From Farm to Skin: 5 Herbs I Grow for Skincare

Herbs are showing up more often on cosmetic labels. While some people may think they’re simply a bit of botanical fluff, there is actual scientific and medical research supporting skin benefits from many herbs.

As an herb farmer and cosmetic formulator, I’ve spent years learning how herbs can actually help the skin and how to use them in a skincare formulation. These are some of the herbs I find particularly useful for skincare and several of them grow right here on our Colorado Aromatics farm.

Calendula

Calendula officinalis, commonly called calendula or pot marigold, is one of my favorite skincare plants. Its bright orange and yellow flowers contain carotenoids, flavonoids, and other compounds that contribute to its biological activity.

Research on calendula extracts show benefits for wound healing and skin repair, including effects on epithelial regeneration and the formation of new blood vessels. Calendula extracts have also demonstrated antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.

Studies have also reported improvements in skin hydration and elasticity, along with effects on melanin production and the appearance of hyper-pigmentation. Laboratory research also suggests that calendula compounds may help protect skin from oxidative damage caused by UVB exposure and may increase collagen production and decrease the enzymes involved in collagen breakdown. This is particularly useful for both mature and outdoor skin.

Green Tea

Green tea, Camellia sinensis, is the exception on my list: I don’t grow it on our farm. Tea plants prefer a climate considerably warmer than our Colorado growing conditions.

Green tea is rich in polyphenols called catechins, particularly EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate). These compounds have been extensively studied for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Research suggests that topical green tea preparations can help reduce some of the effects of photoaging. Studies have found benefits for skin hydration, redness, oxidative stress, increasing collagen and elastic fibers, and decreasing enzymes involved in collagen degradation. Green tea compounds have also been investigated for their effects on UV-induced inflammation and immune changes in the skin.

Fennel

Foeniculum vulgare, or fennel, may be better known as a culinary herb, but it has an interesting history in herbal medicine and some intriguing cosmetic research.

Fennel contains flavonoids and other antioxidant compounds. Studies of fennel preparations have reported improvements in skin hydration and reductions in transepidermal water loss (TEWL), the amount of water lost from the skin.

Other research has found improvements in skin roughness, scaliness, texture, and the appearance of wrinkles. Fennel preparations have also been found to reduce melanin production (hyperpigmentation) and skin redness.

For me, fennel is an especially interesting plant because it demonstrates how a familiar garden herb can have a much more complicated chemistry than we might expect.

Hops

When most people think of Humulus lupulus, they probably think of beer. As an herbalist, I think of a plant with much broader uses.

Hops is rich in polyphenols and flavonoids and contains compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Some hop constituents also have phytoestrogenic activity, which has generated interest in their potential effects on skin during and after menopause, when declining estrogen can contribute to changes in skin thickness, hydration, and elasticity.

Research on topical hop preparations has reported improvements in skin hydration and reductions in transepidermal water loss, redness, pigmentation, and the appearance of wrinkles. Some studies have also found improvements in collagen, elastin, and other components of the skin’s supportive matrix.

Hops also has a long history in herbalism. Traditionally, it has been used as a nervine and sedative herb and to support sleep. This is one plant whose traditional uses extend well beyond its role in skincare.

Lavender

Lavandula angustifolia benefits are mainly based in aromatherapy. The aroma of lavender has been studied for effects on relaxation, anxiety, and sleep, although the evidence varies depending on the preparation and circumstances. But lavender can also help soothe skin irritation, deliver antioxidants, and calm skin.

I grow lavender on our farm and distill some of it into hydrosol. Sprayed on the face it can help calm both the skin and the mood.

Why Grow These Herbs?

There is another reason I like growing herbs for skincare: sustainability.

Growing and processing some of our own botanical ingredients means we aren’t buying every plant ingredient from somewhere else, where it may have been grown, processed, packaged, stored, and shipped before it ever reaches our formulation room. We also use regenerative agriculture and try to protect the land we use.

Growing these herbs close to where they are used for skincare shortens the supply chain and reduces upstream packaging and transportation associated with purchasing small quantities of prepackaged botanical ingredients.

There is also something satisfying about knowing the entire journey of an ingredient, from seed, to flower or leaf, to extract, to skincare product.

That’s really what “farm to skin” means to me. It isn’t about just using plant based ingredients, it’s about growing useful plants, growing them sustainably, understanding their chemistry, studying the evidence, and then deciding how and if they belong in a well-formulated skincare product.

Plants are remarkably sophisticated chemical factories. The more we learn about them, the more interesting they become.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Do you grow any plants that have specific traditional/therapy uses? What do you like most about them? What natural plant ingredients do you look for in your creams and lotions?