Making the most of Rosehips

In Autumn, nature starts to set up for the winter and, on the wild rose bushes, the flowers turn to seed and start to turn red as the rosehips begin to ripen. Before the 2nd World war, rosehips were discovered to be rich in Vitamin C and so rosehip syrup was made and distributed to all children to help keep them healthy and resist illness and viruses over winter during rashioning. Rosehips help as a great pick-me-up when you’ve been ill and convalsecing. When there seems to be an abundance , time to go picking. Here are a couple of recipes for you, or you can simply make some Rosehip syrup!

Rosehip Oil – collect some good quality unblemished ripe rosehips. Clean, deseed and weigh them. Blend one part rosehips and add to 3 parts warmed coconut oil. Soak for 24 hrs, keeping them in a warm place to keep the coconut oil runny. The next day, re-warm the blend then strain the mix through a mulsin nappy and pour into large clean jars. Add some floral essential oil and stir with the handle of a teaspoon if you want aromatic oil and you have a home-made restorative body moisturiser for winter or conditioner for the hair.

And there’s more:

weigh your cleaned rosehips and to one part rosehips, you will need 2 parts carrier oil such as olive or sunflower. Place the oil and rosehips in a glass bowl in a pan of boiling water and heat gently for 3 hours. Strain the mix through a muslin nappy over a clean container and allow the mix to drip through. Press the hips to extract the maximum oil from them and pour into clean bottles. Rosehip oil is beautifying, regenerating and is great for wrinkles, scars and much more. It will keep over the winter and well into the spring. Blend it with another carrier oil to use as night-time facial oil, apply to scars or stretchmarks or use in your cosmetics.