Discovering our exclusive cosmetic active ingredient

A unique tree of abundance , the linden tree has been providing its multiple virtues for millennia . A medicinal plant listed in the pharmacopoeia, it knows how to soothe and regenerate while smelling divinely good and also being edible.

This is probably why this tree has been universal and venerated for millennia, sacred since Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt , in the center of Gallic villages , planted near hospitals in the Middle Ages and in all communes during the Revolution , used by the doctors of kings ... So many empirical uses ...

But at the heart of TiL, there is Science : plant biotechnology and neuroscience which prove what Pliny the Elder , a naturalist from the ^1st century, already wrote about the Linden, calling it “ The Medicine Tree ”.

A well-deserved name, but so much more than he believed... He then spoke of the incredible benefits of the linden tree on the body and the mind , and today TiL, with the science of the ^21st century, reveals and objectifies in plus its countless virtues on the skin.

The process of creating Tiliactiv4®, an exclusive innovation

The story began with picking linden trees from the family estate in Dordogne , carried out by the leader in French biotechnology , GREENTECH. The objective? Map the trees to identify their possible activity on the skin.

The two species of linden trees present in the French park were analyzed, and each time all parts of the tree , i.e. the buds, branches, flowers and leaves , at two harvest times, March and June.

Months of chemical and biochemical analyzes followed. One day, a call triggered this wonderful scientific adventure that is TiL, beyond a story of trees and nature. That of the President of GREENTECH, Jean-Yves Berthon, who informs us that our linden trees are full of moisturizing, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant molecules, thus constituting a very complete anti-aging agent ! Following steps: continuation of analyses, choice of silver linden tree (tilia tomentosa) which is significantly more active than tilia cordata tree, picking in large quantities, and months of Research & Development to develop our own , exclusive active ingredient, combining the 4 parts of the tree .

A very innovative and original approach in several respects, from picking in the estate's park to potting the formulas, according to the scientists who developed TiL.

 

 

Total control of an active ingredient

As Lionel de Benetti  (the former Director of Research & Development of the Clarins Group for 35 years, who accompanied TiL from the beginning to the end of the scientific process) says: “ most of the time, we buy the active ingredients from suppliers specialists, but we never control the entire gestation from picking the plant to manufacturing. They are made from dried plants which sometimes come from the ends of the world , and/or which have undergone more or less “soft” treatments , and we are never sure of what we are getting . However, the time of picking plays a big role in the quality of the extract obtained. Here what is interesting is that the plant comes from the family estate , and from the harvesting carried out under the leadership of a former member of the French National Forestry Office, to the treatments carried out to extract the substantial marrow , TiL masters all the process : the picking is done at the best time, while within a few days , we can have a different result with a picking: a linden flower for example lasts 4 days , a bud must be picked at the precise moment it is swollen but not burst , it's a matter of hours almost! »

The difference of TiL is to have studied the linden tree in depth to make it the major support for the activity of the products, by scientifically demonstrating the broad spectrum of activities of the different fractions of the linden tree, and by creating an active Complex which is almost the entire tree in the product !

Particularly active linden trees

Starting from a population of linden trees on a family property, very old , very well developed and well established in the terroir, means that they flourish in a completely natural environment , with a strength which made it possible to resist and face all seasons, winters and droughts. We find all this strength of the plant in the biochemical profile of the different parts of linden, and therefore in the active extracts developed.

The use of our own biological material , developed naturally in a preserved area, outside culture and outside physiological forcing , is a very rare approach in cosmetics .

However, what is important when working on a plant extract, explains Lionel de Benetti, is to know where it comes from, how it grows and in what environment, because the composition of the plant depends on what it is. It draws from the earth and absorbs from the atmosphere , so if we control this double environment , the quality of the extract that we will draw from it is all the more excellent .

The entire world of linden tree recreated for the first time

We work on different organs of the Linden tree , flowers, leaves, buds, branches, each having a different biochemical composition , with large common families, proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, etc. For example in the bud, we find many more polysaccharides and compounds which protect the bud during the winter, the flowers are very concentrated in sugars (moisturizer) and polyphenols (anti-oxidant) etc.

Linden, like most plants, is a combination of multiple molecules, several hundred.

In linden, there are of course specific molecules, including a specific flavonoid, tiliroside . It is in the linden tree that this molecule was found for the first time and where it is most concentrated . However, tiliroside is a very active anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. There are many other interesting molecules: catechin, quercetin, polysaccharides...They are not all present in each part of the plant, and it is precisely by assembling the four different parts that we obtain the final extract, with the best possible concentration of each active molecule , resulting in optimum effectiveness , scientifically demonstrated.

At TiL, we have therefore recreated the world of linden, by extracting and purifying molecules that are anti-inflammatory, protective, and anti-oxidant which act in synergy, so that the skin is protected, more elastic, toned, and smooth with fewer wrinkles , and a brighter complexion .

Fresh materials and cryo-extraction… nature & high tech

 In general, brands source dry plant extracts from suppliers of cosmetic active ingredients , as they are obviously easier to manage. Here, it is not only an active ingredient exclusive to TiL , but created from fresh materials . What interest ? Preserve the native compounds of the plant, their integrity and therefore their activity . Indeed, during extraction, there is a phenomenon of oxidation which degrades the molecules and the fact of losing water while drying deactivates certain active ingredients such as certain enzymes. By dehydrating plant matter , we lose a good part of the interesting components .

Working on fresh material is obviously much more complicated in terms of logistics.

By freezing the harvest of the different organs, immediately picked from the field, at -25/28°, we stop the degradation of molecules by enzymes.

Then the extraction is carried out in extreme cold with liquid nitrogen, at -196°. The juice of each organ is extracted with all its native molecules, without any degradation or denaturation ; the active ingredient thus retains all its biological activity and we find all of that of the plant, with structural and molecular integrity preserved.

The Active Complex is called Tiliactiv4® because 4 parts of the tree are used, each with its own specificities. A complicated operation , because we first had to find the right solvent to extract what is interesting in each of them: depending on whether we put the plant in water, oil, alcohol, we do not extract the same molecules. Long-term work to choose the best solvent and obtain the maximum concentration of interesting molecules from each part of the plant. Then these 4 fractions were combined, with a particular dosage, and Tiliactiv4® is thus the quintessence of all the virtues of the linden tree.

 

Tailor-made formulas

The cosmetic formulas all incorporating Tiliactiv4® were created by a fantastic tandem , Lionel de Benetti and Daniel Joutard from "Laboratoire Savoir des Peuples" , specialized in natural formulas. Here too, this represented a real scientific challenge , as Daniel Joutard explains:

• “ With the creation of this sector and a particular ingredient, we are working on a raw ingredient, very rich in anti-oxidants. When we use ingredients from suppliers, everything is already marked out. It is already difficult to make extremely natural products while preserving great sensoriality , but with a raw material, there are issues of stabilization, volatility, variation, evolution over time that must be managed. . The development of TiL was therefore demanding to master all these contradictions and the know-how of Lionel de Benetti in terms of galenics and sensoriality was a tremendous contribution. TiL formulas are both green and clean , meaning they aim to preserve the skin and the environment, with a strong focus on plants which are the essential part of the formulation approach. »

 

At TiL , we were looking for the “ 5-legged sheep ”!

Very natural, very effective AND very sensory ! Out of the question of using existing formulas “to customize” as is very often done, we wanted to start from a blank page .. We therefore carried out very in-depth research with Lionel de Benetti to select other natural active ingredients highlighting Tiliactiv4®: franco-french active ingredients (plant active ingredients from plants grown in France): alfalfa, centifolia rose, nasturtium, ivy, horsetail … chosen for their synergy with the Tiliactiv4® molecules, and all scientifically objectified .

The galenic was worked on for many months, with an impressive number of tests, and when this was successful, it was still necessary to combine these formulas with the delicate perfume created by Francis Kurkdjian. A real work of "olfactory haute couture" by declining the TiL fragrance note for each cosmetic product and adapting it to the chosen galenic. Because of course, the same scent does not come out in the same way in a balm or in a shower gel, that would be too simple!

 

 

It then took several months of tests to verify that the formulas performed well over time... and clinical tests on women to validate their effectiveness, tolerance, degree of pleasure, etc. For example, for Le Baume Qui Ressource, our Regenerating Night Balm,  the clinical study revealed smoother skin for 95% of women, more hydrated and comfortable for 90%, more rested for 80%.

 

The entire creation of TiL was thus guided by our linden trees , and developed around them.

Four years of Research & Development were necessary to carry out the entire process, with exceptionally demanding specifications and quite unique in cosmetics , since we started from trees from a family estate , to create from scratch an active compound for first time in the world of 4 parts of linden , with exclusively tailor-made formulas , which we wanted to be natural, effective and sensory, exceptional perfumery by one of the greatest French noses, and rigorous scientific objectification.

Only today's Science and the expertise of all the men of art who have accompanied us, could make it possible to concentrate, reveal and prove the incredible virtues of the tree on the skin , some of which were already assumed by the grandmother's recipes for centuries...

The "medicine tree" has never lived up to its name so well!