This year, a very special plant finally bloomed in our micro-farm that only blossoms during its second season after being transplanted into the soil. Meet Clary Sage, also known as Salvia sclarea! We planted our clary sage starts back in August of 2022 and have patiently awaited for its beautiful purple flowers to arrive so that we could use it in our skincare. Found in our new summer Sausalito Garden Hydrosol, clary sage essential oil can also be found in our Wisdom Oil, Daily Face Cream, and Gentle Hand Lotion for its skin benefits. Learn about the benefits of clary sage in Botnia products and some interesting facts about this unique plant!

Benefits of Clary Sage 

Traditionally, all parts of the clary sage plant can be used medicinally with clary sage essential oil being the most common use of this plant, especially in aromatherapy. An herb used internally (1) for digestive disorders, kidney diseases, menstrual cramps and symptoms of menopause, there have also been studies (2) that show that clary sage is a great ally for helping to treat wounds topically. There are high percentages of the terpenes linalyl acetate and linalool (3; also found in high concentrations in lavender) which are known for their anti-inflammatory properties, which makes it great for those who have inflammatory skin responses and reactions. The terpenes combined (4) have also been found to have calming, stress relieving effects.

Clary Sage in Botnia Skincare 

Our new Sausalito Garden Hydrosol is a delicate floral blend of clary sage hydrosol as well as lavender and rose hydrosols. When we planted our clary sage last year, we envisioned incorporating it into our skincare since it’s known for soothing sensitive skin and calming inflammation. We’ve waited patiently for two years to use clary sage’s beautiful purple flowers as a distillation for this unique hydrosol, a blend we’ve never formulated before! We use small amounts of clary sage essential oil in some of our products for the same properties to comfort reactive and sensitive skin.

If you’re pregnant, you may want to avoid using products with clary sage essential oil in them which is contraindicated for pregnancy because it also has the potential for causing uterine contraction. We include this contraindication out of an abundance of caution; there are about 5 drops of clary sage essential oil per batch (~70 bottles) so it is a very tiny amount and the risk is minimal. We recommend checking in with your health care professional if you’re interested in using one of our three products (listed below) with clary sage essential oil during pregnancy. However, breastfeeding causes oxytocin to be released into your bloodstream, and this hormone causes the contraction of all smooth muscles and helps your uterus contract back into its pre-pregnancy shape and size. During the postpartum period, uterine contractions and cramping are helping your body heal, so a very tiny amount of clary sage essential oil won’t hurt and might even help that process along. Our products with clary sage essential oil are Wisdom Oil, Daily Face Cream, and Gentle Hand Lotion. 

How to use products with clary sage in your skincare routine

After cleansing, use our Sausalito Garden Hydrosol as a nightly toner to help relieve anxiety and stress and also bring down inflammation in the skin. 

Follow up with the Daily Face Cream or Wisdom Oil to seal in moisture in the skin and protect your skin from environmental elements. You can apply the Wisdom Oil in the daytime and Daily Face Cream at night if you need extra hydration, especially in dry hot climates. It also helps to soothe any irritation or inflammation in the skin. 

All over the body, use our Gentle Hand Lotion as a daily treatment.

Fun facts about clary sage 

We’ve mentioned above that clary sage flowers only bloom biennially (once every other year) and it’s a short lived herbal perennial (5). The plant itself begins as a rosette its first year and will shoot out a flower stalk that can grow up to four feet in its second year of growth. After the second year, the plant will usually die off. It loves full sun and can be started from seed, cuttings, or propagated by layering done from low-growing branches. It’s also deer resistant and does best in zone 5. 

It’s so special for us to share the magic of this amazing plant and its rare flower in our summer hydrosol grown with lots of love in our micro-farm. Have any questions about any of the plants we use in our skincare? Check out our key ingredients, blog posts, email (botniaskincare@gmail.com), or DM us anytime, we love getting plant nerdy with you!

Xo,
Botnia

References:
1. Sage. (n.d.). Google Books. https://books.google.com/books?id=iE7-nuI9S7UC&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA20&hl=en&source=newbks_fb#v=onepage&q&f=false

2. Sienkiewicz, M., Głowacka, A., Poznańska-Kurowska, K., Kaszuba, A., Urbaniak, A., & Kowalczyk, E. (2015). The effect of clary sage oil on staphylococci responsible for wound infections. Postepy Dermatologii I Alergologii, 1, 21–26. https://doi.org/10.5114/pdia.2014.40957

3. Peana, A. T., D’Aquila, P. S., Panin, F., Serra, G., Pippia, P., & Moretti, M. D. L. (2002). Anti-inflammatory activity of linalool and linalyl acetate constituents of essential oils. Phytomedicine, 9(8), 721–726. https://doi.org/10.1078/094471102321621322

4. Dable-Tupas, G., Tulika, V., Jain, V., Maheshwari, K., Brakad, D. D., Naresh, P. N., & Suruthimeenakshi, S. (2023). Bioactive compounds of nutrigenomic importance. In Elsevier eBooks (pp. 301–342). https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-824412-8.00003-5

5. Wikipedia contributors. (2023). Salvia sclarea. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia_sclarea