When working with plants, you take in a vast amount of information on what each plant can do in the body, what parts of the plant can be used for a certain action, and how to formulate in a way to achieve the best outcome. One plant I feel that is the holy grail of plants that is highly researched but not readily thought of in terms of skincare is nettles. We use nettles in KHUS + KHUS COPIOUS body serum, which is our serum that is infused with all different herbs that all contain similar actions on the body, from licorice and ashwagandha to, of course, nettles. Whenever we make the COPIOUS, Kristi can’t help but praise how amazing this plant is for the body and mind and how beneficial it is for people that are experiencing pain and stress in their lives. Being a nervine means that nettles work on the nervous system and help the body to deal with stress by calming the nerves. This, in the long run, helps the body deal with stress and makes it so the body doesn’t go into a state of increased worry when dealing with all the tension that we obtain throughout the years.
The nervous system is the part of your body that is in charge of communicating signals to your entire being. So when your body is dealing with environmental pollutants or internal stress, your nervous system is the one in charge to tell the body how to react to these forces. When our bodies are in a heightened state of stress and outside negative factors, our nervous system is working overtime to try and deal with this and keep one’s body in homeostasis. However, over time, your nervous system can burn out and be overworked and that is when we see inflammation and diseases arise. Nettles have a way of helping out the nervous system by calming down those nerves that are continuously firing. This is what a nervine is. Once you are able to calm those nerves, your body is able to readjust and bring your body back to a state of balance.
Nettles also improve the body’s resistance to pollens and environmental pollutants. It stabilizes mast cell walls, which stops the cycle of mucous membrane hyperactivity. It nourishes and tones the veins. Reduces inflammation and cleans toxins from the body, to just name a few.
Other actions that make this plant spectacular are that it’s an adrenal, tonic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, blood tonic, kidney tonic, and nervine. All of these mean that nettles fight inflammation, help clean the blood and kidneys, and helps take action on the nervous system.
In regards to skincare, nettles are especially great for treating acne and eczema. Because of its astringent properties, nettles are able constrict the tissues of the skin, which people with acne are advised to look for when deciding on a treatment. When the skin constricts, this combined with its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, allows the plant to kill any bacteria on the skin that may cause an infection, acne, and calms the inflammation that may already be occurring.
This herb pretty much improves everything when used! The amount of research behind this plant and thousands of years of practices that are based around nettles shows how beneficial this plant can be to anyone’s daily life. If you can only use one herb for the rest of your life, nettles need to be it.
By,
Jennifer Wildes