At BulkActives we have decided to discontinue selling Ellagic acid, because it does not dissolve well, and we do not want people to take crazy risks with sodium hydroxide.

Why sodium hydroxide?

Ellagic acid is NOT easy to dissolve.

It is ONLY soluble in s strong alkaline solvent such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH) also know as Lye.

Sodium hydroxide is very dangerous to work with, it is highly caustic and will degrade organic tissue.

Theoretically one could make an alkaline solution of sodium hydroxide, dissolve the Ellagic acid, mix it into a cream, and then bring the pH down to a neutral level, but…

Why even bother with Ellagic?

Already many customers are making their DIY products fresh every week, because they do not want to use preservatives. Other customers do not use certain ingredients because they only dissolve in propylene glycol. So why even consider putting a solution of sodium hydroxide on your face.

As for Ellagic acid, is it really such an important cosmeceutical??

Sure, it is very popular in Japan, where it is used as an alternative to hydroquinone (which is banned in Japan). There are also a couple of great animal studies that suggest it a highly effective for preventing and repairing sun damage.

However, there are other products that are just as effective AND they are much easier to work with.

What are the alternatives?

Well, for sun protection the most researched product is l-ascorbic acid and its derivatives, especially when combined with Vitamin E and Ferulic acid.

For lightning and brightening the combination of Niacinamide and Glucosamine is claimed to be highly effective. There is even a recent study that suggests that Niacinamide is nearly as effective as hydroquinone in the treatment of melsama.

There are many other when topically applied actives that, like Ellagic acid, may:

lighten and brighten skin (treat melsama/hyper pigmentation)

repair and treat sun damage

prevent or reduce UVA and UVB sun damage

increase skin elasticity

act as an anti oxidant

In conclusion!

I  know that we often believe that the one product we can’t use is the most effective. However, this is far from true with Ellagic acid. Ellagic acid is not a miracle product, and you will be better of using the above mentioned alternatives for DIY skin care.

Note to our wholesale customers:

we are still selling Ellagic acid  in amounts of 5kg +, just email us as per usual.

BulkActive’s Lemon Peel Bioferment

Our lemon peel bioferment uses fermentation as a method to extract valuable chemicals from the peel, releasing them to be used by our skin. Lemon peel bioferment is an antioxidant, inhibitor of melanin synthesis, and bactericide.

Tyrosinase inhibition is similar to that obtained with hydroquinone. Lemon peel extract has anti-tyrosinase activity as high as hydroquinone

About Lemon peel Bioferment

Lemon Peel Bioferment is a natural product of plant origin.

Lemon Peel Bioferment will inhibit melanogenesis by tyrosinase.

Lemon Peel Bioferment is used in skin lightening products and anti-age skin care products to improve and lighten age spots and irregular skin pigmentation.

Lemon Peel Bioferment is the result of macerating whole lemon fruit and incubating it with Lactobacillus lacti (the same bacteria used to produce many fermented food products like cheese and sour cream).

This ferment is then further processed to remove the potential allergens, citral and geraniol. The resulting ferment is said to have both anti-tyrosinase and antioxidant activity.

Buy Lemon Peel Bioferment

Due to popular demand, BulkActives is now offering Sea Kelp BioFerment (also known as sea kelp ferment or seakelp bioferment) in different sizes for less than you’ll find it anywhere else.

What is Sea Kelp Bioferment?

Sea Kelp Bioferment is a natural kelp extract that has been derived by fermentation of Sea Kelp using Lactobacillus, the same bacteria that produces yogurt, sour cream and sour dough breads, among many other foods. Sea Kelp Bioferment is a natural kelp extract that is obtained using traditional fermentation technology.

The fermentation process increases the bioavailability of many chemical compounds by freeing them from the food matrix to which they are typically bound. In addition, the principle of fermentation allows for the isolation and concentration of naturally occurring phytochemicals

Fermentation breaks down the cellular tissue of the kelp leaf, thereby increasing the bioavailability of the naturally occurring chemical compounds abundant in kelp. Fermentation and subsequent reduction of the kelp liquor results in the concentration of these vital nutrients. Naturally occurring algin, the mucilaginous intercellular material found in kelp thickens this product to a gel consistency.

How do I use Sea Kelp bioferment?

Sea Kelp Bioferment, a natural film former, acts as an excellent oil-free moisturizer. It can be used full strength on the face and body and used as a gentle styling gel in the hair, adding bounce and shine. It can be used as a base for the addition of many of the cosmetic actives we carry or added to formulations of creams, lotions, toners, shampoos and other personal care products.

Sea Kelp Bioferment can be used as a great nutritive active. Used alone, it’s perfect for people with oily skin as it moisturizes without supplying extra oil. It’s firming, healing, soothing for any skin type. It is also incredibly effective for normal and dry skin, as it is a powerful nutritive moisturizer. It can be added to almost any product – from creams to serums to washes and lotions, it is the perfect active for almost any purpose. Sea Kelp ferment can also be used 100% pure as a serum base, hair conditioner, or shaving gel.

Directions For Use:

Sea Kelp Bioferment can be added to the water phase of cosmetic formulations and heated to 80°C (167°F) without problems. It is heat stable. Sea Kelp ferment can also be used 100% pure as a serum base, conditioner, or shaving gel.

BulkActives’ Sea Kelp bioferment

Our Sea Kelp Bioferment is made by a local, licensed  manufacturer of cosmeceuticals, using bull kelp sourced from the North American coast.

SeaKelp Ferment is available here: http://www.bulkactives.com/seakelpferment.htm

I sometimes get emails asking me about the purity of our products.  This is usually because of names like ‘Green Tea extract (standardized for 90% EGCG)’ or ‘Resveratrol 98%.’

There appears to be some confusion with these percentages and it appears that some people believe that our products use ‘fillers’ and are therefore no good.

Let me explain this

If someone emails me and asks “Are your products pure?” then the answer is “YES.”

They are pure, because we do not add any fillers.  So, that means when you buy our Grapeseed extract, it is 100% Grapeseed extract, NOT 60% Grapeseed extract and 40% red colored flour.

What about those percentages?

The percentages indicate the amount of the active ingredient in the powder.  For example, the active ingredient we want in Grapeseed extract are the Proanthocyanidins.

So, when you see the name Grapeseed extract 95% Proanthocyanidins, then you know that the active is 100% pure Grapeseed extract and that it has been standardized for 95% Proanthocyanidins.

The term used to show you this is the assay (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assay), we list the assay for all our products on each product’s page.

Why do we sell products that are standardized for 70% or 95%, why not 100%

Well, the more a plant extract is standardized, the more expensive the manufacturing process.  This REALLY makes a big difference.  For example, White Willow Bark extract is standardized for 25.23% Salicin, it costs hundreds of dollars per KG. It is also possible to buy the same product standardized for 95% Salicin, but that will cost THOUSAND of dollars per KG.

So, sometimes it is prohibitively expensive to buy plant extracts that are standardized at a high percentage.

We therefore buy products that are standardized at as high a percentage as possible, while at the same time keeping the price reasonable.

I really do not think you would be willing to spend US$80 for a gram of White Willow Bark 95%, especially when it is easier, a lot cheaper, and just as effective to use Salicylic acid (BHA).