OUR STORY

Where the Atlantic Ocean, the Macchia Mediterranea and Chinese medicine blend beautifully

Our story is a story about our terra, the land, the wilderness of the Macchia Mediterranea and the southern African fynbos. It is a story about plants, botanicals, adaptogenic herbs, flowers, seeds and roots, and the nourishment and the skin-food ingredients that they provide us with.

It is the story of a little girl that grew up with fresh malva and chamomile flowers' herbal infusions, almond oil, rose water, neroli, cactuses, hydrangeas, irisis and geranium plants. It is a story about olive trees, and a rich tapestry of native flowers, flourishing in the Ligurian Macchia Mediterranea's diverse landscape and the cultural and ecological significance within the land.

Our story is also a story about childhood memories and the botanical world, and the connections and relationships, with each other and ourselves, and the places we call home.

It is a story about our ancestors, namely our Founder's grandmother and mother, the women that walked before us, and the ones that still walk along us, and are teaching us the stories we tell. The ones we repeat so that we will forever remember.

But mostly, our story is about beauty. The beauty of botanical wisdom, rituals, simplicity, of nourishing from within, honoring our land and the renewal of tradition.

But also, it is a story of the beauty of family, faraway travels, and the cultures that so beautifully hold us.

Where did it it all start?

Philosophia Botanica was established in Cape Town by wellness and Chinese medicine practitioner Francesca Canzano-Franklin, where she lived for numerous years with her South African husband.

Initially inspired by the Cape indigenous flora, the wilderness of the African plants and botanical oils, the magnificent nature surrounding the Atlantic ocean as well as our Founder's passion for Chinese medicine and wellness in all forms. Francesca wrote a list of everything she needed to follow such a path and the Philosophia Botanica range was born with products and rituals inspired by a fusion of African botanicals, Chinese medicine adaptogenic herbs and eastern traditional techniques.

From Cape Town to Portofino.

Ten years later, and Philosophia Botanica's ingredients are still sourced from a variety of ecological sources and with the exact same untouched passion from over a decade ago, but with the only difference that we have expanded our sourcing not only around Africa and Asia, but also within the Mediterranean regions, in order to honour our Founder's roots and promote the Ligurian Macchia Mediterranea. Each source promotes traditional plant-based knowledge, represents an inspiring story of organic agriculture, sustainability, economic up-liftment, and wherever possible the preservation of botanical culture. We strongly believe in supporting sustainable agriculture; especially within Africa so that we can contribute to local economic development for generations to come.

Our Founder personally sources, researches and tests all our ingredients. Wherever possible, many of our ingredients are sourced from sustainable and fair-trade plantations.

Where does Chinese medicine fit in?

We mindfully blend adaptogenic herbs such as schisandra berry, maqui, peony root extract, ashwagandha and rodhiola with our formulas in order to treat the skin from within. With with a focus on balance and the belief that a healthy body makes for healthy skin, traditional Chinese medicine just might be what you're looking for.

Adaptogens refer to a group of plant-based ingredients that are believed to help the body ‘adapt’ to stressors, and help regulate the body’s responses, as well as having particular effects on hormones such as cortisol. Adaptogens are often rich in antioxidants, which help protect the skin against environmental aggressors.

Our beliefs.

We believe in sustainability and in formulating natural products created with ingredients produced from renewable and raw materials that don’t harm the planet or people.

We believe that the future is now and that in order to preserve and protect that future, we have to do our best to continue creating and consuming sustainable products. Our aim is to keep plastic, heavy metals, and toxic chemicals out of our waterways, soil, and atmosphere, preserving the well-being of our environment, and this is the reason why all our products are hypoallergenic and vegan-friendly and come packaged in glass to preserve freshness and conserve the original scent, as well as being ready for re-cycling.

We ditched the term “anti-aging” (and anything that is anti really, except for our antioxidant ingredients!) in 2017. We strongly believe that

it’s time to get on board with embracing healthy aging and we actively stand up against the idea that the aging process is the enemy in our pursuit of beauty and wellness. At Philosophia Botanica we celebrate the beauty of aging with a healthy body and hydrated skin.

Our pledge to you? All our ingredients are 100% natural and none of the products contain parabens, artificial colors, mineral oils, silicone or any animal raw materials. We are so against animal testing! The raw materials are rigorously selected and combined for optimum effectiveness on the skin

and each product contains botanical plant(s) and 100% pure oils formulated by us in either Cape Town, London and Portofino.

We welcome you into a botanical journey with our seed to skin formulas and rituals.