Rosemary: Dew of the Sea, Herb of Remembrance
A rough bush jutting from rocks on a Mediterranean cliff emanates a sweet and piney scent so strong it is said to float out twenty miles across the sea. From the Latin word, rosmarinus, meaning "dew of the sea," rosemary's aroma recalls nothing of the ocean but rather was given the name for its growing place near the Mediterranean Sea. An herb that for thousands of years has held the endearment of many cultures, rosemary's popular uses have vivaciously continued into modern times. Rich in antioxidants and powerful in aroma, rosemary cures and preserves whether used in the kitchen or the shower.
Health Benefits
Rosemary's uses date back as far as 500 BC in Greece and Rome when it was commonly used to stimulate and strengthen memory. Throughout centuries the herb has been used in various mystical and religious applications. While these uses are less commonly employed today, many of the historical uses of Rosemary have carried into modern times. Today, the herb is known for:
- Promoting healthy skin and hair: Rosemary contains riboflavin (vitamin B2) which is part of what makes it a stimulant. When applied to skin and hair it aids in the regeneration of healthy cells. Using rosemary in shampoo encourages faster-growing and stronger hair. When soap or body wash made with rosemary is used skin tends to look and feel younger. Rosemary is also an astringent, which aids in maintaining the buoyancy of skin.
- Inciting memory and increasing mental activity: Certain research indicates that rosemary helps to prevent the breakdown of neurotransmitters in the brain. In a study conducted by Dr. Mark Moss of the University of Northumbria at Newcastle, results showed that workers in rosemary-infused cubicles exhibited better long-term memory and reported feeling more alert than those in untreated cubicles. For this property, Rosemary has been nicknamed the "herb of remembrance."
- Detoxifying: Rosemary's antiseptic properties help remove toxins from your skin and hair.
- Healing: Rosemary also has anti-inflammatory properties, which help heal skin conditions such as acne, eczema and dermatitis. It is also known to ease puffiness or swelling.
Rosemary is perhaps best known for its preservative qualities as an antioxidant. The plant and its essential oils have been used as natural "preservatives" for centuries, most commonly for meat and other food products. Today it is also widely used as a protecting element in all-natural body care products.
For the same reasons antioxidants are useful as preserving elements in all-natural products, they are also useful for keeping your body healthy. When applied topically, rosemary's antioxidizing abilities can keep your skin, hair and body looking and feeling young. Antioxidants are known to "preserve" youth and although the aging process is inevitable, there are ways in which antioxidants maintain health and protect your body from harmful external elements:
- Stimulate cell growth: Help hair grow faster and stronger and are even known to slow premature graying
- Protects skin: Shield skin from UV rays to prevent skin damage, keeping skin looking young for longer
- Stimulate circulation: Aid in lowering blood pressure
- Incite memory and slows memory loss: The alerting scent of Rosemary can promote mental stimulation
- Research conducted by Dr. James Duke, former researcher for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, indicates that the dozen antioxidants in rosemary can slow the onset of Alzheimer's disease
- Detoxifies: Many clinical studies have demonstrated strong links between chemical carcinogens and cancer. Research conducted by Dr. Keith Singletary at the University of Illinois Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition indicates that the antioxidants in rosemary have significant impact on the removal of chemical carcinogens.
To experience the health benefits of rosemary for yourself, here are a few products available at Soap Hope:
Rosemary - Antioxidants vs. Preservatives
Rosemary is actually an antioxidant rather than a preservative. Technically, a preservative is a synthetic chemical that prevents decay and spoilage. An antioxidant is a naturally occurring element that helps to slow oxidation, which causes decay, spoilage and cellular breakdown. Rosemary contains over a dozen antioxidant elements, including vitamin E, which makes it extremely useful in preserving organic products.
Synthetic preservatives will help a product last longer but can be dangerous to your health. Antioxidants slow the process of decay and spoilage without harming you or the environment; in fact, antioxidants are extremely beneficial to your health. This is why makers like
Indigo Wild and
A Wild Soap Bar use rosemary in so many of their products.
Oxidation - How It Affects Your Food, Body and Soap
Knowing about cellular breakdown is not just for chemists; oxidation affects us on a daily basis and has serious health implications.
To start with, atoms need an even number of electrons to maintain stability, which allows whatever material they compose (organic or mineral) to function properly. During the oxidation process, light and oxygen come in contact with an atom, which causes it to lose an electron and become unstable. Unstable atoms with an odd number of electrons are called free radicals, the wonton elements that cause decomposition and decay.
The term "free radicals" is often used when talking about the health benefits of pomegranate juice or green tea. On a chemical level, free radicals are like atomic thieves. To become stable again with an even number of electrons, the free radical must steal an electron from another atom. This causes a chain reaction of unstable atoms stealing from each other. In organic matter, these unstable atoms can cause an entire cell to die, leaving leftover unstable atoms whizzing around to wreak havoc on an ever increasing number of other atoms. This process causes organic material to decompose and eventually spoil. The oxidation of oils (called lipid oxidation) in all-natural soap can cause it to disintegrate and lose its cleansing and rejuvenating effects unless a natural ingredient like rosemary is added to stop the process.
Free radicals are especially harmful because they cause this chain reaction of electron thievery and cellular death in human systems as well. The results of which include cancer and premature aging.
Antioxidants, like rosemary, stop the chain reaction of oxidation by "donating" one of their own electrons to the wanton free radicals, which keeps atoms stable and cells healthy. For this reason antioxidants are attributed with the ability to increase product shelf life, prevent cancer, lengthen life spans and slow aging. Next time you buy pomegranate juice at the grocery store or order rosemary products from Soap Hope, you'll know why antioxidants receive so much attention.
Antioxidants in Your Soap Products
In order to keep every ingredient all-natural, soap makers use antioxidants like rosemary. All-natural soap products contain essential plant oils, olive or coconut oil or goat's milk, which means they contain lipids, leaving them vulnerable to oxidation. For longer product shelf life in all-natural products, an antioxidant is a powerful alternative to synthetic preservatives. When used as preserving ingredient antioxidants like rosemary are used in small extract amounts.
Products at Soap Hope that contain rosemary extract:
Applying products topically can affect your internal systems as well; what is good on the body is good in the body. These products at Soap Hope contain healthy amounts of rosemary:
When you purchase rosemary products at Soap Hope, you get more than high-quality soap; you become an integral part of global giving. Soap Hope invests 100% of yearly profits in
microlending funds for women entrepreneurs around the world.
