Autumn herbs for cosmetics have to pick up now. You probably have already picked some herbs for the winter. Spring and summer are the most popular time for picking wild herbs. Did you know that many wild herbs can be picked as long as they are found? If you are about to use the herbs you pick externally, for example in hair care, picking time does not matter. Now I’ll tell you what autumn herbs for cosmetics I’ve been picking last week.
Are there still herbs worth of picking?
Of course, you can pick all the herbs you find for your cosmetics use. Although some plants will wilt during the summer, there is a huge number of herbs to pick. Some of our wild herbs remain viable throughout the summer. Others even get stronger over the fall. The green parts of the plants still produce leaf green. The green color intensifies and deepens as the summer goes on.
Here are some super good autumn herbs for cosmetic use:
Nettle
Nettle is the number one wild herb of the ending summer. However, it is not suitable for food at the end of the summer. It is always a good idea to harvest the nettle for food in the spring and/or early summer. The nettle is at the end of the summer full of chlorophyll and important plant acids. The dark nettles contain plenty of oxalic acid. High levels of nettle acids and nitrate are harmful to the body. The late summer nettle is good for a hair wash. You also get a huge amount of flavonoids and other skin-beneficial phytochemicals from nettle.
Nitrate of nettles are not healthy for the body in high concentrations. However, nitrate has been used externally for fungal infection treatments. You can use late summer nettles for healing foot crème.
Nettle Nitrate also treats scalp yeast. However, pharmacy dandruff shampoos contain also other active ingredients than nitrate. You can try washing your hair with nettle infusion for your scalp problems. If the nettle does not work, you should seek medical attention.
Goldenrod
Goldenrods (Solidaco) are very common weeds that are not well appreciated. The Canada goldenrod has once been a popular garden plant. It is now wild and has been designated as a non-native species. It’s very sad. Personally, I like the goldenrod, including the Canada goldenrod. It is a plant that thrives in low water, in poor soil, and requires almost no care to bloom abundantly and for a long period of time. The Canada goldenrod is also a non-toxic plant. So it’s a true eco-gardener’s dream. In addition, it can be used to make various extracts for herbal medicine as well as skin care products.
Goldenrods are effective against candidiasis, such as those associated with dandruff and some rashes. If you suffer from dandruff, I would definitely recommend a bath made of Canada goldenrod or wild goldenrod. The scalp, which has been rinsed with a poultice made of goldenrod, will heal slowly from dandruff if it is caused by yeast.
It is said also that Goldenrod heal wounds. Goldenrods help the skin rejuvenate itself. That’s why goldenrods are very useful in skin care.
Goldenrods also brighten the skin. They reduce pores because they are bitter plants. You can make glycerite from goldenrods. Glycerite made of goldenrod is good ingredient of facial toner. The goldenrod also provides an infusion because the active ingredients in the goldenrods are water soluble.
Plantain
In autumn the plantains are large and lush. They get more dark greener leaves and greater flower stalk. You can use plantain as skin care as it is. Everyone remembers the plantain plaster from the childhood.
Plantains heal small wounds and rejuvenate the skin. They are very mild so they are suitable for almost everyone. You could try plantain on, for example, in children palms.
Plantain is a very moisturizing plant. There are only few moisturizing plants existing. Therefore, it is advisable to dry the plantains also for winter. The skin dried because of the dry air of late winter really needs attention. Plantain is one of the best ways to store and collect moisture on the skin.
Plantain suits well for treating dark eyelids. Try extracts from the plantain if you have problems with dark eyelids.
Plantain is a deep-cleansing plant. It has a cleansing effect on the skin.
You can make a plantain infusion with hot water. You can also try to make plantain glycerite. Of course, the active ingredients in plantain are also extracted into alcohol, but I don’t like alcohol in cosmetics. Alcohol has a skin drying effect.
Plantain is also suitable for oil extraction. Plant extract made of plantain are used to treat insect bites and skin irritation, for example. Plantain extract is also excellent oil for broken cuticle.
Ground-ivy (Glechoma hederacea)
Ground-ivy is one of my favourite plants. I bought the first plant from the garden shop with the intention to make it a cover plant under the bushes. For five years, Ground-ivy did not succeed and it disappeared so I forgot the whole plant. Suddenly, I noticed that my ground-ivy had secretly taken over my lawn and other areas of the garden. It took me years to get rid of it on the lawn. Now it grows gently behind the house, covering large area nicely.
Even though I bought the ground-ivy in the garden shop myself, it is a wild herb growing wild in forest and fields. In old times it has been used to make beer before the arrival of hop.
Ground-ivy is an effective medical herb. It is used to treat inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, in particular, by breathing in the steam. I have often tried ground-ivy steam respiration flu treatment. It is really effective in opening a stuffy nose. Ground-ivy is slightly anti-inflammatory.
In cosmetics, the ground-ivy is less known. It is a mild herb in the same way as plantain. Ground-ivy has a softening effect on the skin. It is mildly antibacterial. It has a mild soothing effect on the skin. After all, it has also been used to soothe abscesses and skin infections.
You can use all the above-ground parts of the soil of ground-ivy. You can prepare, for example, ground-ivy oil extract. It has a skin rejuvenating effect. Ground-ivy oil can also be used in cleansing oil blends and cleansing face masks as it has an effective detox effect.
Raspberry leaves and rose petals
Raspberry and rose are both plants of the Rosa family. They work the same way on the skin. That’s why I bundled them here. Apple and strawberry are also rose plants. Strawberry leaves and apple tree leaves can be used just like raspberry leaves and rose petals.
You must have heard of raspberry leaf tea. It’s a mild, delicious tea-like stew. Raspberry leaves can also be used for cosmetics. I have made a soothing lotion out of raspberry leaves. Raspberry is a mild astringent plant. It reduces pores and brightens the skin. Raspberry leaf is also a mild herb.
Remember to filter the raspberry leaf infusion. It often has sharp thorns. Use good filter.
Greater Burdock (Arctium lappa)
The greater burdock is one of my favourites. It is a moisturizing herb and at its best in late summer. Then its leaves are large and dark. The problem with the greater burdock is that it likes to grow on the fields and the roadside in the sunshine. That’s why a greater burdock is usually a victim of cutting. It is really difficult to find an open space where a greater burdock would be allowed to grow up and seed in peace.
The greater burdock is easy to dry. Best way to dry it is to remove the thick stalks first and then cut the rest into small pieces. Some people praise the root of the greater burdock. It is a good and moisturizing part of the herb.
In addition, the greater burdock has a very long pile root. It’s not easy to dig it out. I couldn’t even do it in my own yard. The land was too rocky. The leaves of greater burdock are just as moisturizing as the root. That is why I do not find the digging of the root so necessary.
From the leaves of greater burdock I make moisturizing creams in the late winter as well as a facial toner. Burdock is a mild herb that does not irritate the skin even when layered. However, it is advisable to prepare the lotions as very mild solutions.
Thyme, sage and rosemary
These three aromatic spice plants are not wild. However, they do well in the garden. At least sage and thyme will survive over the winter, especially if they are covered well. I have plenty of both sage and thyme in the garden. They have survived well for years in a sheltered rock bed under branches of spruce.
Aromatic herbs should be used as soon as possible when they are fresh. If you want to dry them for winter you should wait until late summer. Then the essential oils they contain are most abundant.
I use sage especially for hair rinses. It suits well with nettle. Salvia is great for dark hair and also for grey hair. Sage should slow down the greying of the hair. True or not, I don’t know. However, it is worth trying. In any case, sage deepens the dark colour of the hair.
Thyme and rosemary are antibacterial ingredients. They also have an incredibly wonderful natural scent. Thyme and rosemary should be used in foot baths, foot palms and for the treatment of acne skin. I have also prepared very good deodorant using these aromatic spice plants.
These are the autumn herbs for cosmetics I have gathered this week for the winter
There are also many other useful herbs and plant parts that should be picked and dried or frozed.
It’s a good idea to take a good hike in the nature and pick the herbs you have found. Even if you just don’t find any use for them right now, you may need them later on in the winter.
Now it’s time to harvest autumn herbs for cosmetics
The world of herbs is huge. Do you already know all autumn herbs for cosmetics? There is so much to tell that I could do my whole blog about herbs. I will tell more about new plants that I have used later on.
When drying or freezing herbs always remember to label the container
- name of the herb
- date you packed the herb
- Whether the herb was collected for cosmetic or edible purposes.
In winter may happen that you suddenly wonder paper bags and glass jars containing some dry, green shreds of leaves. All of a sudden everything looks exactly the same even though on the packing day you were quite sure what you have put in the bag. Therefore, you should name and date every one of them.
Thanks again for your time and interest in my blog.
Have you already collected wild herbs or plants for your winter in your own garden?