Rose Medicine: Nourishing from Skin to Soul

I used to dismiss roses as cliché, especially around Valentine's Day. Yet as I've deepened my relationship with these thorny allies, I've discovered a world of healing far beyond the scentless grocery store bouquets we've come to associate with romance. Whether you find them growing wild along forest edges or carefully tend them in your garden, roses offer profound medicine for both body and spirit.

The Hidden Treasure of Wild Roses

One of my favorite ways to work with roses comes through an unlikely source—the invasive multiflora rose. While I don’t love how this plant spreads aggressively and chokes out native species, I do appreciate the abundance of wild rosehips that it offers. Throughout fall and winter, its bright red rosehips dot the landscape like jewels, offering potent medicine during the coldest months. By harvesting this wild medicine, we not only support our own wellbeing but help control the plant's spread—a beautiful example of working in relationship with even challenging species.

Rose for Your Best Skin

Both wild and cultivated rosehips are absolutely packed with vitamin C and other antioxidants that support our bodies inside and out. The vitamin C content helps boost collagen production, keeping skin plump and firm while fighting premature aging. The hips also contain valuable fatty acids that nourish and protect our skin barrier. You can infuse rosehips into carrier oils such as jojoba, apricot kernel, or argan oil to make a luxurious body or face oil to deliver these medicinal components right where your skin needs them.

Check out these rose skincare remedies:

Rose Glow Hyaluronic Acid Serum

Rose & Charcoal Facial Soap

Wild Rose Lip Tint

Rose Whipped Tallow Body Butter

Rose as Heart Medicine

Beyond exterior physical benefits, rose is often used in herbalism to uplift the spirit, ease anxiety, and create space for love—both self-love and love shared with others. Energetically, rose teaches us about balance. Its soft, fragrant blooms open with vulnerability, while its thorns remind us to maintain healthy boundaries. This dual nature makes rose a powerful ally for those seeking to cultivate love, compassion, and resilience in their lives. Rich in polyphenols, rose petals help tone and strengthen heart tissue while also soothing stress, grief, and emotional tension. 

Check out these products to work with rose energetically:

Rekindle Herbal Bath Soak

Tulsi Ginger Rose Tea

Working with Rose in Daily Life

When life feels overwhelming, rose can help us reconnect with our heart's true desires and create space for what we love most. You don't need elaborate preparations to bring rose medicine into your life. Here are some simple ways to work with this powerful ally:

For physical wellbeing:

• Harvest wild rosehips in late fall when they turn deep red

• Dry the vitamin C-rich hips for tea or make them into a simple syrup for immune support  throughout winter

• Infuse hips into organic oils for skincare

• Use rose-infused products to support skin health

For emotional and spiritual support:

• Take time to smell blooming roses mindfully

• Drink rose tea when feeling disconnected from your heart

• Add rose petals or rosehip oil to your bath

What I've come to appreciate most about roses is how they meet us wherever we are – offering simple physical nourishment through their vitamin-rich hips, emotional support through their heart-opening flowers, and spiritual teaching through their very nature. In a world that often feels disconnected, roses remind us of our deep interconnection with the natural world and our own hearts.

Check out all the rose offerings in the Mid-Winter Collection here!