Kosmea’s rose hips are hand-picked by the local people and taken to a plant where they are laid out to dry in the sun. The processing of rose hips has provided a sustainable economy for an otherwise poverty-stricken nation and as well as providing jobs, has helped to build schools and medical centres and provide medical care for the local community. We are often asked why we do not grow our rose hips in Australia, and aside from the fact that the sweet briar rose is regarded as a weed in Australia, it is the fact that we are proud to support and help the people of Lesotho.
From the time the rose hips are hand-picked they are delicately handled in order to preserve their goodness. In order to extract the rose hip oil we use the ‘super-critical’ extraction process, which is the least harmful - heat-free and solvent-free - and guarantees that the highest possible level of vitamins and antioxidants are captured. The super-critical extraction process is costly and challenging but it does ensure that the oil is as good as the day it was picked.
Rose hip oil is commonly extracted from the seed part of the rose hip and the shell or skin of the rose hip is either discarded or used as animal feed or used in the preparation of rose hip teas and jams. The seed is rich in essential fatty acids, but like all good fruit, there is goodness in the outer casing or skin of the rose hip as well as in the seed.
At Kosmea we use both the fruit skin and seed of the rose hip, giving our rose hip oil a high content of the antioxidant, lycopene and making our oil rich in beneficial antioxidants and vitamins.
At Kosmea, we do not bleach, colour or deodorise our rose hip oil. Over processing the oil to make it more commercially attractive can cause it to become depleted of its unique system of vitamins and essential fatty acids – the very things that make rose hip oil such a unique product.
Like tomato juice which comes from tomato-red fruits, rose hip oil (which also comes from red fruits) should be as golden and red as possible. Rose hip oil should not be clear, it is not a clear fruit and a clear or light coloured oil typically suggests that the oil has been bleached or coloured.
Rose hip oil should have a natural, earthy smell. Rose hips don’t smell of roses so don’t expect that rose fragrance! At Kosmea we do not add any artificial fragrances to our Rose Hip Oil, it smells just as nature intended.
AUSTRALIA
