Winter Solstice is a time of change, both seen and felt. Waning daylight works upon our bodily rhythms and subtly shifts our mindsets and moods. As darkness obscures the world around us, these seasonal tides encourage us to reflect on that which has been hidden from view—sometimes by turning inward, and sometimes by feeling our way through the shadows to explore our once familiar, illuminated settings in new ways. The discoveries made through these careful probings can be profound and transformative, but they can also challenge our physical and emotional resilience, compelling us to dig for the energy and positivity needed to stay balanced. Fortunately, at times like these, our herbal allies are there to help!

A fantastic scrub butter like Neroli or Awapuhi leaves the skin feeling moisturized, exfoliated, and loved—these body scrubs are a wonderful way to practice self care! However, for some people (like me), salt- and sugar-based body scrubs aren’t as ideal. No matter how gentle I am, the intensity of salts and sugars rubbed into my skin always leaves me feeling like I lost some epidermis that I actually wanted to keep. This has become truer as I’ve aged. Exfoliation is important for happy skin, but I want a gentler touch these days… which explains my recent quest to perfect a DIY “microderm” body scrub that does a good job, but dials back some of the scrubbing fierceness of sugars and salts.

With the holidays just around the corner, the question on everyone’s mind is, “What can I gift my friends and family with this year?” Fortunately, we have compiled a handy gift guide sure to fit the versatile range of important people in our lives. Hopefully these ideas might also add to the joy of this season with the gift of herbalism as its focal point.

Getting started with creating your own personal care products can be a daunting task. How do we make quality natural products without all the chemical mumbo jumbo? Without time and practice, we realize that it can be a hard project to tackle, so we came prepared! Our new line of natural bases make it easy for you to scent and create your own bath and body products without a doctorate in chemistry! All you need are your favorite essential oils!

Every Fourth of July for nearly two decades, Mountain Rose Herbs’ co-owner, Julie, headed into the mountains to collect St. John’s Wort flowers for our certified organic infused herbal oils.

As much as I love the gray, infamously wet skies of an Oregon fall and winter, I do find myself needing the occasional burst of brightness. One of my favorite ways to do this is through aromatherapy. I long for the scents that I see as “yellow” when I smell them.  These yellow scents are so rare in the winter holiday weeks, which can be so dominated by the deep verdant scents of evergreen and the brown and red notes of cinnamon, chocolate, and pumpkin spice.

Throughout spring and summer, I crave the fresh, creamy texture and flavor of a nourishing matcha latte—first hot, then iced, and then in cooling dessert form. When I discovered homemade matcha ice cream, I wasn’t sure I could take my green obsession any further. But when my friend suggested a mid-July home spa day, and we started brainstorming ideas for herbal tea facials, I found myself thinking about matcha in a whole new way.

I first encountered jojoba oil about 10 years ago, and I have loved it ever since. Used alone or blended with my favorite cosmetic butters and oils, jojoba is a body care dynamo! The qualities of this oil are very similar to the sebum produced by our skin to help it stay moisturized, making a noncomedogenic (non-pore-clogging) option with a wide range of natural self care applications.

If you enjoy exploring new additions to your home spa routine, you may have already encountered sheet masks. This trending skincare innovation came to prominence with the arrival of K-Beauty in the Western world and has rapidly gained international popularity as a fast and simple way to enjoy some indulgent self care.

Who doesn’t love a good massage? Whether it’s performed by the hands of a skilled professional or the one you love (both, if you’re lucky!), a little added massage oil can help work out the tension. Another bonus is that a natural, nourishing massage oil can also act as a skin-supporting moisturizer for your back—an area which we sometimes neglect due to the flexibility required to reach it on our own!

Herbal salves are such a simple, effective, and useful way to take in herbal goodness! They can easily be slipped into a purse, pocket, or first aid kit. Although semi-solid at room temperature, salves soften once applied to the skin, making them less messy than oils. They also make great gifts and are an easy and approachable way to introduce newbies to the power of herbs. Plus, salves can be crafted for a wide variety of topical uses. The addition of beeswax will protect, soothe, and nourish your skin.