Why Desert Herbs Are the Best Natural Skincare Ingredients
Our handcrafted desert tincture is the backbone of what we do. This tincture blends beautifully with our other powerful ingredients to create skin-loving products like Sand Red Desert Mineral Polish or Clarity Awakening Face Cream. Incorporating some of the most special, natural skincare ingredients we could find, our desert tincture awakens the remedial magic you never knew the desert could create. It combines the healing properties of three principal desert herbs, with a number of other ethically-sourced and hand-gathered ingredients to bring your favorite skincare formulas to life. Wild chaparral, desert sage, and Utah juniper berries are found in our desert tincture, and in many of our favorite products, but what’s so special about these humble desert herbs?
The Magic of Chaparral
Chaparral has a special place in our hearts. Here, deep in the southwest desert, we’re used to the rejuvenating, beaming rays of the sun all year ‘round. But when it rains here, it pours. And that’s when the sweet, distinct aroma of chaparral perfumes the warm, desert air. This plant only grows in this region, and its natural oils activate in the rain, letting out a magical scent you can only get in our backyard.
Chaparral is not only special for its nostalgic scent, but it plays a key role in our skincare formulas. Chaparral may appear to be a simple, desert plant, but it houses naturally occurring antiviral, antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-protozoan properties. Its high levels of Nordihydroguaiaretic Acid (NDGA), a very powerful antioxidant, help your skin detox and heal from the inside out. It guards against rough patches, lesions, red areas, age spots and inflammatory breakouts. The magic of chaparral is never-ending.
The secret of chaparral has been out for generations. The tribes native to this land have been using chaparral for ages to heal, treat, and protect. From colds and flus, to infections and more, chaparral has been an important ingredient for those in our region for years and years. Plus, they were using chaparral for skincare long before Good Medicine created our first skincare formula.
Incorporating chaparral into our formulas with other natural skincare ingredients is our special way of thanking those who first discovered the magical healing properties of this herb, and our way of sharing that magic with you.
Wild Desert Sage
It’s a powerful antioxidant, it’s rich in vitamin C, and it comes with diverse use cases that make it the perfect plant for artisan skincare. The foliage of sagebrush is rich in Artimitin, a powerful disinfectant and antiseptic that’s rich in Vitamin C. It’s so rich in Vitamin C in fact, that except for rose hips, there is no greater source found anywhere in North America’s deserts. This means that wild desert sage is some of the most powerful plant medicine one can find in our region, and that’s why its power gets infused into our tried and true formulas.
Wild desert sage is another one of our all-natural skincare ingredients that we borrowed from the wisdom of generations of people who have used it to prepare infusions, enhance baths, alleviate headaches and more. As the second key ingredient in our desert tincture base formula, wild desert sage brings its powerful healing and enlivening qualities to your skin.
Utah Juniper Berries
Juniper berries are more than just a shrub plant native to the southwest desert. Utah juniper berries are a resilient and adaptable plant growing even in the driest and rockiest parts of our beloved state. This is a powerhouse plant full of aromatic oils, resins, organic acids, and much, much more. These magical, little berries are best known for their antiseptic (elimination of microorganisms), aromatic, diaphoretic, diuretic (increases cellular fluid exchange) and rubefacient (increased blood circulation) qualities.
Historically used to treat anything from arthritis to diabetes and more, the combination of juniper berries’ amazing qualities removes unwanted waste and fluids from the underlying tissues when applied topically, reducing puffiness and smoothing lines and wrinkles. It’s the perfect desert plant for all skin types, and the perfect ingredient to help you give your skin a little extra TLC.
Where to Find These Desert-Derived Natural Skincare Ingredients
These three desert herb ingredients are what we like to call “superfood for your skin.” The power and magic that this mixture brings to our skincare formulas is unmatched, and it’s handmade with care, to give you only the best that our desert oasis has to offer.
Here are some of our popular products made with our desert tincture and wild desert herb ingredients:
Sand Red Desert Mineral Polish takes our desert tincture base and fuses it with possibly the most iconic desert ingredient out there: sand. Carefully mixing these two ingredients with other ancient cleansing ingredients like yucca root creates a gentle, earthy, exfoliator to sweep away toxins and contaminants and leave your skin supple and renewed.
Clarity Awakening Face Cream combines our desert tincture herb infusion with ingredients like wild raw honey and dandelion to cool, awaken, and clarify the skin. This is a potent face cream that delivers vitamins, minerals, and free-radical fighting antioxidants in a cool, calming, and silky smooth cream.
Starry Eyes Brightening Eye Cream takes our wild desert herb tincture and packs it with extra vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and love to breathe life back into your skin. The skin around the eyes is very sensitive, calling for a gentle, yet powerful remedy like Starry Eyes. This intense therapy formula provides deep hydration, improved blood circulation, and increased cell reconstruction as it warms, tingles, and quickly brightens the eye area.
Our Unexpected, Handcrafted Natural Skincare Ingredients
The desert is harsh and arid, but the desert’s native herbs are powerful, gentle, and healing. This region is abundant with the perfect skincare ingredients for us to harvest with respect and love, gathering these herbs and plants by hand, picking only the best we can find. Our enchanting Good Medicine Beauty Lab skincare formulas start in our desert home—where the magic is born.
Visit our Tips and Trends to learn more about these extraordinary herbs and plants that bring our skincare formulas to life, and feel comfort in knowing that your skincare routine is based off of thousands of years of healing wisdom and desert magic that can’t be found anywhere else—with lots of love and deep appreciation.
