Nunavik seaweed special ingredient in new beauty products

Nunavik Biosciences introduced its new line of skin care products to Iqaluit mayor Elisapi Sheutiapik at the 2010 Northern Lights conference in Montreal. (PHOTO FROM WWW.NUNAVIKBIOSCIENCES.COM)

Nunavik’s Ungava Bay is rich in seaweed, which is now used in a line of skin creams and cleansers produced by Nunavik Biosciences, a Makivik Corp.-owned subsidiary. (PHOTO FROM WWW.NUNAVIKBIOSCIENCES.COM)

If you want to have beautiful skin, new skin care products made with a Nunavik seaweed extract could be just the answer.

The Ungava line of products are the “first natural and organic Inuit skin care line designed to act effectively, improving the appearance of the skin,” says the website for Nunavik Biosciences.

The Makivik Corp. subsidiary, which is manufacturing and selling the products on-line, recently put up a website for the skin products at http://www.nunavikbiosciences.com

Its Ungava-brand products are likely also the first Inuit skin care products to have their own Facebook page and a Twitter account.

The products for sale include creams and cleansers, which have a light, fragrance similar to white tea. The creams and cleansers contain no chemical compounds, dyes or perfumes and no animal ingredients, nor are they tested on animals.

They’re “specially formulated, with a combination of essential fatty acids and trace elements, to protect the skin against environmental stress, to moisturize and to prevent the formation of new wrinkles,” reads the promotional information on the website.

The products are packaged in recyclable, white plastic containers with the word “Ungava” stylized to resemble syllabics— but this packaging is slated to be changed, said Marc Allard, Makivik’s research and fisheries advisor.

The “Sunrise” face cream contains algae extract, marine collagen and Vitamin E. Sold for $75 in a 50 ml pot, a small dollop of cream goes a long way, and leaves the skin soft— as a sample recently given to the Nunatsiaq News demonstrated.

“Most products were either too heavy or so light that within a couple of hours my skin felt very dry. I tried the Ungava line with no expectations that these products would be any different than the others I had tried but I am delighted to say that I was very wrong. I have finally found the perfectly balanced products for which I had been searching,” confirms a customer testimonial on the website.

Makivik Corp. set up Nunavik Biosciences Inc. in 2005 to see how unused or underutilized resources found in Nunavik and adjacent waters could create small-scale economic activity.

During the past few years Nunavik Biosciences has targeted seaweed, shrimp and medicinal plants for development, according to information posted on the Makivik website.

Its studies show there are plenty of seaweed beds in Ungava Bay. Around Payne Bay, researchers found kelp beds of 100 hectares in size were common.

Brown seaweed was among the varieties harvested, dried and then sent off for laboratory analyses.

One variety of seaweed showed “strong anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties.” A seaweed extract proved to be good for use in cosmetics like the Ungava products.

Studies by Biosciences Inc. also showed that by-products from offshore shrimp industry could produce nutritional supplements. Shrimp shells, which are usually thrown away, contain significant amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids, phospholipids and other bio-molecules.

Nunavik Biosciences has also looked at possible commercial uses for Rhodiola Rosea or tallarunak.

The root of this plant, also called Golden Root, is thought to improve mood and performance, and alleviate depression and fatigue.

About 1,000 tallarunak seedlings were transplanted among several small plantations around Kangiqsualujjuaq, although it takes about five years for the root to grow into commercial size.