The king of the alps
That is what the Swiss Stone Pine (Pinus cembra), a member of the pine family, is known as. The fact that it is a bold fighter and a tree of extremes makes it undisputedly deserving of this honorary title: the Swiss Stone Pine thrives on the edge of the forest, reaching the upper tree line at altitudes of between 1500 and 2800 metres. It bears heat of plus 40°C and biting cold of minus 50°C and can live up to 1000 years. This makes it one of the longest living tree types in the world.
Even saplings, bent over by thick mounds of snow in winter, stand upright again in the spring. Older trees serve as avalanche protection. They are often broken and then start sprouting again. The extreme living conditions in the high mountain regions produce a very special wood with pleasantly scented essential oils.
This particularly fragrant wood is light, fine-grained and uniformly soft. It can be well worked, is easily split, and is particularly suited for carving. In addition, it is relatively quick to dry with little shrinkage and it is very durable. The Swiss Stone Pine is therefore particularly well suited to and popular for carvings, interior wood panelling and for furniture. The essential oils it contains gives the wood antibacterial properties and protects it from moth infestation. That is why it used to be favoured for use in wardrobes and storage containers. The traditional Swiss Stone Pine parlours in mountain chalets still exude a particularly homely and cosy atmosphere today.
Special properties have long been attributed to the Swiss Stone Pine wood. ‘You sleep better in a Swiss Stone Pine bed’ is one of them. A study by the Joanneum Research Institute (Weiz, Austria) from the year 2003 showed that Swiss Stone Pine wood really does have a positive effect on sleep. It is said to reduce the pulse rate and thus promotes deep sleep and neuro-vegetative relaxation. Better relaxation in the night means that the heart rate is also lower during the day and saves the body around 3500 heartbeats per day, or in other words, around one hour of ‘heart work’. Anyone who does not own a bedroom made of Swiss Stone Pine wood can also buy a pillow filled with aromatic Swiss Stone Pine wood shavings and can enjoy the positive effects of the Swiss Stone Pine wood in this way.
Wood from the Swiss Stone Pine contains a high concentration of pinosylvin stilbenoid, a pleasantly aromatic resinous substance which has been proven to show additional properties which are beneficial to health. For example, pinosylvin also eases pain and is anti-inflammatory. In addition it neutralises free radicals and activates the AMPK protein.
Furthermore, the structure of pinosylvin is very similar to resveratrol. This is another stilbenoid that is found in grapes and red berries. It is well known for its beneficial effects on health and skin.
The fascination of the ‘King of the Alps’, as it is quite rightly known, is still unwavering today. Thanks to modern research, we now know a lot more about the unique and ingenious way of live of this charismatic tree and can therefore benefit of its health promoting properties for cosmetic purposes. Pinolumin, our active ingredient based on Swiss Stone Pine, has skin calming and anti-inflammatory efficacy and helps to even out the skin tone for a flawless complexicon. The name ‘Pinolumin’ is made up of pino (pinus cembra) and lumin (luminous). It is an ideal agent for sensitive skin and for skin which is prone to redness and age-spots.
