“Why Rosehip Oil is my staple for everything” – an interview with Kosmea founder, Marie Kapetanakis
Kosmea is celebrating 30 years in business this year. When its founder, Marie Kapetanakis, discovered the healing benefits of Rosehip Oil in 1993, she set out to research the best way to produce and bottle one of nature’s powerful botanicals and make it available to people for a range of skin conditions.
Kosmea was the first to bring bottled Rosehip Oil to the Australian market, and since then, this heritage Australian company continues to produce the world’s best quality Rosehip Oil.
As part of this historic 30-year milestone, we interviewed Marie about why Rosehip Oil is one of her everyday staples.
How did you find out about the benefits of Rosehip Oil?
“Back in 1993, I read an article describing how South American hospitals were using it for sun damaged skin and burns. I was curious and I found a supplier who sent me a sample of the oil.
I applied the oil to my skin daily for a few days, morning and night. I had just moved to Adelaide and found that the different climate conditions was making my skin dry. Rosehip Oil brought my skin back into balance instantly. I was amazed at the results so I began investigating and researching the benefits of Rosehip Oil further and Kosmea began soon after.”
How do you use Rosehip Oil every day?
“I use it morning and night on my skin and face, and on my body in places where the skin is dry or if any sunspots or lesions are showing up. I dab it on mosquito bites and other insect bites because it works as an anti-inflammatory. I use it the bath as an oil by mixing it with some body wash and adding it to my bath water. The skin can feel a little dehydrated after a bath, but with Rosehip Oil, my skin feels moist and supple.
I love gardening which makes my hands quite dry, so I use Rosehip Oil daily on my hands, especially on the backs. I add 3 drops of oil to each hand every day to moisturise and protect the skin from environmental damage and dryness.
Rosehip Oil can be even used as a salad dressing.
You can find some our Rosehip Oil salad dressing recipes here. Or you can also place 3 drops under your tongue and allow it to absorb into your body. It works like a fish oil which has a high content of Omega 3 and 6, hydrating the body and acting as an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant. I call it my vegan form of fish oil.
I usually take Rosehip Oil with food and not on an empty stomach because it is more easily absorbed. If you use Rosehip Oil in your food, it’s important not to heat it as this breaks down important nutrients like Vitamin A.
Safe for children and pets
I use it on my grandchildren’s skin for scratches, insect bites, or any skin rash they may have. It’s also highly effective and very gentle for babies to soothe cradle cap and nappy rash.
My pets like it too! After an operation, I dabbed Rosehip Oil into my dog’s wound to assist with the healing process. One of my clients uses it on her horse’s wounds because it helps to grow both the skin and hair back.”
Are all Rosehip Oils the same?
“No, they aren’t. There are so many on the market now it is confusing for people to choose. Our Rosehip Oil is the best available in terms of quality because we use a supercritical extraction process to preserve the healing properties of Vitamin A and the essential fatty acids. Therefore, our Rosehip Oil has 10X more Vitamin A than any other on the market and this is the main nutrient that helps with collagen production.
You can tell a quality Rosehip Oil by the colour which should be a darker amber, and the smell which should be obvious. If there is no smell, it has been overly treated which probably means there are less of the important healing nutrients that the oil is known for.”
You can find out more about Kosmea’s extraction process below.
Read more: The art of extracting Rosehip Oil to produce the best quality Rosehip Oil in the world
