Wild Rose (Rosa spp.)

June has come and gone and wild roses have had their time in the limelight spreading love and joy. I have recently come back from a wonderfully inspiring two weeks of hiking in the lake district (Cumbria, UK) and while amazed by this beautiful grand landscape, the abundance of dusty pink wild roses in bloom on the lakesides with their heavenly fresh scent beautified the scene even more and was indeed also uplifting and much appreciated by us sweaty hikers carrying heavy backpacks in nearly 30 degrees full sun.

Reluctant but sensible to not harvest during our long hike through the fells and dales I was grateful to at the end of our trip spend a few days in my partner’s camper van where I could, with a bit of creativity, more easily and respectfully harvest, dry, and store enough petals for my herbal crafts. 

Filled with energy and inspiration from our wonderful nature, and perhaps the euphoria all this rose scent is giving me, I’ve been having itchy fingers to create and share some amazing and fun ways of using and benefitting from them.

Know their Medicine

For me, the medicine in rose flowers lies foremost in their scent. Compared to our other senses, the sense of smell is the most primal and instinctual. It has a remarkable ability to elicit emotional responses that can greatly influence our well-being. This is due to the direct connection between our scent receptors and the Limbic System in the brain, which is in charge of recording our emotions, memories, and survival instincts. Rose is one of the scents with a long history of use to trigger specific responses.

Heart Love

When we breathe in the aroma of a rose, it has a calming effect on our mind and body. We become fully immersed in the scent, it becomes the sole focus of our attention and creates a moment of beautiful tranquillity. Wild rose petals have a nervine action and help to calm and refresh the nervous system in a very gentle and nurturing manner. Smelling them, observing their beauty, and preparing herbal remedies from roses can help balance a confused or sad heart, and release and relax emotional blockages. Roses are perfect for the easily overwhelmed and sensitive being or for anyone experiencing grief and distress.

Sensual Love

Roses are highly associated with intimacy and romance which they, rightly so, are full of. Again, it’s the enchanting aroma of roses that evoke deep emotions and act as an aphrodisiac. By promoting relaxation, excitement and general “feel good” vibes roses can help release tension and encourage a more sensual and intimate connection. Infuse rose into massage oil, chocolate, or liqueur to enjoy with your partner, or make and burn rose incense and an atmosphere of sexual desire and deep connectedness will spark.

Womb Love

Rose is a beautiful medicine for a woman’s womb. Drunk as tea or massaged onto the area with an infused oil, rose will work as a “blood mover” breaking up stagnation and bringing warmth and movement to the whole space of the womb. This action of stimulating circulation and flow of blood to the reproductive system may help address menstrual difficulties, cystic growths, and uneasy emotions of PMS. Countless of times have rose helped bring on my period and support my menstrual cycle when I’ve been feeling stressed, out of balance, and stagnated.

Skin Love

Packed with antioxidants, vitamins, and soothing properties, roses offer great advantages to our skin. They have the ability to attract and retain moisture which hydrates the skin, and leaves it soft, and radiant. This is particularly beneficial for dry skin types. With anti-inflammatory properties, they can help reduce redness, irritation, and inflammation. Great for sensitive skin or various skin conditions. Commonly used in anti-ageing products rose petals, along with their antioxidants, have astringent properties which can tighten pores and enhance skin elasticity when used regularly. The vitamin C in roses aids in reducing the appearance of dark spots and hyperpigmentation and natural acids present help in gently exfoliating the skin giving a brighter and more even-toned complexion. Make rose water, rose-infused oil or scrubs for your skin and let them work their magical beauty.

Get Crafty

Now, with a little bit of knowledge and connection with the wild rose, we can harvest its petals and create beautiful, fun and wholesome medicine. Other than making rose tea, oil, hot chocolate and adding petals to my salads, below are recipes for a few crafts I’ve been playing with recently.

Rose Incense

While store-bought incense may contain ingredients that are harmful to inhale when burnt making your own is a safer bet. You have full control over what goes inside them and can make up your own favourite scents using different aromatic herbs.

Powder your herbs and stir together until they are evenly combined. Slowly add the water, 5-10 drops at a time whilst stirring and mash the powder and water together until a dry dough that’s only wet enough to hold together without crumbling apart has formed.

Pinch off small pieces of the dough and form them into cones. Tall and skinny cones seem to burn best. Slide a toothpick into the center of the cone to create a little bit of space and they will burn even better.

Allow your cones to dry for up to 7 days. They won’t light or burn well until they are completely dried. Place on a fire-safe surface, light the tip, relax and enjoy! 💕 

Rose Scrub

Few things feel as cleansing and refreshing to the skin as a good old face or body scrub. A brilliant way to rid toxins from the body as well as cleaning and moisturising the skin. Making your own scrubs is easy and inexpensive and can often be made with several ingridients from your kitchen cupboard. This time I used sugar as my main exfoliator.

Grind or blend sugar to how rough or soft you want your scrub to be. A fine soft texture is usually recommended for the face while more coarse is recommended for the body. I personally like a soft scrub. Do the same with the rose petals until they turn into powder or teeny flakes.

Mix together the sugar, rose petals and oils into an even paste. Measurements are never exact and your are gonna have to go by feel, what I have stated above is just to give you a rough idea.

Since no chemical preservatives are present in this natural scrub use only clean and dry hands or utensils when scooping out the amount needed. I always bring the amount I need with me in to the shower to avoid water getting into the container. To avoid contamination store your scrub in a cool and dry area. This way it will lasts for months.

Rose Water

This is another easy and affordable beauty hack. Use as a facial toner or put in a spray bottle to mist your face and body with or use as a natural air freshener. There are a few different methods of making rose water. I tend to only give myself the time to do the “simmering” method which to me feels the most effortless and least time consuming.

Put rose petals in a pot or saucepan and add enough water to just cover the petals. 

Place the pot on the stove on low heat and cover with a lid and let simmer until the petals lose their colour, approximately 30–45 minutes.

Leave your rose water to cool completely then strain the water into a spray bottle or jar. Refrigerate and use for up to about a week. Since no preservatives are used the shelf life is short and it’s important to use your clever sense of smell to detect rancidity. 

Code of Conduct

As always when wildcrafting and using natures resources, harvest with awareness, gratitude, and respect. Never pick all the roses that you come across but leave enough for insects and reproduction. Only harvest from shrubs far enough away from roads and areas prone to fumes and toxins.

With that said I hope you have had or will have a chance to enjoy and perhaps even heal with this beautiful plant.

With Love,

Sarah Águsta