and to communicate with each other. Each micro-organism produces its own unique EPS.
