Not too long ago, lipid oils and carrier oils were not nearly as prevalent or diverse as they are now!
But rose hip seed oil has been around for a long time. It is one of the tried and true, an old stand by in the natural beauty world that I began using in 1996.
So for this late summer project, I want to make a facial oil with rose hip seed oil at its heart.
My background in gardening and herbalism leads me to working with oils from within the same plant family and the rose plant family is one that is particularly generous in the realm of lipid gifts.
12 Lipid Oils from the Rose Family
From this one family we have:
- Plum kernel oil
- Peach kernel oil
- Almond oil
- Apricot kernel oil
- Rose hip seed oil
- Raspberry seed oil
- Blackberry seed oil
- Quince seed oil
- Apple seed oil
- Cherry kernel oil
- Strawberry seed oil
- Cloud berry seed oil
This is twelve oils so far from this botanical family!
What is interesting about the family is that we have two types of oils.
The oils from the stone fruits that are high in Oleic acid, tend to be pale in color and make good base oils.
Then we have the berry and shrub oils that are high in Linoleic and alpha-Linolenic acid, the two essential fatty acids. These tend to be more deeply pigmented and often rich in antioxidants and other plant compounds if not overly refined.
So for this facial oil, I selected a base of apricot kernel oils and plum kernel oil, and then added some rosehip seed oil along with raspberry seed oil and blackberry seed oil.
Our Rose Lipid Recipe
The recipe below is in parts.
2 parts apricot kernel oil
2 parts plum oil
1 part rose hip seed oil
1 part blackberry seed oil
1/2 parts raspberry seed oil
A note on rose hip seed oil and pigment
I’ve seen rosehip seed oils that are bright red in color and others that are quite pale. The lipid oils can vary quite a bit depending on the method and amount of refining involved!
If you have a highly pigmented rosehip seed oil, you can dilute it with almond oil or another neutral oil from the rose family.
I’ve found a 1:6 ratio works well. You still get the skin nourishing benefits of the rose hip seed oil without creating a combination that might turn your skin temporarily orange!
In this recipe we find a nice balance of skin nourishing base oils.
Variations and Substitutions
Both apricot kernel oil and plum seed oil are high in the monounsaturated fatty acid oleic acid. They tend to be minimally pigmented with mild to no scent.
You could substitute peach kernel oil or almond oil for either of the two here.
The rosehip seed oil contributes the two essential fatty acids and if an unrefined version a good dose of antioxidant carotenoid pro-vitamin A.
The berry oils, in this recipe blackberry and raspberry seed oils are both high in the two essential fatty acids, linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid.
They are also both, rich sources of anti-oxidants.
Have you worked with any of these rose family lipids recently? Share in the comments below.
Where can I purchase the plum and berry oils? I’ve looked at both MRH and Rosemary’s Garden to no avail.
Lotioncrafter.com
can i get beautiful blue color after infusing blueberry dried into carrier oil ?
thank you
Most oils are slightly yellow so a blue colors going to be hard to achieve – they will turn out more green than blue. But you could experiment with the clearest oils and let us know. Good luck
thank you so much 🙂
oh my….looks delicious… I love working with the lipids…so much. will try this one
My Dream is to make my own perfume body all purpose oil that’s also healing to the skin, I work with essential oil but this is good I’m definitely going to order..Thank you
This sounds beautiful. My plum kernel oil has a very potent smell. Marzipan like. Is that your experience as well?
Yes, a few of those can be very highly scented with the marzipan scent. It is often refined out so scent will vary.
Thank you, Susan. This was timely, as I’m making a new batch of face serum this afternoon, and will use these oils instead of my usual oils. I’m missing blackberry, but it looks so lovely in the photo that I’m ordering it today. I appreciate your generosity in sharing your knowledge.
i love rose hip for my facial lotion – great for aging skin. use it often. haven’t tried the berry oils yet
Do these oils have Rose fragrance too?was wondering if Carrier oils can add Fragrance and Color too?
The rose fragrance is obtained from the flower petals, so no the seed oils do not have a rosy scent.
Thank you so much for this. You are amazing sharing your valuable knowledge, such a wonderful person! 😀
I have worked and love rose hip seed oil.
Didn’t know they all came under the rose family
I love the way the blackberry seed is suspended there…. just waiting… I have your Power of The Seed on the shelf infront of me…so glad you wrote it. It’s well thumbed with oil stains 🙂