The True Powers of Kigelia

May 7, 2020

Written by Jene Roestorf

May 7, 2020

Written by Jene Roestorf

In the damp, fertile soils among the riverbeds, woodlands and forests of West Africa, the Kigelia tree flourishes.

With its smooth, serene grey bark, high reaching leaves and plush, red velour flowers that attract bats, hawk moths and birds for pollination, the Kigelia tree is a beauty all on its own. ^[1]

The sausage shaped fruits that ripen from December to June have been honoured for centuries for their healing powers, most notably for their ability to restore infected and inflamed skin.

The Kigelia tree can be found from Tanzania all the way down to Kwa Zulu-Natal in South Africa, where charismatic mountains, cyan waters and incredible landscapes draw natives and tourists alike to bear witness to its undeniable beauty.

Wild harvested, pure and ultra healing, our Kigelia retains its impressive roots in rural African communities, and extends its extraordinary skincare benefits to the world.

What is Kigelia?

The Kigelia africana tree is native to African soils and bears sausage shaped fruits that weigh up to 12 kilograms (over 26 pounds).

Growing up to 25 meters (over 82 feet) tall, the Kigelia tree has earned the nickname “sausage tree”, but is referred to as worsboom in Afrikaans and Muvevha in Venda, an official language of South Africa. ^[2]

Kigelia africana in Kenya JR Photo

The Kigelia fruit offers a range of nourishing antioxidant properties, with the nutrient dense seeds bearing protein, oleic acid and essential fatty acids to nurture the skin. ^[3] While the fruit cannot be eaten raw, its extracts when cooked, and powdered forms have many uses ranging from medicinal to the beauty industry and it is a revered staple of African cultures.

The Origins of LUXE Botanics Kigelia

The Kigelia tree can often be found blooming along riverbeds, ^[4] however, the tree is drought resistant and is commonly seen throughout the savannah. As a fast-growing tree that can mature in just 4-5 years, Kigelia offers a sustainable harvest for local African communities.

With a rich history of medicinal uses in Africa, from healing wounds to backaches, stomach problems to pneumonia, Kigelia is an ingredient even used as an anti-cancer and anti-malarial and the tree’s fruits are used to treat inflammation for a wide range of conditions including irritated skin. ^[5]

After the Kigelia fruits fall to the ground, they quickly spoil, and so must be carefully harvested by hand during their peak ripeness to ensure the integrity of their nourishing properties. The tree is left unharmed to produce more fruit in the future.

Our Ingredient Integrity

Keeping our organic botanicals true to their original form allows us to deliver targeted actives to your skin for results you can see.

Our ingredient integrity begins in the traditions of rural African communities where botanicals such as Kigelia have been celebrated for generations, and by honoring the nutrients and extraordinary properties Kigelia brings to your skin.

By wild harvesting the fruits, our close to nature extraction process allows us to preserve and enhance Kigelia’s most powerful components to bring you eons of healing in a product specifically designed to soothe skin, bring back balance and support a healthy, strong complexion.

Transformational Skin Benefits of Kigelia for Distressed Skin

Rich in medicinal bioactive compounds, Kigelia is an ingredient potent enough to fight bacteria and acne, yet gentle enough to calm distressed skin. People who have irritated or sensitive skin can particularly benefit from Kigelia’s calming and restorative properties.

With the ability to purify skin while reducing the effects of damage and ageing, Kigelia’s natural power soothes and rejuvenates skin. It has even been used to help skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis and contains amino acids and many other essential nutrients to support skin health. ^[6] ^[7]

Our Kigelia fruit extract brings to you its proven benefits for sensitive and acne prone skin, which include:

Antibacterial to fight blemishes. The natural antibacterial activity of Kigelia africana has been traditionally used to fight bacterial infections, and is considered to be good for acne prone skin. ^[8]
Kigelia’s gentle yet effective antibacterial and antimicrobial properties are comparable to those of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin, which is used to treat a range of conditions including skin infections. ^[9]Its antifungal properties have been compared to those of amoxicillin, a further testament to this botanical’s potency and effectiveness. ^[10]
Anti inflammatory to soothe. Treat and soothe sensitive, irritated skin with Kigelia’s natural anti inflammatory effects. ^[11]
One of Kigelia’s most notable properties is its ability to heal wounds and sores, including burns and bacterial infections, which is due, in part, to Kigelia’s antioxidant power, among its many other skin nurturing elements. ^[12]
Antimicrobial to accelerate wound healing. Kigelia’s antimicrobial and antioxidant activity help accelerate wound healing —which can help improve the appearance of ageing by enhancing skin’s hydration and elasticity. ^[13] ^[14]Its antimicrobial properties have been shown to be effective against many different types of bacteria, including Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. ^[15]
This remarkable ingredient has even been used successfully in the treatment of skin melanoma. ^[16]
Nutrient-dense to deliver phytochemicals to your skin. A known source of phytochemicals—beneficial nutrients that are more potent in their natural form—Kigelia delivers essential nutrients to damaged or sensitive skin to support healing and regeneration. ^[17] ^[18]
Anti-aging properties. Kigelia is known for its remarkable ability to restore skin’s firmness and improve the elasticity of the skin. ^[19] ^[20]
Antioxidants to fight free radicals. Kigelia has “proven antioxidant activity” to help fight free radicals, which can reduce the effects of ageing and promote youthful looking skin. ^[21]

Clean Beauty Formulations Powered by Leading Green Technology

We’re dedicated to caring for Mother Earth at LUXE Botanics by delivering key ingredients to nourish skin as nature intended with ethically and sustainably sourced clean ingredients.

Our Soil Association Certified Organic Kigelia minimizes the impact of farming and supports sustainable communal impacts ^[22] while our green technology allows us to cultivate everyday practices that allow us to harness nature’s ingredients in their raw or naturally derived forms.

A revolutionary clean formulation, our Kigelia Corrective Moisturiser blends Kigelia africana with our proprietary base for sensitive, blemish prone skin, with clean ingredients selected for their anti-inflammatory, soothing effects that intensify the benefits of Kigelia. ^[23] Our Kigelia Corrective Moisturiser also contains restructuring elements and three naturally derived peptides—palmitoyl oligopeptide, palmitoyl pentapeptide-4 and palmitoyl tetrepeptide-7, which are short amino acid chains that provide the building blocks for collagen synthesis in the skin.

Collagen is a vital protein in the dermal layer of the skin that helps keep your skin looking firm, smooth and youthful. As collagen production slows and existing collagen begins to break down with ageing, it's vital to maintain healthy collagen levels as we go through life.

Applying collagen directly to your skin however won't help—the protein molecule is too large to penetrate the epidermis. Peptides are much smaller and can penetrate the skin much more easily, therefore triggering your body's natural collagen production.

The three peptide ingredients we use at LUXE Botanics are some of the most well studied with robust clinical research with all being shown to improve wrinkles, fine lines and skin ageing:

Palmitoyl oligopeptide has been shown to improve wrinkles ^[24]
Palmitoyl pentapeptide-4 significantly improves wrinkles and fine lines in sun-damaged skin ^[25]
Palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7 has been shown to help prevent skin ageing ^[26]

Designed specifically to calm and soothe sensitive skin, our Kigelia Corrective Serum is blended with niacinamide, vitamin C plus the addition of allantoin. The serum is also enriched with sodium hyaluronate and chlorella vulgaris for hydrating skin, which are valued for their hydrating effects to sustain healthy ageing. ^[27]

Skincare With Deep Roots in Sustainability and Empowering Rural Communities

Like many organic ingredients that exist in the wild, the Kigelia tree is threatened by the consequences of human actions such as wildfires, woodland destruction and farming. All of these actions not only affect Kigelia trees, but entire ecosystems. ^[28]

Our ethical sourcing of Kigelia allows us to support nature as she exists and to leave trees unharmed and able to produce seasonal harvests of the fruit. Rural African communities maintain the sustainable harvesting of our Kigelia, allowing us to maximize the positive impact on local communities and empower them to net a viable income.

Not only does Kigelia’s transformational benefits encourage effective healing for a natural acne treatment, our organic harvesting process supports African communities, and allows us to aid Mother Earth as well as your skin with calming, therapeutic benefits for strong and resilient skin.

Naturally Yours,

The LUXE Botanics Team

[1] https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=277892&isprofile=0&

[2] http://pza.sanbi.org/kigelia-africana

[3] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230254345_Kigelia_africana_seed_Proximate_mineral_vitamin_E_fibre_amino_acid_and_fatty_acid_composition

[4] http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Kigelia+africana

[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20430093

[6] https://www.academia.edu/24244517/Synthesis_of_and_plusmn_-kigelin

[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21883090

[8] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222089717_Antibacterial_activity_and_isolation_of_active_compounds_from_fruit_of_the_traditional_African_medicinal_tree_Kigelia_africana

[9] https://www.imedpub.com/articles/phytochemical-composition-and-antimicrobial-evaluation-ofkigelia-africana-lam.pdf

[10] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/27797844_Antifungal_and_antibacterial_activities_of_the_ethanolic_and_aqueous_extract_of_Kigelia_africana_Bignoniaceaestem_bark