Alfalfa
Medicago sativa

Alfalfa is a common field plant in North America, and we use this soil-building crop not only to fix important nutrients like nitrogen into our soil, but also as an important ingredient in our cleansers. Alfalfa contains high levels of compounds called saponins.

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Saponins are chemical compounds made by several plants that have the defining characteristic of creating a light foam when agitated with water. Plants containing saponins are likely to have been the first soap substance ever used by ancestral humans. Today they are recognized as being a super delicate cleansing agent. On the skin, they have the unique ability to thoroughly cleanse away dirt and oil, without damaging the acid mantle or moisture barrier of the skin. Our cleansing products contain no soaps, detergents, or surfactants, only saponins.

 

Alfalfa grows super easily on the farm and makes lots of purple flowers that pollinators love!

100% of the alfalfa we use in our products is grown on the farm.

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Benefits

- Cleanses without stripping, especially compared to surfactants commonly used in skincare (1)

- Improves skin elasticity (1, 2)​

- Emulsification (1, 2, 3)

- Anti-aging (2)

- Healing (3)

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Science

1. Jurek, I., Góral, I., Mierzyńska, Z., Moniuszko-Szajwaj, B., & Wojciechowski, K. (2019). Effect of synthetic surfactants and soapwort (Saponaria officinalis L.) extract on skin-mimetic model lipid monolayers. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Biomembranes, 1861(3), 556-564.

2. Kim, Y. G., Sumiyoshi, M., Sakanaka, M., & Kimura, Y. (2009). Effects of ginseng saponins isolated from red ginseng on ultraviolet B-induced skin aging in hairless mice. European journal of pharmacology, 602(1), 148-156.

3. Kim, Y. S., Cho, I. H., Jeong, M. J., Jeong, S. J., Nah, S. Y., Cho, Y. S., ... & Moon, C. J. (2011). Therapeutic effect of total ginseng saponin on skin wound healing. Journal of ginseng research, 35(3), 360.