“There is simply the rose; it is perfect in every moment of its existence.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

When we think of giving people flowers as a symbol of our love, roses are probably one of the most common flowers we give others, and for good reason! Roses have been symbolic in many different cultures around the world, their colors expressing different meanings: red roses for love, white roses for purity or innocence, and yellow roses for friendship. Roses themselves are just so beautiful and we can’t help but smile when we see them at the micro-farm in full bloom! Roses not only serve as a meaningful gift, but they also have amazing benefits for the skin and are powerful in our skincare! 

The lesser known benefits of rose hips for the skin

In our professional back bar apothecary, the Rosehip Compound is made from organic dehydrated rosehip seeds and serves as one of the ingredients to mix with a custom facial mask. Using the whole fruit allows the constituents of the plant to be delivered to the skin without any oxidation (which begins to lose its potency once exposed to air). Roses are naturally rich in vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid, the available isomer of vitamin C) which is why you won’t see us using synthetic versions in our formulations. Our holistic estheticians love using it to help stimulate collagen production and to help fight against ultraviolet damage from the sun and dark spots on the skin from sun exposure. When activated using goat’s milk yogurt or our Essential Digest, rosehips help to build up the skin’s resistance against photoaging and sun damage.

If you can’t make it to see a Botnia Spa Partner, you can find rosehip powder in our Flower Powder Mask, combined with soothing German chamomile and colloidal oats. Mix it with Essential Enzymes or goat’s milk yogurt for a mask mixture that helps to reduce redness and inflammation and brighten the skin! Use it weekly to see the best results.

You can also find rosehips in the form of rosehip seed oil that’s an ingredient in our Wisdom Oil. Rosehip oil is a dry oil, which is oil that absorbs easily and quickly into the skin. A powerhouse of nourishing vitamins and antioxidants, it goes ALL OUT for your skin!

HYDRATE – Rosehip oil contains a wealth of essential fatty acids, including linoleic and linolenic acid. Fatty acids help to keep cell walls strong so that they don’t lose water.

MOISTURIZE – Rosehip oil is a dry, or non-greasy, oil that will lock in your skin’s natural hydration and oils. This makes it a great moisturizer for ALL skin types.

EXFOLIATE AND BRIGHTEN – Rosehip oil is high in vitamins A and C. Vitamin A, or retinol, encourages skin cell turnover. Vitamin C also aids in cell regeneration, boosting overall vibrance and kicking dull skin to the curb!

BOOST ELASTICITY – Vitamins A and C are also both necessary for the production of collagen (essential for skin elasticity and firmness). Rosehip has also been shown to inhibit the creation of MMP-1, an enzyme that breaks down collagen in the body.

REDUCE INFLAMMATION – Polyphenols and anthocyanin, organic phytochemicals found in rosehips, majorly help reduce inflammation! Rosehips also contain vitamin E, an antioxidant known for its anti-inflammatory effects. Inflammation can cause skin symptoms such as inflammed and irritated red skin, broken capillaries, or crusty itchy skin.

PROTECT FROM SUN DAMAGE – Antioxidants like vitamins A, C, and E have been shown to synergistically combat visible sun damage and may also help prevent photoaging! We all know exposure to the sun plays a major role in premature aging. Did you know UV exposure can also interfere with the body’s ability to produce collagen?

REGENERATE CELLS AND TISSUE – Rosehip oil has essential fatty acids and antioxidants a plenty! These are essential for the natural tissue and cell regeneration processes that take place in the skin.

You can see why we are obsessed with recommending Wisdom Oil for sunny summer months! We also hear that rosehip tea has other added benefits for the body. If you’re looking to see how rose flowers are powerful for the skin, check out our key ingredient deep dive into roses here. 

We only source from the best

When we were looking to source rosehip powder, we knew we found the one when we connected to Kaitie (who just happens to live next door to Justine!) and she shared her belief that “fresh, whole ingredients that are sourced without the use of synthetic pesticides or additives are true quality. When you grow up with a mom who has a bumper sticker stating “Don’t Panic, It’s Organic” – you learn what quality ingredients are really quickly. ” We couldn’t be more excited when she shared a sample of their rosehip powder sourced from Patagonia. 

“Honestly, this ingredient is the first of its kind that we have found that had the right texture, quality, and documentation that matter to us. We work closely with a supplier that supports indigenous Patagonian women to harvest the rose hips from wild-grown plants in Chile. We love the quality of this ingredient along with the income it gives to the Patagonian community. We also prefer the rosa rubiginosa species because it has higher photo nutrients in our experience over rosa canina.”

We love how thorough their testing processes are:
“In an analytical lab, they culture the ingredient to see if any pathogenic bacteria grow. This ingredient is historically negative. It is also tested for heavy metals with highly sophisticated machines that look for the metal molecules (mercury for example). This gets measured down to parts per million. Organic Rosehip Seed Oil and Organic Rosehip Seed Powder comply with the limits.”

We also asked Kaitie about her favorite daily skincare habit: “I put organic rosehip seed oil on my face daily. It’s the perfect ratio of hydrating to emollient without any greasy feel! It doesn’t interfere with my makeup application either.”  That’s how we feel when we use our Wisdom Oil too! 

How we use roses in our skincare

In Botnia’s skincare, we use almost all of the rose plants in different cycles of their life in various ways. We use rose petals infused in our face oils, we extract rose’s beneficial constituents through distillation, glycerite extracts, and hydrosols. We use the fruit of the rose (rosehip) both ground and oil extracted from the rose in our face oil and face masks alike.

In our retail selection, you’ll find roses in the following products:
Rose Water Toner & refills – Rose distillate, rose hydrosol, rose extract
Balancing Oil Cleanser & refill – Rose flowers
Daily Face Cream – Rose distillate
Restorative Face Cream – Rose distillate 
Eye Cream – Rose distillate
Wisdom Oil – Rosehip seed oil, rose flowers
Replenishing Facial Oil – Rose flowers
Flower Powder Mask – Powdered rosehip seeds
Soothing Repair Mask – Rose extract, rose essential oil

How to grow roses in your own garden

On the farm, we grow many types of David Austin English roses, a summer Damask rose, and a few other garden roses. Our growing guide consists of 9 detailed pages on taking care of all the different roses we have on the micro-farm. Rosa damascena is the species traditionally used in medicine and for scent extraction and rosa rugosa is traditionally harvested for its hips as it forms the largest hips of its species. Roses generally grow best in zones 4-11 and need to be spaced at least 2 feet apart depending on the species. It requires full sun, at least 8-10 hours a day for full bursting blooms. It likes loamy soil (a mix of sand, silt clay, and organic material) and to be watered regularly though avoid the leaves as they can cause diseases to the plant. You can harvest rose flowers twice a year, in the spring and late summer/early fall depending on the variety. Harvest rose hips in the fall after the plant has stopped producing new flowers. Flowers should be harvested when fully open but petals are fresh and not yet browned. Petals should come off easily when plucked. You can see how we harvest and dry roses from the micro-farm here. 

“Take time to smell the roses.” – Proverb

Roses continue to be loved all over the world for their amazing healing properties and beauty. Shop our selection of rose products here. And, if you happen to walk by a bush of roses, don’t forget to take time to smell them. 

Xo,
Botnia