Ingredient

Toothed Wrack Seaweed; Bladderwrack Seaweed and Sugar Kelp Mucilage

Fucus serratus; Fucus vesiculosus; Laminaria saccharina

Look what the tide brought in.

What are the benefits of seaweed mucilage?

Extracting mucilage from seaweed is a centuries-old practice to create jellied desserts like the medieval ‘blancmange’ or soothing medicinal preparation. There are many methods to obtain it, the most traditional being to boil fresh or dried seaweed until the water becomes thicker and slightly viscous. This texture is due to a gelatinous, water-soluble substance called mucilage that is made of proteins and polysaccharides.

Whether from toothed wrack, bladderwrack or sugar kelp seaweeds, this mucilage has many benefits for the skin and hair. It is:

• Soothing
• Softening
• Shine-enhancing

Dried by the Irish wind

Lush UK* purchases dried bladderwrack, toothed wrack, and sugar kelp seaweed 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, including a place called Long Rock, ‘Carraig Fhada’ in Gaelic.

Most of the harvest occurs during the summer when seaweeds are at their best and when the climate is gentler. It takes place a little further out in the water than the shore, meaning workers rely heavily on good tides. Once cut, the seaweeds are taken to Carraig Fhada's facilities to be dried. It’s a straightforward but effective set-up: in a partially enclosed shelter, they are first spread out on a metal racking to allow for a natural and wind-powdered initial drying phase. Then, they’re taken inside and put in multiple drying rooms with fans and dehumidifiers.

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

Find more information on each algae on their respective pages: Toothed Wrack Seaweed, Bladderwrack Seaweed and Sugar Kelp.