Have you ever notice these vibrantly red, fruit of the wild rose bushes? They are plentiful in the English countryside and it is a super wild food for immune systems as well as for youthful skin! Rosehip is a great source of vitamin C, 20 times the amount of vitamin C in oranges. To keep the nation health, during the austerity of the WWII, the British government encouraged the public to gather rosehips. They were then collected and processed into rosehip syrup by the Ministry of Food and were sold to the public at a discounted price in Welfare Clinics.
Rosehip syrup has an unique and delicate flavour. It can be enjoyed as a cordial, spooned over pudding or ice cream.
Today our high street is full of various vitamin supplements and those who uses rosehip syrup as vitamin C supplement is rare. However, another form of rosehip product has become immensely popular in recent years - rosehip oil. Apparently it is the best kept secret of many celebrities to keep their skin youthful and hydrated. There is a huge selection of branded rosehip oil available on the high street. I am sure they are as pure as they claimed to be but surely nothing is better for the skin than products made by your own fair hands?
This autumn I've been busy harvesting rosehips in the country to make my own rosehip syrup to fight off the cold/ flu, and the best rosehip oil to keep my skin looking youthful. They are a bit of a bugger to gather as we all know, rose bush is very thorny so considered you are warned!
Rosehip Syrup
Rosehip Syrup
Make approximately 1L
1kg rosehips
250g white granulated sugar
1. Clean the rosehip under cold tap water.
2. Bring 1.5L water to the boil in a preserving pan.
3. Mince the rosehips in a food chopper and transfer into the boiling water.
4. Bring to boil and allow to stand for 15 minutes before pouring the mixture through a muslin cloth, and allow it to drip until most of the liquid has come through. Reserve the pulp.
5. In the cleaned preserving pan, bring 750ml fresh cold water to the boil. Stir in the reserved pulp and repeat step 4 but discard the pulp in the end.
6. Combine the 2 solutions to the cleaned preserving pan and boil to reduce the liquid at around 1 litre.
7. Add the sugar and boil for a further 5 minute so it dissolve well.
8. Bottle the liquid into hot sterilised bottles and seal.
Rosehip Facial Oil
Make approximately 200ml
400g rosehips
250ml organic jojoba oil*
5ml pure vitamin E oil**
5ml Frankincense essential oil**
7 x amber pipette bottle
1 Milton tablet
1L water
* I have chosen to use jojoba oil as the base oil here as I feel it would suit my skin type the best. Jojoba has excellent moisturising properties and can be easily absorbed without leaving the skin feeling greasy. Depending on your skin type, you may choose to use other odourless carrier oil, such as wheatgerm oil, apricot oil, almond oil etc
** To create a truly tailor-made serum, I've added a few drops of vitamin E & Frankincense essential oil into concoction. Vitamin E is a powerful source of antioxidant which helps to regenerate and nourish the skin; Frankincense helps to relieve anxiety and to prevent ageing of the skin. There are plenty of other essential oil widely available so choose the ones that suit your needs best. Always go for the best quality you can afford.
1. Clean the rosehips under cold tap water.
2. Ensure the hairy heads and stems are cut off.
3. Slightly crushed them in a mortar and pestle so the goodness can easily released into the oil.
4. Preheat to oven to its lowest heat available.
5. Put the rosehips into an oven proof jar (I used a Kilner jar here) and pour in the carrier oil of your choice.
6. Cover the jar and place in the middle of the oven for a few hours.
7. Take the jar out and let it cool down.
8. Once the oil has cooled down, pour the oil through a muslin cloth and allow it to drip until most of the oil has come through.
9. Meanwhile, dissolve a Milton tablet in a saucepan of water in accordance to the instructions on the packet.
10. Soak the amber pipette bottles in the Milton solution for a period of time (always check instructions on the packet).
11. To dry the bottles, place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper and leave in a low heat oven until they are completely dried of Milton solution.
12. Add in the vitamin E & Frankincense oil into the jojoba & rosehip solution.
13. Mix the oil gently. Whatever you do please DO NOT shake the oil as it could change the properties of the oil and cause it to go off much quicker.
14. Decant the oil into the amber pipette bottles and seal.
They should last for about a year. Keep them out of direct sunlight.
To avoid contamination, when applying the oil please take care so the dropper doesn't touch the skin.
Make approximately 200ml
400g rosehips
250ml organic jojoba oil*
5ml pure vitamin E oil**
5ml Frankincense essential oil**
7 x amber pipette bottle
1 Milton tablet
1L water
* I have chosen to use jojoba oil as the base oil here as I feel it would suit my skin type the best. Jojoba has excellent moisturising properties and can be easily absorbed without leaving the skin feeling greasy. Depending on your skin type, you may choose to use other odourless carrier oil, such as wheatgerm oil, apricot oil, almond oil etc
** To create a truly tailor-made serum, I've added a few drops of vitamin E & Frankincense essential oil into concoction. Vitamin E is a powerful source of antioxidant which helps to regenerate and nourish the skin; Frankincense helps to relieve anxiety and to prevent ageing of the skin. There are plenty of other essential oil widely available so choose the ones that suit your needs best. Always go for the best quality you can afford.
1. Clean the rosehips under cold tap water.
2. Ensure the hairy heads and stems are cut off.
3. Slightly crushed them in a mortar and pestle so the goodness can easily released into the oil.
4. Preheat to oven to its lowest heat available.
5. Put the rosehips into an oven proof jar (I used a Kilner jar here) and pour in the carrier oil of your choice.
6. Cover the jar and place in the middle of the oven for a few hours.
7. Take the jar out and let it cool down.
8. Once the oil has cooled down, pour the oil through a muslin cloth and allow it to drip until most of the oil has come through.
9. Meanwhile, dissolve a Milton tablet in a saucepan of water in accordance to the instructions on the packet.
10. Soak the amber pipette bottles in the Milton solution for a period of time (always check instructions on the packet).
11. To dry the bottles, place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper and leave in a low heat oven until they are completely dried of Milton solution.
12. Add in the vitamin E & Frankincense oil into the jojoba & rosehip solution.
13. Mix the oil gently. Whatever you do please DO NOT shake the oil as it could change the properties of the oil and cause it to go off much quicker.
14. Decant the oil into the amber pipette bottles and seal.
They should last for about a year. Keep them out of direct sunlight.
To avoid contamination, when applying the oil please take care so the dropper doesn't touch the skin.
