The Beauty Business,
Israeli Style

BY HELEN HILL

01A
SK\
CAR
SYS V

a

a

he Queen of Sheba and
Cleopatra had beauty secrets
that were well-known in the
ancient world; they treated
their skin with mud and spring water
brought specially from the Dead Sea,
at the time regarded as a miracle
substance. Today in modern Israel, the
same rich mix is used by cosmetic
companies to make creams and lotions
that take over where nature leaves off.
Though small by international
standards, the home-grown cosmetic
industry in Israel is fast gaining a
reputation for innovative and high qual-
ity beauty products which it exports to
countries like Switzerland, Australia,
Japan, South Africa and the United
States.
Mineral-rich water from the Dead
Sea area, with its naturally rejuvenating

T

AgA

Facial Salons

Israel, a world leader In
growing jojoba commer-
cially, produces
numerous beauty pro-
ducts based on the oil of
the jojoba plant. Left: Ex-
tracting the oil from jo-
joba beans on a jojoba
plantation In the Negev
desert.

Hunters Square

Farmington Hills

Michigan

(313) 626-1231

62 Jewish News

properties, goes into several special-
ized cosmetic lines. The LON com-
pany, one of the biggest in Israel, has
an appropriately named Desert Spring
range containing water from Ein Bokek
and the Zohar springs. The natural salts
in the water resemble human blood
serum, the body substance that
nourishes the skin and gives it wrinkle-
free elasticity.
The company claims that its skin

care discoveries are unique; its normal-
izing treatments restore the balance of
the skin in a special way while its
special products can help anyone
regardless of age or sex who suffers
from troubled and blemished skin. This
is not surprising when you consider that
the Dead Sea is a therapeutic center
for treating skin problems, among
numerous other ailments.
A picture of Cleopatra decorates the
neatly packaged cosmetics with the
DSD (Dead Sea Derivative) label. They,
too, contain the natural ingredients
from the area and are popular in
several countries around the world.
A must for any visitor to the Dead
Sea is the mud treatment. Covering the
face and body with a thick layer of
gooey, black, mineral-laden mud
works wonders on skin ailments and
rashes, and is especially good for dry
skin. In its raw state, the mud is very
strong so several companies package
a refined, preservative-free version for
use at home. The mud can be applied
warm or cold as a treatment for pain-
ful joints and as a beauty mask that
leaves the skin delicately soft and
tingling clean.
The Jericho Bath Salts company
packages the mud in shiny black pots
and also makes Dead Sea Bath Salts
for the same beautifying and curative
effects. Kibbutz Ein Gedi, on the shores
of the Dead Sea, sends the mud out in
handy plastic pouches and tubes for
home use.
Israel is a world leader in growing jo-
joba commercially. This desert plant
gives a fine, odorless oil that is un-
greasy and has noticeable softening ef-
fects on the skin. It is used in different
cosmetic guises: creams, lotions,
soaps and shampoos that are exported
from Israel. Avocado, the popular fruit,
is not only good enough to eat but,
together with cactus, palm and olive
derivatives, is also used for natural-
based cosmetics and shampoos.
Alexander the Great's soldiers used
aloe vera jelly to soothe their battle
wounds. Nowadays, the jelly from the
fleshy-leaved desert plant goes into a
complete range of products in Israel
under the Nature Beauty label.
Ancient queens reputedly bathed in
milk for a super beauty treatment but
no one knew how to preserve it for long
in cosmetic creams. Now, a clever
Israeli chemist, Dr. Rosner, has dis-
covered the secret of stabilizing fresh
milk in beauty preparations and puts
up to 70 percent milk into lotions,