Santaverde: three decades for and with Aloe vera

The certified organic cosmetics firm Santaverde has for 30 years been synonymous with high-value Aloe vera products. As newcomers to the industry, Sabine and Kurt Beer developed the growing and processing of Aloe vera on their own finca in the south of Spain. They also organise regular seminars in Estepona at which specialist dealers and cosmeticians receive training. Our author Bettina Pabel attended one of these sessions.

Santaverde stands for a certified organic cosmetics line consisting of a manageable number of care products whose most important ingredient is the leaf gel of the co-called 'desert lily'. But what makes this brand different from others? How can you communicate what is so special about it to the people using it? How do you get the gel, how does it get into the cremes, lotions and toners, and what is its function? The best place to find answers to these and other questions is on location in Spain.

Organic Aloe vera fields on your doorstep

Around 15,000 Aloe vera plants grow on the two hectare finca. Compared with the 4,000 seedlings with which the couple from Hamburg launched their organic cosmetics project at the end of the 1980s, it's now a much bigger enterprise and you can clearly see how it has expanded. Just a few metres from the company building you see the generously laid out rows of plants. The rosettes of fleshy, spiny leaves with serrated edges fit harmoniously into this southern landscape. The big leaves are harvested expertly by the Spanish employees. From the outset it was taken for granted that they would grow their crop in keeping with organic guidelines. After all, Aloe vera is the main ingredient in the cosmetics brand Santaverde.

“Cremes contain on average 75 to 95 percent water which we replace completely in our products with pure Aloe vera juice or leaf gel,” Sabine Beer explains during a tour of their production facility. She mentions in this context a current investigation by the Hamburg Consumer Centre on the subject of greenwashing in cosmetics. It shows that what looks very natural on much cosmetics packaging often has little in common with genuine natural cosmetics: Aloe is present only in minimal quantities, with the use of direct juice or reconstituted powder mostly not disclosed. Moreover, micro-plastic has been found in many of the analysed products.

Many valuable active agents

Aloe belongs to the succulents and the Aloe vera or Aloe barbadensis Miller cultivated by Santaverde is one of around 200 species. The gel contained in the leaves is where the plant stores the water it draws on when the weather is dry. This is how it can provide the skin with moisture. At the same time, it has a pleasant cooling effect and soothes irritation of the skin, both most welcome if you've got sunburn, acne or allergies. Because science has now analysed practically everything that used to be passed on as traditional wisdom in herbal medicine, we know that the polysaccaride aloverose plays a crucial role in soothing and caring for the skin. She says that studies and her personal experience with problem skin are also evidence that the active agents in natural combination with amino acids, enzymes and secondary  plant materials produce the best results. Beer explains that the particular climate in Andalusia, with its quite big temperature range, is a positive stress factor that creates a higher content of active agents.

Consistent hygiene in manual processing

For processing they use two separate, tiled rooms with windows at the front that allow you to look in. Two young Spanish women wash each leaf in clean water and brush off any remaining dirt particles. Then a piece is snipped off the top and bottom of the leaf and in the second room they use a special knife to release the viscous gel from the leaf. Wearing overalls, gloves and face masks, they have to make sure the leaves are held in a vertically so that most other substances they don't use can drain away. The gel is immediately frozen and is ready for processing by a partner company in Germany. This is where, following the Santaverde recipes, plant oils, plant extracts and some other ingredients are added to create the various cosmetics products.

Quality versus Greenwashing

Sabine Beer admits that adhering to their formulas, that involves processing pure Aloe Vera juice into fine and delicately fragranced cremes without the use of the usual additives, was a huge challenge in the early years. And now? “Maintaining a position in a very competitive market without a big marketing budget is not easy,” she says. “Many nature-based brands posture as natural cosmetics, whereas in fact they use chemical substances in their formulas that are difficult for the customer to detect. This makes it easier and cheaper for them to manufacture their products.” Since they are using chemicals as preserving agents, they don't have a problem of shelf-life, and very few customers realise what is going on. “This is where we and all genuine, certified companies have got to do much more work to raise awareness of the issue,” she maintains. She adds that at the same time it's essential to respond to consumers' requirements. “More and more young people are turning their attention to the question of ageing skin.”

The flower heads of Aloe vera are an important raw material for the anti-ageing line 'Age Protect'. The nectar contains secondary plant materials that have an antioxidising effect, as found in the line Age-perfect Xingu for mature skin that was introduced in 2007.  The active agents from cashew apples, paranuts and other exotic fruits from the Amazon region add to the spectrum of active agents derived from Aloe vera. What's more, the Beers combine their sourcing of raw materials in Brazil with a  non-profit project because, as a purchasing company they give the local people an opportunity to earn money. Ten percent of of the net proceeds from every consignment they sell goes to a project that makes micro-credit available to young mothers. This initiative helps to raise awareness of the value of this primeval forest region.