An ancient text written on a paper obtained from wild fig bark reports a legend narrated over the centuries by the Araucan Indians, a people of southern Chile. A long time ago, in the Andes mountains, lived a woman, famous for her dazzling beauty. Precisely for this reason the woman was kidnapped and enslaved by a nearby tribe. The woman's brother managed to save her. However, the woman was no longer the same and her body was covered with scars. Desperate, the brother asked the village shaman to find a way to help his sister. The shaman told him to go home and sleep, the night would bring him advice. In his sleep the man had a magical dream, there were scented roses all around him. The roses lost their petals and on the plant remained just the berries from which a beneficial oil came out. The next day the man told the dream to the shaman who nodded and prepared an ointment for him by squeezing the berries of those roses that had appeared to the man in the dream. That same night, the man spread the ointment on the skin of his sleeping sister. The next morning, when the woman went to the river as she did every day, mirroring herself in the crystal clear water, she almost did not recognize herself, every scar had disappeared and her skin had returned as bright and toned as it once was. Based on the descriptions in the texts it seems that this rose was the musk rose, or rosa moschata or mosqueta.
Rosa mosqueta oil, properties
The seeds of the rose are contained in the berry, which appears after the plant has faded. By squeezing the seeds of the rosa moschata, a powerful oil, also known as rose hip oil, the topic of the legend we have seen, is obtained. This oil is also widely used and appreciated today. Science has dedicated several studies in order to understand the properties of rosehip or rosa mosqueta oil, observing that it is characterized by a nourishing and anti-aging action against free radical damage thanks to a high presence of antioxidants, such as tocopherol and carotenoids (Dossi et al, Food Fuct, 2018). Rosehip oil is also rich in alpha linolenic acid, with a proven illuminating action and useful against skin spots caused by photoaging (Ando et al, Arch Dermatol Res, 1998). Not only that, rosehip oil is a valuable ally against stretch marks, accelerates healing in case of wounds and reduces scars (Lei et al, Planta Med, 2019 - Hernandez et al, Int J Cosmet Sci, 2013).
Rosehip oil, uses for the beauty of face and body
Rosehip oil benefits the skin of the face, fighting wrinkles and blemishes, of the body, counteracting stretch marks but also scars, chapped skin and irritation, and of the hands, mitigating the signs of photoaging. For example, in case of sunburn and burns you can apply a teaspoon of rosehip oil combined with two drops of lavender essential oil, with a powerful antiseptic action. Against wrinkles and skin spots you can massage a serum oil given by 20 ml of argan oil, 20 ml of jojoba oil and 10 ml of rosehip oil, for an even more powerful anti-aging action you can also add two drops of carrot essential oil. Pay attention in case of acne-prone skin as rosehip oil may be comedogenic. Instead, for the beauty of the skin of the body, you can mix 50 ml of sweet almond oil and 10 ml of rosehip oil and apply on the body, for an elastic and toned skin.
