Two natural Kiwi ingredients we use in our Gameface moisturiser

A lot of thought and research has gone in to the ingredients in Triumph & Disaster’s range of products. All up nearly 50 different ingredients are used, from the humble water to volcanic ash. For a few ingredients, such as the two below, we didn’t have to look far. They both form a part of this rich landscape we call New Zealand and are key ingredients in our Gameface moisturiser.

HOROPITO - THE MEDICINE OF OUR FOREFATHERS 

Horopito, or Pseudowintera colorata for the horticulturists among you, only grows in New Zealand. This ancient shrub is a member of the primitive Winteraceae family, common to the Southern Pacific. It has features of the earliest evolved flowering plants and appears in fossil records over 65 million years ago.

Horopito has a long history of medicinal use by Maori. The leaves were bruised, steeped in water and used for paipai (a skin disease) and venereal diseases.

The leaves were chewed for toothache and were rubbed on mothers’ breasts for weaning infants. When the Europeans arrived they to adopted Horopito for its medicinal qualities.

In recent years studies have highlighted excellent antibacterial and antifungal activity that we believe makes it an excellent ingredient in our moisturiser, treating the skin for any blemishes or cuts instead of using denatured alcohol or synthetic chemicals that many products use for this purpose.

Sometimes, the old ways really are the best ways.

A VERY KIWI FERN THAT'S GOOD FOR THE SKIN 

Growing up in New Zealand the humble Ponga fern (or for those schooled in Latin - Cyathea cumingii), was literally everywhere.

Even today any sliver of native bush you come across will be dominated, at least in the undergrowth, by this simple but ancient plant.

The ubiquitous nature of the Ponga means it is easy to overlook. New Zealand has an abundance of rare and wondrous plant life, many perhaps much more colourful and appealing than the Ponga fern. However most don’t come close when it gets to fighting back the years.

It turns out a specific fraction of the Ponga plant is particularly rich in polysaccharides that can be used to create a mucilaginous gel, which will deliver a pleasing and very real lifting and smoothing effect on the skin.

Once applied the polysaccharides form an elastic, resistant and continuous network that immediately tightens the skin, improving the cutaneous micro relief and prolonging youthful appearance by fighting skin slackening.

At Triumph & Disaster we use Ponga in our Gameface moisturiser to replace the use of menthols, which a lot of male moisturisers or post-shave lotions seem intent on. Menthols give a hit on the nose and create a sense of tightening on the skin but are known irritants and we believe have no place in a moisturiser. By comparison Ponga is a very calming and gentle solution and outperforms synthetic chemical ingredients that are designed to do the same job by far. So it seems a few million years in isolation has its benefits and Ponga is a fine example of this. Sometimes you don’t have to look too far to find something that will give you soft, youthful skin.

Two very natural Kiwi ingredients in our Gameface moisturizer.