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Herbal skin care reference chart - Printable version

Choosing the right botanicals for your skin type

The following chart lists the most commonly used herbs, fruit and other natural ingredients for skin care. Refer to Making your own herbal teas, decoctions and infused oils for instructions on how to infuse herbs in either water or oil.
Fresh fruit, eggs, milk, kefir, yogurt and herbal teas all have short to very short shelf life, and can therefore be added only to creams and lotions made for yourself and your family, and used up within a short time (1 week at the very maximum, if kept refrigerated). Refer to our natural skin care basics for details about storage and handling precautions.

If you sell, or are planning to sell, herbal/botanical creams and lotions, you can use the following chart as a reference to guide you in choosing the best suited fruit or botanical extracts, essential or infused oils.
Top quality, carefully selected natural plant essential oils are available in the US from Anne Lee's.
A wide range of fruit and botanical extracts, suitable for both home-use and commercial skin care applications, are available from Aromatics & More, in New Zealand.

Miriam Kresh of Hills of Galilee, Skin loving soap handcrafted in Israel, has recently offered the results of her experience with fresh goat's milk cream: her goat's milk cream/lotion recipes are publicly available on the Soap Naturally site.

Disclaimer

The following chart is provided as general information only. Any health or safety related issues should be further researched and not be relied upon as a substitute for the advice of a properly qualified professional. Neither the author nor Soap Naturally assume or accept any responsibility for, and will not be liable for the accuracy or application of this herbal reference chart. Your use of this material is governed by this disclaimer.

Herbs, fruit and other natural ingredients for skin care

Before deciding which herbs to use, please take the time to research possible contraindications and warnings - especially if you are planning to use some herbs you are not familiar with! Just like essential oils, natural botanicals can be beneficial in small amounts and dangerous in high amounts. Prudence and moderation are key concepts both for internal, and for external uses.

Common name Botanical or INCI name [*]	Part used	Skin types
		Acneic	Dry	Mature	Normal	Oily	Sensitive, disturbed	Wrinkles	Hair
Aloe vera juice Aloe barbadensis	Leaf	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Anise Pimpinella anisum	Leaf				X	X
Apple Pirus malus	Pulp		X	X			X
Apple cider vinegar Acetum (pirus malus)	n/a				X	X			X
Apricot Prunus armeniaca	Pulp		X	X
Arnica Arnica montana	Flower	X
Banana Musa spp.	Pulp		X
Bay laurel Laurus nobilis	Leaf					X			X
Beer Beer	n/a								X
Bergamot Citrus bergamia	Leaf	X			X	X
Borage Borago officinalis	Leaf, flower					X	X
Brewer's yeast Faex	n/a					X
Burdock Arctium lappa	Root	X							X
Calendula Calendula officinalis	Flower		X	X	X	X	X
Cantaloupe Cucumis melo	Pulp	X		X				X
Chamomile (German) Matricaria chamomilla	Flower		X	X	X		X	X	X
Chamomile (Roman) Anthemis nobilis	Flower	X	X		X	X			X
Cherry Prunus serotina	Bark								X
Chickweed Stellaria media	Leaf	X
Chicory Chichorium intybus	Root	X					X
Clary sage Salvia sclarea	Leaf	X			X	X			X
Comfrey Symphytum officinale	Root		X		X	X	X
Coriander Coriandrum sativa	Seed		X	X	X			X
Cucumber Cucumis sativa	Pulp	X				X	X
Dandelion Taraxacum officinale	Leaf, root	X					X
Echinacea Echinacea angustifolia	Root, rhizome			X			X	X
Egg yolk Ovum	n/a		X		X
Egg, whole Ovum	n/a					X
Elderflower Sambucus nigra	Flower		X		X	X	X
Fennel Foeniculum vulgare	Seed		X		X	X	X
Galangal Alpinia galangal	Rhizome				X	X
Gotu kola Centella asiatica	Aerial	X		X			X	X	X
Grape Vitis vinifera	Pulp		X	X	X
Green tea Camellia sinensis	Leaf	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Guarana Paullinia cupana	Seed			X				X
Guava Psidium guajava	Pulp		X	X				X	X
Henna Lawsonia alba	Aerial						X		X
Hibiscus Hibiscus rosa sinensis	Petals								X
Honey Mel	n/a		X		X	X	X
Horsetail Equisetum arvense	Aerial	X			X		X		X
Kefir Lac (kefir)	n/a		X				X
Lavender Lavandula angustifolia	Flower		X		X	X
Lemon juice Citrus limonum	Juice					X			X
Lemon myrtle Backhousia citriodora	Leaf				X	X
Lemongrass Cymbopogon flexuosus, C. citratus	Leaf				X	X
Licorice Glycyrrhiza glabra	Root	X	X	X		X	X
Madder Rubia cordifolia	Root						X
Mango Mangifera indica	Pulp		X					X
Marshmallow Althea officinalis	Root		X				X
Milk thistle Silybum marianum	All	X			X	X
Milk, cow's (full cream) Lac	n/a		X	X			X
Milk, goat's (full cream) Caprae lac	n/a		X	X			X
Oat, oatmeal Avena sativa	Seed		X		X	X	X
Papaya Carica papaya	Pulp	X				X
Peppermint Mentha piperita	Leaf					X
Pineapple Ananas comosus	Pulp	X					X
Raspberry Rubus idaeus	Leaf						X
Red clover Trifolium pratense	Flower	X			X	X	X
Rose Rosa damascena, R. centifolia	Petals		X	X			X	X
Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis	Twigs					X		X	X
Sage Salvia officinalis	Leaf				X	X			X
St John's wort Hypericum perforatum	Flower						X
Stinging nettle Urtica dioica	Leaf	X				X			X
Strawberry Fragaria vesca	Pulp	X				X
Thyme Thymus vulgaris, T. serpillum	Leaf					X
Watermelon Citrullus vulgaris	Pulp	X				X
Witch hazel Hamamelis virginiana	Leaf	X			X	X
Yoghurt, plain Yogurt	n/a	X	X		X	X	X

[*] For natural ingredients that have no botanical name (e.g., milk and eggs), the European INCI name is supplied.

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Copyright © 1999-2008 Marina Tadiello. All rights reserved.
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