INGREDIENT SPOTLIGHT: ROSE

INGREDIENT SPOTLIGHT: ROSE

In honor of Roses, we created a blog post to spotlight why these soft petals are so incredibly special… for both skin health and mental health. They are Flower and Petal medicine for the mind, body and spirit.

ROSE ENERGETICS

Let’s start with how beautiful Roses are from an energetic perspective. Roses are typically associated with our heart centers. They soften our energy, open our hearts, and make it easier for us to let our guard down and freely express and accept love.

Katie Hess of Lotus Wei is my favorite person for tuning into the energy of flowers. And here is what she has to say about Rose:

“If you are attracted to the Rose flower, you may need some extra love and comfort. As you soften your heart and offer compassion to yourself, it will naturally be returned to you. As you treat yourself with more kindness, that naturally extends towards others as well. Rose magnifies unconditional love and tenderness. One of the best flowers for healing the heart, Rose cools the temper and triggers forgiveness, healing emotional wounds and scars. It softens our hard edges and enhances compassion and empathy.” -Katie Hess

You’ll find Rose in many of the products in our line, but specifically the California Body Oil, which also contains Rose Quartz essence and encourages us to practice loving acceptance towards our bodies.

ROSE PHYTOCHEMISTRY 

Now, let’s explore the Phytochemistry of Roses. Roses contain many of the major nutritional players that are key to skin health. They contain water-friendly nutrients as well as oil-friendly nutrients. You will find them in our Elixirs as well as our Serums and Balms…. ensuring that we are able to capture as many beneficial phytoconstituents as possible to benefit your skin.

B Vitamins: Do you often hear talk about Niacin as being an ingredient added to skin care products in order to reduce inflammation, boost hydration levels, and help protect our skin’s barrier? Well if you are using Roses in your skin care, then Niacin is present, along with all the other beneficial B’s and their helpful co-factors.

Vitamin C: Vitamin C and all of its helpful flavonoids are ever present in both Rose petals and Rosehips. Vitamin C helps to repair and prevent sun damage. However, it is even stronger when it is in its whole plant form because it is more stable alongside its fellow co-antioxidants. Flavonoids also help to metabolize the C after it stabilizes free radicals.

Vitamin E: When you run your fingers over a fresh Rose petal, you may feel a bit of oil or lipids. This is because Roses are a wealth of beneficial lipids and lipid friendly nutrients, such as Vitamin E. Aside from being a powerful antioxidant, Vitamin E helps to work together with many of the other nutrients in Roses to keep our skin barrier healthy and strong.

To experience a wide range of these Rose-rich vitamins for hydration and repair, we recommend our Hydrating Elixir I and our Almond Rose Exfoliant.

 

ROSES FOR SKIN BARRIER HEALTH

Roses also happen to be incredible for skin barrier health. Rose is such an interesting plant because it contains so many different nutrients that are specific to barrier restoration, such as B Vitamins, polysaccharides, as well as lipids and lipid soluble nutrients like Vitamin E and Palmitic Acid.

Palmitic Acid specifically is one that is a unique nutrient that will lock in hydration and prevent trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL), by strengthening our skin’s barrier. Another special thing about this Rose nutrient is it can be found in high-quality distillations of Rose hydrosol, which is one of the reasons Rose hydrosol alone is such a powerful hydrator– It contains the nutrients needed to nourish, hydrate, and then lock in that hydration.

A unique study was done on Rose inhalation, which showed that participants with damaged skin barriers who inhaled Rose on a regular basis showed a strengthening of the skin barrier and an improvement in trans-epidermal water loss. This study was not from the application of Rose, just the inhalation. One theory is that the Rose had an effect on our HPA axis, and therefore reduced chronic stress levels. But its also quite fascinating to consider that both the inhalation and application of Roses have a similar effect on skin health. This is energetically quite beautiful to consider.

In addition to the Hydrating Elixir I that we already addressed for optimal skin hydration and TEWL, find Rose oil in our Antioxidant Serum and Night Balm for that wide breadth of Rose phytonutrients.

It wouldn’t be an ingredient spotlight on Roses without sharing the mindfully sourced beauty story behind our heirloom Roses themselves. Our Rose Petals found in this limited edition mask are grown exclusively for us by one of our most special farm partnerships.

The Roses are of all colors and heirloom varieties. Each winter we meet with our farm partners to discuss our crop needs for the year ahead, and this farm is no exception. The Roses begin to bloom in May and are hand harvested each day at their peak of health. They are typically harvested in the latter half of the morning just as they open towards the sun. They are also grown close to the Pacific Ocean, which you can almost detect if your senses are really tuned in! There is a certain water/ocean like rhythm to these Roses.

SO MUCH MORE TO KNOW!

There is still so much more to share about Roses, that I could probably talk about them daily for an entire month to come! But here are just a few more things that stand out to me as I use them on my own skin each day.

Rose is cooling while stimulating movement. This is so key for those who experience redness and other rosacea symptoms. Many would assume that any sort of stimulation would be bad for rosacea, but in fact, stagnation is one of the primary root causes of rosacea. Roses cool down the skin, while gently stimulating lymph flow and releasing and hydrating stuck fascia.

Rose is specific for strengthening connective tissue on multiple levels within the skin. This is a plant that can not only immediately tone and firm with the use of our Elixir but also strengthens collagen health over time with the use of products like our Night Balm or Antioxidant Serum. The presence of Gallic Acid, which is specific to collagen and elastin production help with this, along with Polysaccharides, Flavonoids, and Catechin.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly: Rose encourages self-love and self-acceptance. The more we can genuinely accept ourselves, the better we will feel and look. Is this a bogus claim? I don’t think so. I’ve seen it time and time again, and I’ve experienced it first hand as well. It is not easy, but ask plants like Rose to support you in this. They listen and they guide, whether you hear them or not. Take it one step at a time by just being kinder to yourself, and telling your inner critic to be quiet for a while! On a cellular level, Rose finds the magic and beauty in each cell that you have. It is vibrationally powerful to experience that level of cellular acceptance.

Find Rose in our California Rose Single Farm Hydrosol, Antioxidant Serum, Night Balm, Hydrating Elixir I, Effortless Cleanser, Almond Rose Exfoliant, California Body Oil, Hydration Compound and our Honey Rose Spice Mask. Thank you for reading along while I shared my love of Roses with you!
Xo
Laurel