Choose an appropriate topic to see if we’ve answered what’s on your mind. If we haven’t, just contact us and ask it!

Allergens

Oats have been used over centuries as a cure for eczema and other skin diseases, and therefore are beneficial to the majority of people. However we are careful to check that our ingredients do not show any allerginicity.

Animal testing

None of our ingredients are tested on animals and are certified as such.

Benefits

Colloidal Oatmeal unique activity is due to the complex composition of beta glucan (moisturisers and immuno-stimulents), avenanthramides (anti-irritants), phenolics (UV absorbers) and saponins (cleansing agents).

The use of oats in skin care dates back to 2000 BCE in Egypt where they were used to treat eczema, burns and other inflammatory eruptions. We now know the oat beta glucan and protein combined with the oil and specialised antioxidants (avenanthramides) combine to make oat ingredients excellent for skin and hair applications due to the immuno-stimulent, anti-irritancy and moisturising properties. (See the History of Oats).

Delivery

For most orders we should be able to deliver within seven working days.

Ecocert

Our ingredients are registered Ecocert NATURAL.  Please see 'Downloads' for a copy of our registration.

Formulations

We have cosmetic formulators who work with us and provide sample formulations which are detailed on this site. We often add new formulations and new ingredients, so it's worth keeping in touch.  If you have a specific query on a formulation or our ingredients, please call Angus Robertson on +44 (0)23 8076 7228 or + (0) 7713 077646 or use our contact form to send an enquiry.

GMO

We take very seriously consumers’ concerns over the inclusion of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO), and although there are no known varieties of genetically modified oats, we test for the absense of GMOs and certify accordingly.

Green technology

Green technology starts with the correct choice of variety, which is why we work closely with breeders to ensure they breed varieties which are well suited to our requirements. We also look at how oats should be grown, which together with the environmental conditions will affect both the quantity and quality of the target active we are trying to extract.

Within our processing, extraction, & purification processes, we ensure we know the location of active components as this maximizes recovery and produces stable, sterile extracts.

We have developed reproducible analytical methods for the active components to ensure we can effectively standardise our ingredients. Using these standardised ingredients we can develop effective dose response and clinical efficacy when using our ingredients in cosmetic formulations.

By achieving this overall process we can achieve sustainable, well-designed, efficiently sourced, innovative procedures which are economically and resource viable. This is our vision of Green Technology.

Our oat extracts use 'green solvents' that are environmentally-friendly and fully biodegradable. Patended technology has allowed complete recovery of solvents for re-use without any atmospheric emissions. All our processes involve low temperature extraction to ensure the active compounds we extract from oats are not modified and degraded in the extraction and purification process. As a result, our ingredients contain less colour and odour than most other similar ingredients. Our ingredients are produced using HACCP approved processes and we aspire to GMP quality manufacturing.

NPD

It is part of our company ethos to work with our partners in the continual development of innovative ingredients delivering efficacy at a reasonable cost to the cosmetic industry.  If you wish to hear about our new ingredients as soon as they are available, please join our mailing list.

Oats

Oats (Avena sativa) are a cereal which for centuries has been used not only as an excellent food source, but also for their soothing and healing qualities. The crop is highly adaptable growing from areas such as the high altitude fields of the Himalayas to the green pastures of the UK. Oats grown in the UK are unique as they are winter sown (planted in November and harvested in August) whereas most of the world grows spring sown varieties (planted in February and harvested in September). Oats are a low input, more environmentally friendly crop than other cereals, requiring low fertiliser applications together with high disease resistance. This makes them more environmentally sustainable than other cultivated cereals.

All the oats we use to produce our materials are grown on farmland and are therefore renewable as well as sustaining the rural environment.

Organic

Our ingredients are certified Ecocert NATURAL. It would be possible to certify our ingredients as organic, however this produces additional challenges in finding the correct crops for our raw material with the level of actives we require. If we did this we could increase the carbon foot-print of producing our ingredients to such an extent that it would negate the benefits of organic production over ‘Natural’. Currently we feel that ‘Natural’ offers the best choice to the consumer.

Quantities

We will provide free of charge 35 ml samples of our ingredients. We can also supply 0.5 or 1 kg bottles and we will be happy to quote you a price for these.

REACH

REACH Regulations are contained in COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 987/2008 of 8 October 2008, amending Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH).

Under Annex V, our ingredients are obtained from natural sources and not chemically modified in accordance with article 3 definitions point 40 of (EC) 1907/2006 and is therefore exempt or they qualify for exemption under the minimum quantity rule.

Returns

Our policy is to supply only the highest quality ingredients and we cannot accept any returns unless of course the product does not match our specification.

Samples

Please call Angus Robertson on +44 (0)23 8076 7228 or +(0) 7713 077646 or use our contact form to send an enquiry. We will be pleased to send you ingredient samples or sample formulations.

We will provide free-of-charge 35 ml samples of our ingredients. Please call Angus Robertson on +44 (0)23 8076 7228 or use our samples request form.

Sizes

We can supply in 1, 5 and 20kg pails.

Stability

Typically we suggest using within two years from the date of manufacture, stored in the original unopened containers.  Once opened the ingredient should be handled aseptically to avoid contamination.

Storage

We suggest storing in a cool and dry place, avoiding light and heat. Our ingredients are designated as non-hazardous materials. Use complete containers if possible but keep containers closed and under nitrogen when not in use.

Traceability

As all our crops are grown by farmers we know, we can identify the field where they were grown, and track each individual parcel of oats through the process from farm to finished product.