Natural Cosmetic-Making at Home with Herbs (online course) Herbal Reference Section

Common name: Camomile

Latin name: Chamomilla matricaria

Parts used: Flowers

Properties:

* Calming and anti-inflammatory

* Infused oil is beautifully sweet-smelling

* A gentle skin toner for sensitive skin

Suits Skin Types: Usually suits all skin types, including sensitive.

Hair-care: Traditional as a hair rinse for blonde hair.

Note: Avoid if allergic to Compositae (daisy family) plants.

Common name: Chickweed

Latin name: Stellaria media

Parts used: Leaves & stems 

Properties:

* Cooling & soothing on the skin

* Can help to relieve itching

* Skin healing

Suits Skin Types: All, especially sensitive, itchy or inflammed skin.

Hair-care: Try a hair rinse on an itchy scalp.

Note: Very safe. To ease itching, make water extracts (hand bath or emulsion) not oil or butter extracts/products.

Common name: Cleavers

Latin name: Galium aparine

Parts used: Leaves & stems

Properties:

* Cooling & soothing on the skin

* Deodorising effect

* Skin healing

Suits Skin Types: All

Hair-care: Not known: experiment if you like!

Internal use for skincare & hair-care: Drink as a tonic tea to try to encourage healthy lymphatic circulation, and improve the health & vitality of the skin.*

Note: Use water extracts to capture the deodorising action. This herb must be used when it is fresh, the dried herb is not anywhere near as effective.

Common name: Comfrey

Latin name: Symphytum officinale

Parts used: Leaves or roots

Properties:

* Skin healing & protective.

* Traditionally used to help to heal broken bones, torn tendons and muscle strains.

* This is because it speeds up cell division, helping healing to happen more rapidly.

Suits Skin Types: Normal – dry.

Hair-care: Rich in minerals so could help to strengthen hair.

Note: Do not apply to deep wounds. It heals so rapidly it can close the skin over before the wound has been cleared of infection/bacteria.

Common name: Daisy

Latin name: Bellis perennis

Parts used: Flowers, leaves

Properties:

* Helps to ease bumps & bruises

* Antioxidant: high in vitamin C

* Skin healing

Suits Skin Types: Normal- oily. Avoid if allergic to Compositae (daisy family) plants.

Hair-care: I haven’t tried it for this so far. Experiment if you like!

Note: Daisy balm is a great home first aid remedy for cuts, scrapes, bumps & bruises. It is similar to arnica (arnica is a type of daisy plant native to the Swiss Alps).

Common name: Dandelion Flower

Latin name: Taraxacum officinalis flos

Parts used: Flowers

Properties:

* Used as a toner or face mask to clear blemishes and help to freshen, brighten & clear the skin.

* The sap inside the stem helps to shrink and clear warts.

Suits Skin Types: Normal – oily skin

Hair-care: I haven’t tried it for this.

Internal use for skincare & hair-care: Add the petals of one flower or a dandelion leaf or two to a tonic tea blend for health, vitality and to clear the skin. Dandelion is bitter: this taste stimulates the liver into action and this triggers various processes that help to break down waste, digest food better etc. hence its reputation for being detoxifying and clearing. I don’t recommend adding more than this amount to a daily tea blend because otherwise it can be so bitter it tastes foul! Better to drink a small amount every day, than a large amount that you can’t stomach! *

Note: If collecting and drying these yourself, dry them face down on mesh. Do not put them in a dehydrator. The heat will cause them to turn transform into the seed head puff-balls!

Common name: Elder Flower

Latin name: Sambucus nigra flos

Parts used: Flowers

Properties:

* Cooling & soothing on the skin
* Extracts are traditionally applied to ease burns.
* Lovely, soothing and calming in eye products (compress, eye gel, eye cream etc.)

Suits Skin Types: All

Hair-care: I haven’t tried it for this.

Note: Don’t be put off by the aroma of the fresh flowers: it is not present in extracts. The hydrosol/aromatic water is usually particularly beautiful.

Common name: Fennel

Latin name: Foeniculum vulgare

Parts used: Seeds

Properties:

* Aromatic * Seeds are popular in body scrubs as an exfoliant.

*For body products, not face products.

Suits Skin Types: Normal. Not for sensitive skin or sun-damaged skin.

Hair-care: I haven’t used it this way.

Note: Can be sensitizing so best used in products that are washed off the skin (e.g. scrubs) rather than left on the skin. Also avoid using in leave-on face products in case it causes photosensitivity (increased susceptibility to burning from the sun).

Common name: Gota kola

Latin name: Hydrocotle

Parts used: Leaves

Properties:

* Skin healing & soothing

* High in antioxidants: can help to reduce redness of skin and reduce wrinkles.

* Can help to ease acne

Suits Skin Types: All

Hair-care: Yes, popular in hair care treatments.

Note: This plant grows in Asia e.g. India, Sri Lanka etc so you will need to buy the dried herb or extracts to work with unless you live in that area. High in antioxidants. A well-known longevity tonic in Asian medicine.

Common name: Horse Chestnut

Latin name: Aesculus hippocastanum

Parts used: Seed (inside conker)

Properties:

* Extracts strengthen & tone the veins
* Can help to reduce bruising
* Contains the ‘saponins’, a natural foaming & cleaning agent

Suits Skin Types: All

Hair-care: It is possible to make DIY shampoo, due to the lathering action of the saponins.

Note: The outer layer of conkers are poisonous so I advise buying the prepared dried seed from professional herb suppliers, rather than trying to process the conkers yourself.

Common name: Horsetail

Latin name: Equisetum arvense

Parts used: Leaves & stems

Properties:

* Rich minerals, especially silica, selenium & zinc
* Used to strengthen hair & nails
* Mater extracts to capture minerals (not oil or butters)

Suits Skin Types: Used for hair and nail care rather than skin treatments.

Hair-care & nail care: Mineral rich; strengthening for both.

Note: Use in small amounts due to heavy mineral content e.g. on nail treatment, hair treatment, in a hand bath but not full body bath.

Common name: Lady’s Mantle

Latin name: Alchemilla vulgaris

Parts used: Flowers, leaves & stems

Properties:

 * Astringent.

* Helps to tighten and tone the skin.

* Astringency may help to reduce wrinkling.

Suits Skin Types: Normal – oily

Hair-care: I haven’t tried it for hair.

Note: I don’t recommend this for dry skin because it might dry it out more because it the astringency.

Common name: Lavender

Latin name: Lavandula angustifolia

Parts used: Flowers

Properties:

* Healing, soothing & cooling on the skin

* Antimicrobial/antiseptic

* Aromatic, soothing & relaxing

Suits Skin Types: All, especially sensitive

Hair-care: Yes, can be useful, especially if stress aggravates scalp issues.

Note: While the essential oil is widely-used in natural skincare, I recommend that you try to make other extracts e.g. infused oil, glycerite etc. The aromas vary and you might find one that you prefer.

Common name: Liquorice

Latin name: Glycyrrhiza glabra rad

Parts used: Roots

Properties:

* Soothing & protective on the skin
* Anti-inflammatory so good in treatment to soothe red, sore, angry skin: usually works best as an emulsion cream.

Suits Skin Types: All

Hair-care: I haven’t tried this. It might help to reduce inflammation in an anti-dandruff treatment

Note: Similar in action to Marshmallow root. The infused oil made from the root is heavenly! Lovely sweet smell. So nice and soft on the skin to make your extracts.

Common name: Marigold

Latin name: Calendula officinalis

Parts used: Flowers

Properties:

* Skin healing

* Anti-bacterial & anti-fungal (water extracts, not oil)

* Helpful in treatments/creams to tone the veins (e.g. varicose veins)

Suits Skin Types: All, especially oily; avoid with some types of sensitive skin.

Hair-care: Traditionally used as a rinse to enhance the colours in red hair.

Internal use for skincare & hair-care: Drink as a tonic tea for health, vitality and to clear the skin.*

Note: Avoid using calendula on hot, red, angry skin conditions because it can aggravate them. Avoid if allergic to Compositae (daisy family) plants.

Common name: Marshmallow

Latin name: Althea officinalis rad

Parts used: Roots, leaves

Properties:

* Emollient: Soothing & protective on the skin

* Can help to calm inflammation

* Makes a great gel or face mask

Suits Skin Types: All, especially hot, inflammed skin.

Hair-care: Yes, worth adding to masks or conditioning treatments

Note: The infused oil made from the root is heavenly! Lovely sweet smell. So nice and soft on the skin.

Common name: Meadowsweet

Latin name: Filipendula ulmaria

Parts used: Flowers, leaves

Properties:

* Has a sweet, heavenly scent: make infused oil to capture this

* Helps to ease aches & pains in muscle rubs, massage oil blends etc.

* Water extracts (fresh tea or a hydrosol) are astringent and make great toners

Suits Skin Types: Suits all skin types

Hair-care: I haven’t used it for this. It might make a lovely scalp rinse.

Note: To capture the sweet aroma, use the flowers to make your extracts. Bring the infused oil with you in a roller bottle and apply to your wrists to try to lift your spirits and brighten you mood.

Common name: Nettle

Latin name: Urtica dioica

Parts used: Leaves & stems

Properties:

* Rich in minerals

* Nourishing for skin, hair & nails

Suits Skin Types: All.

Hair-care: Works very well when blended with rosemary to treat hair loss and improve the health of the scalp and hair. To help to ease psoriasis on the scalp/around the hairline: try rinsing the hair & scalp with a warm (not hot!) tea of nettle & rosemary.

Internal use for skincare & hair-care: Drink as a tonic tea for health, vitality and to clear the skin.*

Note: Fresh nettles sting so wear gardening gloves if you plan to pick them yourself. Use water extracts (not oil or butter) to extract the minerals for hair and nail health.

Common name: Oats

Latin name: Avena sativa

Parts used: The breakfast bit!

Properties:

* Soothing & protective to the skin
* Strengthens the skin
* Rich in vitamin E and silica

Suits Skin Types: All, especially sensitive.

Hair-care: Yes, helps to strengthen the hair.

Note: The infused oil is golden, sweet-smelling and skin softening. An oat bath is a simple and lovely relaxing, soothing treatment usually easing tension and reducing inflammation in the skin.

Common name: Peppermint

Latin name: Mentha piperita

Parts used: Leaves & stems

Properties:

* Cooling: helpful in after-sun treatments
* Aromatic: useful in deodorants and/or foot powders
* Try in a DIY mouth wash

Suits Skin Types: Suits most except dry skin (due to astringency of mint)

Hair-care: Yes, it can be nice & refreshing in a stimulating hair growth/scalp tonic.

Note: Peppermint (and other mint) essential oils are very strong, so only use a in very small amount. Peppermint herb is gentler and often easier to combine in a recipe because it is safer and more subtle. Avoid using MINT in pregnancy.

Common name: Plantain

Latin name: Plantago majalis/lancelota

Parts used: Leaves

Properties:

* Cooling & soothing on the skin
* Can help to relieve itching
* Skin healing

Suits Skin Types: All skin types, especially sensitive or hot, itchy, inflammed skin.

Hair-care: Yes, it is rich in minerals. These help to strengthen the hair.

Note: Plantain can be used in a similar way to Calendula (excluding the antimicrobial action). It is calming, soothing, much safer and better tolerated on the skin than Calendula.

Common name: Raspberry leaf

Latin name: Rubus ideaus

Parts used: Leaves

Properties:

* Very rich in minerals

* Helpful as nourishing, strengthening tonic for hair & nails

* Astringent: fresh tea can be used as a toner

Suits Skin Types: Normal – oily

Hair-care: Yes, the high mineral content makes it helpful for the health of the hair & scalp.

Note: Could be too drying on dry or very sensitive skin, due to the astringency.

Common name: Rose petals

Latin name: Rosa spp

Parts used: Flowers

Properties:

* Astringent & cooling (water extracts [tea or hydrosol])
* Beautiful aromatic extract (infused oil or essential oil)
* Make a glycerite to capture the deep colour of roses

Suits Skin Types: Suits all skin types, especially sensitive.

Hair-care: Yes, very nice in treatments for sensitive scalps or in baby shampoos.

Note: There are hundreds of varieties of roses in the Rosa spp family of plants and any of them can be used in natural cosmetics (make sure the Latin name is Rosa ….[the second word will vary depending on variety of rose]). Aromatic roses are the nicest to use. If you have roses in your garden and haven’t applied chemical treatments to them, then you can collect and use these. If not, the buy dried roses and use those to make extracts.

Common name: Rosehips

Latin name: Rosa spp fruct

Parts used: Hips (fruits); seeds

Properties:

* The oil inside the seeds is rich in anti-inflammatory compounds

* This oil helps the skin to regenerate and fade scars

* The fruits are high in vitamin C

Suits Skin Types: All skin types; especially helpful for oily skin because rosehip seed oil is a very light, ‘dry’ and easily-absorbed oil.

Hair-care: I think it is too expensive an ingredient to waste in hair products!

Note: Rosehip oil that people buy is pressed out of the seed inside the rosehip. This is an ingredient that people usually need to buy because it takes thousands of seeds to produce any usable amount of oil, and all the irritating, itchy hairs that cover the seeds need to be strained out too. Please ignore online videos claiming to show you how to make your own rosehip seed oil. It is not practical to make at home and really does need professional equipment to extract it.

Common name: Rosemary

Latin name: Rosmarinus officinalis

Parts used: Leaves & stems

Properties:

* Antiseptic: try in deodorants & foot powders or to treat acne & balance oily skin

* A well-known tonic for the hair and scalp, because it improves circulation to the hair follicles (keep the hair alive)

* Good in sports muscle rubs or warming balms to improve the circulation

Suits Skin Types: Normal – oily

Hair-care: Yes! To prevent or reduce hair loss, to improve the health of the hair & scalp. Water or oil extracts usually help. To help to ease psoriasis on the scalp/around the hairline: try rinsing the hair & scalp with a warm (not hot!) tea of rosemary & nettle.

Note: The lovely woody scent of rosemary also makes it popular in more masculine products such as aftershave or beard oils. Pregnancy: Avoid using this in pregnancy.

Common name: Sage

Latin name: Salvia officinalis

Parts used: Leaves & stems

Properties:

* Antiseptic: try in deodorants & foot powders, or for oily skin & acne treatments

* Natural hair dye: strong tea used to stain grey hair darker

* Astringent & antiseptic: can be helpful in a mouth wash for gum health

Suits Skin Types: Normal – oily

Hair-care: Yes, in treatments for normal – oily hair, and to stain the colour darker.

Note: Sage is very strong and not safe to use in pregnancy. The essential oil is very strong and can interact with drugs and various medical conditions. When I recommend sage for skincare and haircare, I am talking about using the herb, not the essential oil.

Common name: Sea Buckthorn

Latin name: Hippophae rhamnoides

Parts used: Fruit and/or seeds

Properties:

* A super-herb, full high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds

* Helps to regenerate tissue, heal burns, reduce scars etc, mostly due to high vitamin A levels

* Incredibly rich in vitamins, minerals, Omega oils & antioxidant.

Suits Skin Types: All. Very healing to damaged skin, especially sun-damage.

Hair-care: No, I don’t think it’s suitable

Note:  It has a strong orange colour and may stain. It is an ingredient you will usually need to buy. Oils can be extracted from the seeds or fruit. They can be cold-pressed or extracted using CO2. Check which one you have bought so you use it properly because safe the maximum amounts will vary depending on these factors (cold-pressed can usually be used undiluted [100%], while CO2 extracts often have a max of 5 %).

Common name: Self-Heal

Latin name: Prunella vulgaris

Parts used: Flowers, leaves & stems

Properties:

* Skin healing: great in balms for cuts & scrapes or in skin repair blends.

* Safe and well-tolerated on damaged skin

* Works well as an infused oil or a water extract

Suits Skin Types: Suits all skin types, especially sensitive.

Hair-care: It possibly could be good for this: I haven’t tried it.

Note: Another skin healing alternative to calendula, that is safe and well-tolerated. You will usually need to make self-heal extracts yourself. It is rare to see them for sale from suppliers.

Common name: Silverweed

Latin name: Potentilla anserina

Parts used: Leaves

Properties:

* Toning to the veins: varicose veins, spider veins etc.

* Astringent: try as a toner

* Used as a gargle/mouth rinse to improve health of the gums

Suits Skin Types: Normal – oily.

Hair-care: I haven’t used it this way.

Note: Due to how astringent silverweed is, it might be too drying to be suitable to use on dry skin.

Common name: Soapwort

Latin name: Saponaria officinalis

Parts used: Leaves; root

Properties:

* Contains ‘saponins’: a soap-like natural foaming & cleansing agent

* Used in hair-care to make a natural shampoo

* A fresh tea is traditionally used as a tonic to cleanse and refresh the skin

Suits Skin Types: Normal

Hair-care: Can be used in natural shampoos for any hair or scalp type.

Note: It doesn’t foam up like ‘normal’ shampoos. It has a more subtle change in texture but it is still very good at cleaning.

Common name: St John’s Wort

Latin name: Hypericum perforatum

Parts used: Flowers, leaves & stems

Properties:

* Helps to prevent or fade scars

* Helps to ease nerve pain

* Alcohol extract (tincture) helps to shrink cold sores

Suits Skin Types: Suits most skin types. Not suitable for use on the face due to the infused oil causing photosensitivity (making the skin more likely to burn in the sunlight).

Hair-care: Could be of use if the hair is thinning due to stress.

Note: Used in body products to help to ease strained, sore muscles and nerve pains such as sciatica. To fade/prevents scars: usually works well in a balm. Topical oil extracts do NOT interact with pharmaceutical drugs so there is no need for the precautions outlined for internal use of St John’s Wort.

Common name: Thyme

Latin name: Thymus vulgaris

Parts used: Leaves & stems

Properties:

* Anti-septic & anti-fungal

* Useful in talc and deodorants

* Oily skin treatments: to help to treat acne

Suits Skin Types: Normal – oily or acne prone skin

Hair-care: Yes, it could be quite refreshing for the health of the scalp.

Note: Very helpful in treatments (e.g. foot baths) to ease Athlete’s Foot. You can use dried thyme bought from the shop: you don’t need fresh thyme from the garden. Avoid using THYME in pregnancy.

Common name: Vanilla

Latin name: Vanilla planifolia

Parts used: Pod

Properties:

* A sweet, distinctive aroma

* Great in lip balm, massage bars & body butters

* Infused oils and glycerites are easy to make at home

Suits Skin Types: Usually used on the body rather than face products

Hair-care: I haven’t tried this.

Note: Vanilla essential oil is quite rare and expensive but it is easy to make a litre of vanilla infused oil, using a vanilla pod. It feels like a very decadent ingredient but it is budget-friendly this way.

Common name: Yarrow

Latin name: Achillea millefolium

Parts used: Flowers, leaves & stems

Properties:

* Skin healing; helps to stop bleeding from minor cuts

*Helpful in treatments/creams to tone the veins (e.g. varicose veins)

Suits Skin Types: Suits most skin types.

Hair-care: Yes, it can be useful in a scalp or hair treatment to stimulate the circulation to the hair follicle.

Note: The essential oil is a lovely blue colour. Try making infused oil. Avoid if allergic to Compositae (daisy family) plants.

Common names:

Irish Moss/Carrageen 

Latin name:

Chondrus crispus

Properties:

* Cooling & soothing on the skin

* Can help to relieve itching

* Makes a lovely DIY gel-rich face mask

* Nourishes, protects, softens & soothes the skin (I love using the infused oil in a facial oil serum blend).

Suits Skin Types: All, especially dry or sensitive.

Hair-care: I use larger seaweeds for this. Irish moss is a smaller plant and consequently more expensive to work with. It could still be used in hair treatments though, especially nourishing masks or gels.

Note: Irish moss contains a ‘carrageneen’ a natural plant sugar chain that is used as a gelling or thickening agent in toothpastes, gels, jelly, mousses and many other conventional food, medical and cosmetic products.

Common names: Wracks: Bladderwrack; Serrated Wrack

Latin name: Fucus vesiculosus; Fucus serratus

Properties:

* Rich in gloopy, viscous plant compounds that help to make gels and other thick extracts

* High in vitamins & minerals

* Nourishes, protects, softens, soothes & strengthens the skin

Suits Skin Types: All skin types. The infused oil can also very balancing for oily skin.

Hair-care: Yes, seaweeds work really well in hair-care treatments and products.

Note: Wracks are the most common seaweeds traditionally used in baths. Seaweed baths are magnificent and budget-friendly. They are so deeply relaxing and nourishing. Make a foot-bath if you don’t have a bath in your house. Use fresh or dried seaweed (you can buy it from a seaweed supplier).

Common names: Kelp/Kombu/Oarweed

Latin name:

Laminaria digitata

Properties:

* This seaweed has similar skincare and hair-care properties as the Wracks (Fucus spp.) but it is much stronger so is to be used with a little more care.

* Kelp is very high in iodine so it is not suitable for use during pregnancy.

* It grows in deep water so is harder to harvest (only accessible at the lowest tides each month). It is a large seaweed and is lovely in a seaweed bath.

Suits Skin Types: Yes it suits all skin

Hair-care: Yes, it’s great in scalp and hair treatments. Use water to extract the minerals to help to strengthen hair.

Note: Have you or someone your know used this in cosmetics while pregnant? Don’t worry. High, repeated doses or internal use of this seaweed are harmful in pregnancy (as would a strong or regular seaweed bath using it). However, a small amount of an extract of this in a cream or balm is unlikely to be because it’s a much lower dosage of the seaweed. The oil extract (e.g. an infused oil) is safe because that will not contain any iodine (iodine is not soluble in fat).