Your New Plant-Based Diet

A Brief Taxonomy of Botanicals, from Milk Thistle to Evening Primrose

If, when St. Ives Apricot Scrub overtook the market as the go-to facial exfoliator in the early 90s, it had tried to do so the small stone fruit namesake, would it have endured in the same way?

While the “scrub” element of St. Ives Apricot Scrub is literally nuts—in both senses of the word—the brand avoided promoting the walnut, and chose instead to center its marketing around a softer, fleshier ambassador: a supple, blushed apricot. The scrub doesn’t really contain any apricot, from which the only source of topical nutrients is the oil from its kernel. This does not appear on the ingredient list. The second to last ingredient is “apricot essence,” the nourishing properties of which remain to be determined. St. Ives Apricot Scrub contains virtually no apricot, and yet we are free to assume it may usher us closer towards looking like one. What’s interesting here isn’t so much the contentious fact that apricots alone don’t scrub, but how easily charmed we are by a product that’s adjacent, either authentically or performatively, to the natural world.

Whether the idea is that we become what we apply, or that in use we harness the powers of nature, botanicals in the world of self–care possess a powerful cachet. Synonymous with life, they represent the vital forces outside of ourselves—and vitality is a quality we’d all have a hard time refusing if it were offered to us, in any number of its forms. Nature has been here long before us, and despite all it’s been through will outlast many of us. Using natural ingredients allows us to tap into their continuum, which is so much more vast than our own existence. It becomes almost spiritual in practice—a topical self–care prayer.In an effort to trace the ways in which certain natural ingredients have become fundamental to self–care, and what they offer us exactly, we’ve highlighted five botanicals and the products you’ll find them in.

Algae represents a fragile immortality—like many single-celled plant organisms, it recycles carbon dioxide (death) out of its environment and photosynthesizes it into oxygen. Ever wonder where cult favorite La Mer got their inspiration? Algae is often used as a moisturizing or thickening agent in haircare, studies also suggest that algae has properties that help treat hyperpigmentation and even offer photoprotection. All research is currently speculative on the latter, but keeping fillers like diethanolamine and triethanolamine out of our wastewater and subsequently aquatic ecosystems is always a plus. Try it in Christophe Robin’s Rassoul Clay and Tahitian Algae Thickening Shampoo Paste, Omorovicza Miracle Facial Oil, and Salt and Stone Squalane Facial Cream.

Evening primrose doesn’t look much like a rose at all, and seemingly lacks any qualities evocative of evening, besides its habit of opening its delicate yellow blooms later in the afternoon. Essentially, all parts of the plant are edible, and over centuries has had culinary and homeopathic significance for many North American indigenous tribes. Because the seeds are so high in gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), a polyunsaturated fatty acid, Evening Primrose oil is often taken orally as supplements for hormonal imbalances like PMS and menopause. Some believe it alleviates symptoms of eczema, psoriasis, and some forms of hormonal acne. While there is little scientific evidence to support its performance as a topical cure for the aforementioned skin conditions, one study suggests that with continued use, “skin moisture, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), firmness, elasticity, fatigue resistance and roughness,” all improved, bolstering the argument that GLA is a conditionally significant topical fatty acid for the skin. Unable to synthesize GLA ourselves, Evening Primrose is therefore a welcome emollient addition to the products we use—try Aesop’s Primrose Facial Cleansing Masque and Primrose Facial Hydrating Cream, cult-favorite Vintner’s Daughter Active Botanical Serum, or Yves Saint Laurent Or Rouge “L’Huile” Face Oil.

A perennial shrub indigenous to North American deserts, jojoba seeds are lauded for their cold-pressed secretions. Frequently referred to as an oil and used as a “carrier,” (meaning a neutral base to which smaller amounts of other more potent and active ingredients can be added) jojoba is actually a wax ester, very similar in chemical composition to the sebum we produce and secrete from our own skin. For this reason it’s been a favorable conditioning addition to hair and skincare products for decades. Jojoba naturally has an unusually long shelf life, outlasting the point at which most of its carrier oil cousins go rancid. Jojoba clearly knows a thing or two about self–preservation—its waxy properties help retain moisture and emollients within the skin and replenish its natural barrier, making it a fairly foolproof and ubiquitous player in the world of natural skincare. Find it in F. Miller’s Face and Hair oils, African Botanics Stretchmark Botanical Oil, and Rahua’s Leave-In Treatment.

Sea buckthorn berries are very sour, and especially high in vitamin C. The plant’s oil is extracted from the seeds, and sometimes even the fruit pulp and leaves, and is a high-performing addition to skincare. Depending on its extraction source, it can range from a deep blood red in hue, to brilliant orange, to pale yellow. Its composition of fatty acids help treat dry, dehydrated skin, and research suggests it also facilitates oxygenation of the skin. Try it in Hinoki Body Oil, Haeckels Bladderwrack and Buckthorn Body Cleanser and Henua Miracle Vitamin Oil.

The Milk thistle is a prickly plant with magenta flowers, and foliage marked by white viening—rumored to be a residual drop of the virgin Mary’s milk. Also called Mary thistle and Blessed thistle, Milk thistle is at times an abettor in slightly more illicit matters of indulgence, commonly offered as a supplement the morning after a long night out by naturopathic friends in the know. Milk thistle’s hepatoprotective properties are thanks to silymarin, an active extract of the Milk thistle’s seeds, which is often cited as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory when ingested orally. Having earned its (white) stripes in medicine, this botanical is slowly building a therapeutic reputation for itself in the world of skincare, too. Studies have shown that these attributes are consistent with topical applications as well, which is why milk thistle is making more and more cameos on ingredient lists. It’s included in Tata Harper’s Nourishing Oil Cleanser, Concentrated Brightening Serum, and Boosted Contouring Serum, as well as in NATUREOFTHINGS Restorative Floral Bath. Think calming, cleansing protection.