Chickweed; a modest super herb for skin care

The flourishing chickweed in the garden indicates that the land is a good and fertile for garden plants. I have often left the chickweed alone to protect the garden both from excessive rain and from drying out. Chickweed is also a very good plant for skin care. It is widely used in natural cosmetics.  You can find its INCI under the name Stellaria media in many natural cosmetics products.  Now you too have a chance to learn how to use the chickweed in your own products. Let’s see what wonders this herb can do for your skin.

The chickweed is an old garden plant and a medicinal plant

The chickweed was once cultivated in gardens. It was used to give taste to salads and garnish with fine sandwiches. From the gardens, the chickweed spread out to nature and is now considered a harmful weed. The best thing about this herbal hobby is that harmful weeds no longer exist. All plants are valuable as you get to know them. The chickweed is one of the best examples.

The chickweed is also an old medicinal plant that has been used especially for skin care. Chickweed effectively reduces itching of the skin. That’s why it’s always worth keeping it for the winter.

The chickweed works best on the skin as a fresh mash. For example, you can squeeze a drop of juice from a succulent chickweed into the itchy area. Try for mosquito bites, for example.

The chickweed effectively soothes the skin

The modest-looking chickweed has plenty of great features which take special care of your skin.

The chickweed is full of the best nutrients. When fresh, it has plenty of vitamin C as well as many group B vitamins. It is a plant which is especially rich in minerals. Its many vitamins and trace elements nourish the skin.

The chickweed contains at least the following minerals;

• • iron
• copper
• calcium
• sodium
• manganese
• phosphorus
• magnesium
• zinc
• silica

In addition, the chickweed has a number of plant chemicals that act as antioxidants, such as

• saponins
• flavonoids
• triterpenoids
• carboxylic acids
• coumarin

Chickweed is an astringent herb that soothes and cools the skin.

Enlarged pores are a problem for many people. The size of the skin pores is partly genetic. However, you can affect them with cosmetics. Many herbs such as chickweed contain soothing ingredients for the skin. The chickweed effectively downsizes the enlarged pores and gives the skin a clear tone.

Chickweed reduces inflammation

Chickweed is an anti-inflammatory herb that reduces inflammation on the skin. Therefore, it is worth trying the chickweed when suffering skin irritation symptoms.

Chickweed reduces swelling

Chickweed has also been used to remove unnecessary fluid from tissues. This feature is useful, for example, in the treatment of the skin around the eyes.

When should you pick up a chickweed?

The chickweed is at its best just before flowering. This is good to know if you want to use the chickweed mainly for cooking. You can also use an older plant in cosmetics. In the older plant, the plant chemicals that benefit the skin are at their highest.

How can the chickweed be utilized in homemade cosmetics?

The chickweed works best on skin as fresh. It is especially suitable as a face mask just as it is. You can also squeeze fresh juice into your toner. Unfortunately, this kind of fresh toner doesn’t last in the fridge for more than a week. Fortunately, chickweeds can be found fresh from May to late fall.

For the winter, you can store the chickweed frozen. Personally, I prefer freezing the chickweed. The best way to freeze a chickweed is to mash it and freeze in ice cubes. You can still add some boiled water (cool it down first) over the ice cubes. This is how the puree is best preserved. I mentioned here that all herbs should be steamed before freezing. The chickweed is a different matter. If you make fresh puree from chickweed, it will be preserved really well as frozen.

Herbal oil from the chickweed is difficult to make

There is a third way to preserve the active ingredients of the chickweed. You can make oil extract from the chickweed. The oil extract must be made from dried chickweeds. There is too much water in fresh herbs to make herbal oil. Make the chickweed herb oil in the usual way. Instructions for making herbal oil can be found here.

I found an article from the web in which herbal oil was done using fresh chickweed. You can try this one if you want. Personally, I haven’t had time to try the recipe yet. Remember that if even a drop of moisture remains in the oil, it will definitely be spoiled. https://learningherbs.com/remedies-recipes/chickweed-salve/

For which products is the chickweed suitable?

The suitability of herbs for homemade cosmetics depends a lot on the form in which you will and can use the herb. Since the chickweed is fresh at its best, you should use it in the summer and fall for as long as you can find it. The fresh chickweed is suitable for fresh cosmetics such as quick-use toners, serums and face masks.

Fresh glycerite

Chickweed is a very suitable raw material for fresh glycerite. Mix glycerol with the mashed chickweed and use as a face mask.

Herbal oil

Oil extract made from chickweed is not as effective as a fresh plant. However, the good properties of chickweed oil are its skin softening and rejuvenating effects. The pore-shrinking properties of the chickweed are also partially left in the oil extract. You can make, for example, skin care ointment from chickweed oil.

Chickweed oil can also be used as a soothing cream to treat insect stings. It is one of the best herbs to treat itchy skin. In addition, a plantain, marigold and allheal can be added to the healing and herbal ointment to boost the healing effect.

The chickweed is a mild and truly versatile herb.

You can take advantage of it in many of your products. It does not contain strong acids or alkaloids that irritate sensitive skin. Which herb is suitable for someone, it depends on many things. Just by experimenting, you will find the best natural plants just for your skin. So, feel free to try the chickweed. It is still abundant in nature. The problem with many plants is that they are not available dried. That’s why you should prepare and store herbs you need for the winter now.

Have you used the chickweed in cosmetics?

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