An illustration of rosehips which contain the seeds of a rose shrub

Ingredient Spotlight: Rosehip Oil and Other Extracts

Many of the everyday plants we have in our yards are actually good for our bodies and most of us don’t have a clue about it. Take your grandma’s rose bushes for example. Cute, right? They look and smell nice. But, did you know that the rosehips in those bushes are an amazing natural source of vitamin C or that the oil extracted from them can be used to preserve your skin’s elasticity?

What’s a Rosehip?

Simply put, rosehips are the bulbs that form below the petals of rose flowers. They ripen after the bloom begins to fade. The “hip” is actually a round or oblong seed pod, and when fresh, it’s packed with vitamin C, according to researchers. When the petals begin to fall, the harvest and extraction process can begin.

A Rose by Any Other Name(s)

Not all roses are created equal. In fact, that’s a great thing for those who love variety in nature and flower arrangements. Roses, as noted by the University of Michigan Health Library, have many names and come in a wide variety of species. Some types you may see on plant labels may include: cynorhodon, cynosbatos, dog rose, fruit de l’églantier, gulab, geps, hip fruit, hipberry, hop fruit, persian rose, phool gulab, poire d’oiseaux, rosa, satapatri, rosae pseudo fructus, rose des apothicaires, rose de provins, rosier de provence, satapatrika, shatpari, and wild boar fruit.
For this deep dive, we will be focusing in on rosa canina, also known as “dog rose,” a wild shrub native to Europe. This species of rose is often used to produce oil for use in cosmetics. And, specifically for this ingredient spotlight, we’re looking at rosa canina fruit oil, which is used in MUTHA™ Body Oil and other MUTHA™ products, like body butter.

Rosa Canina Oil and Your Skin

Rosa canina extract is a plant oil, which we’ve mentioned above. It’s rich in vitamin C, and also vitamin A and fatty acids, like linolenic acid, which reinforce your skin’s natural protective barrier. Altogether this oil can help correct pigmentation, soothe inflammation, and help maintain your skin’s elasticity and firmness. These are the reasons Hope Smith includes rosa canina as the top ingredient in her MUTHA™ Body Oil, which she formulated after her body butter to help decrease the impact of stretch marks.

Rosa Canina Oil and Your Skin

Rosa canina extract is a plant oil, which we’ve mentioned above. It’s rich in vitamin C, and also vitamin A and fatty acids, like linolenic acid, which reinforce your skin’s natural protective barrier. Altogether this oil can help correct pigmentation, soothe inflammation, and help maintain your skin’s elasticity and firmness. These are the reasons Hope Smith includes rosa canina as the top ingredient in her MUTHA™ Body Oil, which she formulated after her body butter to help decrease the impact of stretch marks.
“It’s very firming. It can fade pigmentation,” Hope said to her friend Cassandra Grey, founder of Violet Grey on Grey T.V. “But really, I wanted this one for firming. Because after your skin stretches and it comes back and it stretches again – you’re losing elasticity, so that is why I created the oil,”
When Hope described the orange tint of her body oil, she explained that rosehip extract is the number one ingredient. “It’s expensive to put your great and best ingredients first,” Hope said.
“It had to be the best, and it is the best,” Cassandra responded. But Hope’s MUTHA™ Body Oil isn’t out of reach for consumers. It’s an affordable luxury at the cost of only $35.

So Much Impact in a Drop of Oil Extract

After “Rosa Canina (rosehip) Fruit Oil,” MUTHA™ lists the following ingredients in its body oil. All of these oils are certified organic with the exception of a little drop of elderberry extract as the final (and therefore smallest) ingredient.
  • Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil
  • Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil
  • Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil
  • Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil
  • Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond Oil)
  • Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond Oil)
  • Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil
  • Sambucus Nigra (Elderberry) Fruit Extract
If this list sounds delicious, that’s on purpose. Nature has provided beautiful ingredients like these, which far exceed the benefit of anything humans can manufacture. The combination of these oils are anti-Inflammatory and gentle. They help moisturize and are packed with vitamin E, A, and C as well as other fatty acids.
Together these oils soothe, protect, and help your skin maintain its ability to stretch and snap back into place. The skin loses this elastic quality as we get older. So, if you are looking to keep your body looking and feeling great, MUTHA™ Body Oil is the perfect choice for yourself or any MUTHA in your life. Hint: Mother’s Day can sneak up on you fast, so browse MUTHA™ for a special gift set which includes the body oil, body butter, and Hope’s newly released book, “Your Body Is Magic.”
To learn more about the simple natural luxurious ingredients Hope uses in her products, catch up on: Shea butter, coconut oil, and mango seed and cocoa seed butters.