I love the smell of roses. Fresh, dried, in toners, in my bath. Roses are the queen flowers of heart opening and vibrational expansion. There are so many ways to incorporate rose medicine into our lives and today I am sharing one of my go-to scrubs that highlights this majestic flower.

As some of you know I went through a rough period of acne in my life a few years ago. To be honest there are still times when I get a pimple and I have this deep reaction like oh shit, my skin is going to freak out again! After years of taking herbs to balance my cycle, practicing breath work to soothe my nervous system and eating foods to nourish myself from the inside out, my skin has been very happy. Another big part of that has been creating my own simple beauty products and making sure I use roses as often as possible.

The scent of the rose takes me back to my childhood. My Grandmother grew a variety of roses on her porch and when the flowers died she saved the petals and kept them in silver jars all over the house. Every room smelled of roses year round. I loved watching her tend to them in her little garden during the afternoons. I found myself taking little handfuls of the dried petals and inhaling their fragrance. It always made me feel like royalty to have access to these incredible flowers year round.

Making roses part of our everyday experience can be as simple as placing a drop of rose essential oil on your wrist and breathing it in. I often add a drop to my face oil in the evenings as a way to prepare myself for sleep. Roses are cooling in nature and very healing for our emotional body.

To make this scrub you just need a few basic ingredients. Often times you can find dried chamomile and roses in the bulk sections of your local organic market and they shouldn’t be expensive. I’ve also linked to sources in the recipe below. Chamomile is often used in beauty products because like rose it is anti inflammatory, cooling, and very gentle on the skin. Honey and oats have a very long history of being used to soothe the skin, cleanse pores and gently exfoliate sensitive faces. If you’re looking for a good face mask, try my Avocado Honey Mask, it uses oats as well.

The recipe calls for an oil as the base. My preferred face oils are jojoba, rosehip seed and sesame and if my skin is super dry coconut oil. In our recipe I used rosehip seed because it is loaded with antioxidants, vitamins and essential fatty acids that work wonders to correct blemishes, reduce dark spots, and it is very hydrating. Be sure to purchase cold pressed oil as it retains nutrients and healing properties and use all organic products in the recipe. You can make a delicious tea or face steam with your left over flowers!

Rose Chamomile Face Scrub

Ingredients //

• 1 Tbsp. dried roses
• 1 Tbsp. dried chamomile flowers
• 1 Tbsp. rolled oats
• 2 Tbsp. raw honey
• 3 Tbsp. rosehip seed oil
• 3-4 drops rose essential oil (optional)

Method //

Add the roses, chamomile and oats to a nut and seed grinder (a coffee grinder will work too) and pulse until ground fine. Pour into a small jar.

Warm the honey by placing the jar in a bowl of hot water. Let sit for a few minutes until the honey is easy to work with. Add honey and rosehip oil to the jar and stir to combine. Add a few drops of rose essential oil make this even more delicious.

When you’re ready to use the scrub wash your face with a mild cleanser and apply the scrub with a little bit of warm water. Make circles with your fingers and gently massage scrub all over face and neck. Rinse with warm water. Pat dry and finish with a spritz of rose water toner and your favorite face oil.
Store leftover scrub in the jar sealed with a lid. It will keep fresh for several weeks. This scrub is mild enough to use 3 times a week. It’s best to exfoliate skin every couple of days.

xoa

Photos by Asami Zenri