One lab, several plants,
years of research.

Valoren is built on the published research of Marizé Cuyler, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria — years spent studying what South Africa’s own indigenous plants can do for skin.

Bulbine frutescens

Studied for wound healing and antihistamine potential.

Elegia tectorum

An indigenous wetland plant, studied for its chemical constituents and cosmeceutical potential.

Juncus lomatophyllus

Another indigenous wetland species studied for cosmeceutical use.

Cyperus sexangularis

Studied for antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-elastase (anti-ageing) properties.

Indigenous succulents

Studied for eczema-associated symptom relief.

Vision

A world where skincare doesn’t have to choose between working and being honest about how. Where the people behind a formula are willing to show their work, and where the plants growing in our own soil are given the same scientific respect as anything imported or synthetic.

Mission

To research indigenous South African plants properly, test what we find without cutting corners, and turn that evidence into skincare that actually does what it says, whether we’re building it for our own range or alongside a brand we believe in. We exist to close the gap between what skincare promises and what it can prove.

Values

Evidence over anecdote

If we can’t test it, we won’t claim it. Tradition points us toward a question worth asking, but the answer has to hold up in a lab before it holds up on skin.

People first, always

Behind every formula is someone dealing with skin that hasn’t been easy to live with. That matters to us more than a trend cycle ever will.

Rooted in what grows here

South Africa’s indigenous plants carry generations of use and remain deeply under-researched. We see that as a responsibility, not just an opportunity.

Honesty about the process

We’ll tell you what’s proven, what’s still being studied, and what isn’t in a formula yet, because we’d rather you trust us than be impressed by us.

Care that doesn't stop at the lab door

Whether it’s a custom formulation or a product from our ready-made range, we stand behind it the same way, because our name is on it either way.

The research

The lab’s work sits at the intersection of dermatology and botany — looking at indigenous South African plants for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, wound-healing, and even skin-tone potential, with a particular focus on symptoms associated with eczema. Some of this research is published as peer-reviewed papers and book chapters; Valoren translates it into products.