BASF's Personal Care division has launched a new line of floral active ingredients for skincare applications.
The pair of ingredients, Floragenist Rose and Floragenist Blossom, are designed to "enhance skin radiance" and "strengthen the skin’s ability to adapt to daily stress."
The actives are derived from Damask Rose (Rosa damascena) and Bitter Orange blossom (Citrus aurantium var. amara) sourced from Morocco.
BASF said that it had ensured the traceability and responsible sourcing practices for the two ingredients. The duo is derived from certified organically cultivated and hand-harvested ingredients in Morocco and fully traceable to the source.
The company cited "growing consumer demand for natural beauty with scientifically proven performance" as the reasoning behind the launch, reflecting a wider shift across the beauty sector towards more targeted, scientifically substantiated botanical solutions.
This trend is becoming increasingly visible in nutricosmetics, where ingredient developers are moving beyond the traditional association between botanicals and beauty to investigate specific biological mechanisms and measurable outcomes for skin health.
For nutraceutical formulators, this raises the bar for botanical beauty ingredients: natural origin remains an important consumer proposition, but increasingly needs to be paired with evidence around composition, mechanism and efficacy.
The company also championed its AquaGenesis extraction technology, which uses coconut water as a natural solvent to gently extract bioactive compounds without aggressive solvents.
BASF said the approach preserves phytochemicals while increasing the concentration of key active molecules, including flavonoids, compared with conventional extraction methods.
Researchers then paired the extraction technology with epigenetic science, which BASF said enabled the development of flower extracts designed to provide targeted support for the epidermis.
A dynamic duo
Floragenist Rose is focused on enhancing skin radiance by promoting the appearance of a more refined skin surface.
BASF said Floragenist Rose supports the skin's expression of “surface optics” proteins involved in skin structure and light-reflecting properties, which contribute to skin cohesion and visible luminosity.
The firm added that Floragenist Rose could also help address the effects of oxidative stress, contributing to a more even-looking complexion.
BASF also said that clinical studies using VISIA imaging showed an improved appearance of skin luminosity (2.7-fold) and decreased redness (22%) at a concentration of 0.4% of the new ingredient compared to the placebo group.
Floragenist Blossom is designed to reinforce the skin’s adaptive capacity in response to environmental and lifestyle-related stress.
The company said the ingredient can support skin resilience by helping the skin "naturally express key skin integrity proteins."
This, the company said, contributes to maintaining the skin’s natural barrier function, improving the appearance of "epidermal cohesion" and helping the skin to better cope with external stressors.
The firm cited an in vivo study that showed harsh cleansing of skin pre-treated with 0.1% Floragenist Blossom for 28 days resulted in 52% lower variation in transepidermal water loss (TEWL) than placebo, indicating a supportive effect of the new ingredient on the skin barrier.
