native PLANT PRODUCTS

With the world becoming aware of sustainability and climate change, an Auckland skincare company has added a kawakawa range to reduce its carbon footprint.

Honest Skincare company chief executive Janna Jansen has also added a range of raw ingredients such as New Zealand beeswax and flax seed oil to the company line-up.

Māori especially value kawakawa leaves as a traditional health solvent to treat wounds, bruises, and skin complaints such as eczema and psoriasis, while the bitter root extract provided medicine for digestive and urinary complaints.

The leaves contain myristicin, which is mildly antiseptic and has pain numbing properties, and so was widely used in the past by Māori to allay toothache, Jansen says.

“We follow rongoā Māori practices when picking it, and only take a little from each plant so that it is not adversely a ected.”

Rongoā is a traditional Māori medicine. It is a system of healing that has been passed on orally, and comprises diverse practices with an emphasis on the spiritual dimension of health.

It includes herbal remedies, physical therapies such as massage and manipulation, and spiritual healing.