Five UGM students have started a beauty soap business, “SAFIR” kefir soap, which uses probiotics to relieve dry and sensitive skin.
The students are Prily Nafarya Hanggraeni (Nursing science), Aditya Nugraha (Faculty of Medicine), Ririn Febri Suryani (Faculty of Pharmacy), Ardiansyah Syaifurrahman ( Management and Maintenance of Civil Infrastructure Engineering), and Dara Rahmadani (Accounting).
“A kefir soap is made from processed milk extract added with starters containing probiotics,” said Prily on Tuesday (6/26) at UGM.
The probiotics are Lactobacillus acidophilus, Streptococcus thermophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB), and yeast.
Apart from probiotics, kefir contains vitamins and minerals. In fact, it also contains AHA that benefits the skin by reducing signs of aging, fine lines and wrinkles, minimizing large pores, reducing skin pigmentation, skin smoothing, and so on.
Prily stated that kefir is packed with many health benefits. Some of them include antimicrobial and cicatrizing activity, antimutagenic, antioxidant, as well as anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory effects.
“The use of kefir milk extract can prevent the growth of Propionibacterium acnes, the bacteria that cause acne.”
Moreover, with its antioxidant properties, kefir can prevent skin damage due to UV rays and air pollution.
The kefir soap business was created as a solution to the excessive distribution of skin care products with hazardous chemicals without license both domestically and internationally.
“SAFIR soap is made from organic ingredients. It does not contain chemicals such as Sodium Lauryl Sulfate that irritates the skin, so it is safe for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.”
To date, the five students have created the soap in two variants, Honey and Green Tea. The honey scent can give a calming and moisturizing effects on the skin, while green tea gives a refreshing effect throughout the day.
The product is packed in a compact and handy 100 ml pump bottle. One bottle costs Rp50,000 and available for purchase on Tokopedia, Shopee, and Instagram account @sabunkefir_safir.