What Is Botanicals?
What It Is
Botanicals is a formulation category rather than one cosmetic ingredient. The term can include whole flowers, leaves, roots, fruits, seeds, powders, extracts, hydrosols and oils from many plant species.
What It Does
The category provides a way to describe plant-derived materials used for botanical, sensory, fragrance or skin-conditioning purposes. The actual function depends on the individual plant and preparation.
How It Functions in a Formulation
Botanical materials can be incorporated into bath salts, bath soaks and other cosmetic products in many physical forms. Because preparation determines composition and behaviour, the actual raw material should be documented as an individual ingredient whenever it is used in a formulation.
Safety and Tolerance
There is no single safety profile for “botanicals.” Tolerance depends on the plant species, preparation, concentration and finished formulation. The source therefore supports identifying the actual botanical material rather than treating the category as one ingredient.
What the Source Supports
The source supports Botanicals as an organisational category for plant-derived materials. Individual records such as Chamomile, Rose and Lavender should carry the specific identity and formulation information.