ALPIN HEILMOOR EXTRACT - Power of Nature Reinterpreted

Interview with Stefan Fellner, Managing Director and Founder
PREMIUM ORGANIC

Mr. Fellner, you and your company PREMIUM ORGANIC recently launched ALPIN HEILMOOR EXTRACT (AHE), a new active ingredient for skin care. 

What is AHE?

ALPIN HEILMOOR EXTRACT™ - AHE for short - is Heilmoor in its purest, finest and most concentrated form as a dark, micronized powder.

I grew up in the south of Austria - at 500m above sea level and surrounded by moor. This was always there for me as a matter of course and I never thought that it would become my center of life. But at some point, I simply became curious. I wanted to know what this force of nature really had to offer right before my eyes. After all, Heilmoor has been used for hundreds of years, primarily as a pack or bath - mainly for illnesses and pain in the musculoskeletal system. 

So, my company PREMIUM ORGANIC, started to take a closer look at this European natural medicine and tradition. In cooperation with partners from all over Europe we started our research. In the course of many years of development, we not only learned a lot of exciting things about the substance Heilmoor, but also developed AHE. In this active ingredient we now bundle the most potent parts of the Heilmoor and make them available in a new form: concentrated and as a powder.

Unlike classic Heilmoor, AHE can be used not only for its thermo-physical properties (in the form of baths and packs), but also in the field of dermocosmetics to show what it can do. 100% nature – but interpreted by us in a completely new way.

ALPIN HEILMOOR EXTRACT™ is a patented, multifunctional active ingredient for cosmetic and personal care products, created thanks to a completely new process and produced by our partners in Germany and Austria.

What are the advantages of this active ingredient?

The great innovation of ALPIN HEILMOOR EXTRACT™ is definitely its brand-new form: micronized powder instead of wet peloid. This is also where the biggest advantages of AHE lie.

The goal of PREMIUM ORGANIC is to develop and produce active ingredients that interpret nature in a modern and scientifically sound way. With AHE, we have thus succeeded in producing our first active ingredient, which is not only proven to be effective in a variety of ways, but also opens up completely new areas of application and new paths.

Compared to its origin, AHE is pure and reduced to the most potent components - free of water and any microbiological contamination. Thanks to our innovative and patented process, we are able to provide the natural substance Heilmoor in a consistent form and quality: as a powder. From the very beginning, we have taken both scientific and ecological standards into account and thought them through. In extensive studies, we have also been able to scientifically prove the effectiveness of Heilmoor for the first time. AHE thus offers completely new areas of application for Heilmoor, both for leave-on and rinse-off products in the field of dermocosmetics and personal care.

AHE is also 100% natural as well as COSMOS-, ECOCERT-, NATRUE- and VEGAN- certified. At our company PREMIUM ORGANIC, we attach great importance to sustainability at all stages of the process, from extraction to production of the active ingredient.

What efficacy do you praise for AHE?

Heilmoor - as already mentioned - has been used in Europe for centuries for health purposes. However, due to its good heat retention properties, the focus was mainly on complaints in the area of joints, muscles or rheumatic diseases and sports injuries.

With AHE, we wanted to show - and above all prove - what additional efficacies Heilmoor has to offer. In in-vitro and in-vivo studies, we were able to prove that ALPIN HEILMOOR EXTRACT™ has multiple benefits for sensitive and problem skin, as well as in the area of inflamm-aging.

The skin is a sensitive system whose balance is always in danger due to external factors but also stress and aging processes. AHE helps here in many ways and has a positive effect on several important parameters that make up a healthy, pure and above all even mature beautiful skin.

Not only does AHE maintain the skin microbiome - which has been recognized in recent years as an essential factor in healthy skin - but there is evidence that AHE helps and supports to restore its balance. Our proven Cleansing & Anti-Pollution effects show that AHE can rid the skin of stress and environmental factors. The skin barrier - our external protection, so to speak - is improved and its integrity strengthened by AHE. We have also demonstrated anti-inflammatory and soothing efficacies. Significant wound healing and anti-acne efficacy show that ALPIN HEILMOOR EXTRACT™ can also be used on problem skin.

The antioxidant and pro-aging effects are also impressive. For example, the particularly positive effect on the sensitive area around the eyes - which not only looks more radiant, but also less puffy - should be emphasized. Further positive effects on mature and sensitive skin concerning elasticity and moisture complete this picture. Inflamm-aging was also proven by the suppression of various inflammatory markers.

How were these claims confirmed in the test?

From the very beginning, it was important to our company, PREMIUM ORGANIC, not only to open Heilmoor to new areas of application, but also to place its effectiveness on a scientifically sound basis. In doing so, we rely exclusively on external laboratories in the EU. A series of in-vitro tests, for example, showed the positive properties in the area of wound healing, membrane barrier or skin inflammation. In vivo efficacy studies again confirmed the cleansing and soothing effect of AHE, as well as a convincing anti-acne efficacy. It is also remarkable how well AHE was tolerated and appreciated by the test persons. The results of our studies have already been widely published. Since some of the results surprised even us positively, new studies are already underway.

An important criterion in cosmetics is sustainability. What is AHE derived from? And what is the manufacturing process like? 

Sustainability has played a major role in our company from the very beginning. Through transparency and in close contact with experts, we work to make the entire process from development to production of our active ingredients long-term and sustainable.

AHE is extracted from an accredited Heilmoor deposit in the south of Austria. At this point it should be mentioned that only about 10% of all Heilmoor deposits are at all suitable for the extraction of AHE due to their composition (proportion of humic acids, etc.). Environmental experts were involved in the extraction and processing right from the start. In this way, we have developed a process in which renaturation plays a major role. In the course of gentle and sustainable quarrying, a natural refuge for flora and fauna is created through biotopes and backfilling. PREMIUM ORGANIC attaches great importance to transparency at all stages of the process and supports this with certifications. AHE is COSMOS, ECOCERT, NATRUE and VEGAN certified. We are currently working on making our company completely CO2 neutral.

For which product formulations is AHE suitable?

One of the biggest advantages of ALPIN HEILMOOR EXTRACT™ is that the active ingredient is so easy to use, yet so versatile. Both leave-on and rinse-off products can be made with it. In an initial series of frame formulations, we have designed, for example, cleansing, peel-off and purifying masks, day creams, BB creams, cleansing gels, and also hair shampoos and conditioners. Depending on the concentration used, AHE colors the products light to dark gray. However, none of this is visible on the skin. 

AHE can also be combined very well with other ingredients and is very unproblematic to use and easy to formulate. For example, no pre-dispersion is necessary. Anti-aging, detox or skin care products: Due to its good skin compatibility - even with sensitive or problem skin - and its positive properties, AHE is suitable for a wide range of applications.

Products in hair and scalp care as well as especially for men are currently being developed by customers of ours. We ourselves are always amazed at how versatile ALPIN HEILMOOR EXTRACT™ can be used and are pleased that the active ingredient obviously encourages experimentation and testing. AHE not only convinces with its efficacy and good tolerability, it is also in line with the spirit of the times and is scientifically state-of-the-art. Moreover, AHE is appreciated and very well received by formulators and customers alike. This shows us that we have achieved our goal of developing an uncomplicated and versatile natural active ingredient.