Ingredient

Toothed Wrack Seaweed

Fucus serratus

Let’s sea…

What is toothed wrack seaweed?

Funny name, isn’t it? When you see the algae, you kind of understand. This olive-brown seaweed looks a lot like the bladderwrack seaweed but is much flatter and has very finely serrated (toothed!) fronds. It grows on the northern coasts of the Atlantic Ocean and is thus found in abundance in Great Britain.

Where do we purchase toothed wrack seaweed?

At Lush UK*, we source fresh, local seaweed wherever possible. Pete Miles harvests it for us from the Poole coast once a week, if the weather is kind enough. He only cuts off the tops of the fronds to ensure the plant can continue to grow after harvest and washes the seaweed thoroughly so the sea creatures stay at home and aren’t accidentally taken to our manufacturing site.

If the weather is not suitable for Pete to head out and harvest fresh seaweed, or if there is not enough toothed wrack in season, we can rehydrate dried toothed wrack from Carraig Fhada, a small business on the Atlantic coast of Ireland. They harvest seaweed by hand on the five hectares of submerged land they own and dry them at their facilities.

*With seven manufacturing sites across the globe, this information may vary depending on where your Lush products were made.

What are the benefits of this seaweed in cosmetics?

Depending on the desired effects and consistency, toothed wrack seaweed can be finely chopped or mixed with water and filtered, before being added to our product formulae. Full of nutrients, they revive and protect the skin and hair, add shine and help retain moisture.