Algae (seaweed) is one of the star ingredients in the Soberbia Luxury cream, which is made in our laboratory with a combination of sea lettuce (green algae), fucus and laminaria (brownalgae), and gelidia (red algae). All of these are picked from the Mediterranean, where there are countless species but only a few suitable for skin care.

Certain seaweed species are very effective in skin care for two basic reasons. First, their high iodine content reduces fluid build-up in localised areas – in other words, they have a lipolytic effect on specific areas such as on double chins. Second, for their quantity of trace elements (Mn, Sn, Cl, Se, Ni, U, Mo, Ag, Br, Cu, F, Co) that help the skin regenerate and heal.

But a simple Mediterranean seaweed mixture, even one specially selected for skin care, is NOT a star ingredient in a cosmetic formula, as algae have been used in this type of product for years.

Instead, I was inspired by a conversation I had with a chef friend who makes delicious croquettes, where he explained to me that the secret was to reduce the liquid inside many times, simmering it until a concentrated stew with an intense flavour was obtained.

So in our laboratory, instead of making croquettes, we boiled and reduced the seaweed cocktail by five times to obtain an algae concentrate. The result was five times more effective and useful thanks to the reduction process.

This is how I went from having an effective seaweed cocktail to a super-effective seaweed cocktail that is a truly “Michelin star” ingredient!

Regards