What is Sea Buckthorn Berry?

Have you heard of Sea Buckthorn Berry yet? You’ve heard of Omega 3 and Omega 6, but Omega 7? Like acai berry and noni juice, sea buckthorn is a “super fruit” that can give you a health AND beauty boost.

Sibu Beauty is an American company that works with Tibetan farmers to harvest and process this amazing berry. They provide sea buckthorn supplements, facial moisturizer and facial soap for hundreds of customers who swear by it.

I had the chance to interview Peter McMullin of Sibu Beauty to find out more about this super fruit.

What is sea buckthorn berry and why is it good for me?

Sea buckthorn is, as I like to call it, Mother Nature’s “Beauty Berry,” although the health benefits extend far beyond just vanity. The tiny sea buckthorn berry is loaded with almost 200 bio-active nutrients that can protect against heart disease, cancer, natural aging symptoms, liver damage, sun damage, memory loss, ulcers, menopause symptoms…and that doesn’t include the topical applications either.

Until Sibu came along, sea buckthorn oil was found only in super-luxury brand cosmetics like eye serums and such. Now we have an entire system of premium, but reasonably priced beauty and health products made from wild, hand-harvested, fair-trade sea buckthorn. The topical benefits include: reduction in aging symptoms (fine lines, wrinkles, age spots, etc.) and a more youthful skin tone and texture overall.

It also helps fortify and strengthen hair and nails, in fact, one of the most commonly heard comments from our customers is, “I can’t believe how fast my nails are growing and how much stronger they are.” The bottom line is that these products, because of the high levels of quality sea buckthorn in them, help you look better AND feel better…from the inside-out AND outside-in.

What is Omega 7?

Also called Palmitoleic acid, Omega 7 is a seldom referenced fatty acid that is a fundamental building block to healthy human skin and mucous membranes. This is the unique and powerful nutrient that makes sea buckthorn unique (it’s the most abundant source of Omega 7 on Earth) thus making the skin hair and nails healthier from the inside-out. It also helps heal ulcers, uro-genital problems, and other gastrointestinal problems due to it’s restorative effect to mucous membranes.

Where does sea buckthorn come from?

Although it grows in many places on Earth (Canada, Russia, China, India, and many European countries), our berries are harvested from wild growing shrubs in the Himalayan mountains in and around the Tibetan cultural region (including India, Buthan, and Nepal). This variety is called “Turkistanika,” as there are many different varieties of sea buckthorn. Our berries are greater in antioxidants and other nutrients because they have to fortify themselves from the extreme conditions where they grow…around 13,000 feet elevation.

Are the products all natural and organic?

ALL Sibu products are all-natural and SOME are CERES certified organic. The Cellular Support gel-caps are organic, kosher, and gluten-free. The other products, because we have not certified our puree (due to obvious logistical issues), are not, but we intend to certify them within a year. All Sibu Beauty products meet or exceed the strict compliance guidelines on ingredients and manufacturing methods set forth by the NPA (Natural Product Association).

Can you tell me about your environmental and fair trade/humanitarian efforts in Tibet?

To set up the harvesting efforts, Sibu arranged for and purchased processing stations and equipment, trained workers, and helped set-up fair-trade agreements, effectively increasing the payment to local harvesters by up to 500%. The demand for sea buckthorn also increased as a result, creating many new jobs for local villagers. Many of the harvesters are now women, which gives these impoverished families a much better opportunity to make good money so they can buy enough supplies to make it through the difficult Himalayan winters.

His Holiness, The Dalai Lama, heard news of this (he lives much of the year only 2 kilometers from one of Sibu’s harvesting areas) and requested a meeting with the Sibu’s director of harvesting operations, Ramesh “Nico” Khanna, to find out more about the effort. There, he voiced praise for Sibu’s will to practice fair trade commerce and blessed the efforts that have helped his people so much.

How do the Sibu Beauty products work together? How often do you recommend I use them?

Sibu Beauty was originally designed as a “system”, and that is the way to see the best possible results. However, each product individually also brings it’s own unique benefits by itself as well. In fact, we are adding 3 new products in March 2010, an eye cream, a body lotion, and a spot treatment serum…all made from Sibu’s exclusive Premium Himalayan Sea Buckthorn. These products, and all Sibu products, are designed to promote good health and beauty from the inside-out, AND the outside-in.

How long does it normally take for people to start seeing improvements in their skin and overall health?

Some people notice a difference within a day or two with the skin softness and healthy, clean feeling. Many also notice an increase in healthy, sustained energy right away. But it takes most people 30-90 days to see a real difference visually in the skin tone and texture. Ideally, we recommend anyone give this system, or any individual products, at least 60 days to see a noticeable improvement. Every customer has different needs nutritionally and on the skin surface. Even if you have near PERFECT skin, using these products will help protect the skin, hair, and nails against future damage and premature aging.

Is the facial cream good for a particular skin type? Should I use it morning, night or both?

All the Sibu Beauty products, so far, have been designed for all skin types. We know this means they are NOT specifically designed for any one type, but the VAST majority of people, including all skin types, have noticed improvements and have loved the products. The only recommendation I have, is that those with very dry skin apply the face cream twice. We HIGHLY recommend the facial cleansing bar and the face cream be used both morning AND night. The cream was specifically designed to be a daytime cream, but why switch to a heavy night cream if this beautiful, light, day cream works better anyway? The sea buckthorn oils in the cream have tremendous healing properties and will do more than any other heavy night cream.