INGREDIENT SPOTLIGHT: Queen Anne's Lace/ Wild Carrot

2/6/2024

One of the most powerful natural retinol alternatives & she is likely growing out in a field near your house!

Queen Anne's Lace: Daucus carota [Wild Carrot]

Cosmetic Properties: Packed full of Vitamin C, carotenoids, & powerful antioxidants. This Herbal Ally is traditionally used to boost collagen production & help to repair sun damage on the skin, performing like a natural retinol replacement. It has been shown to brighten & tone the skin, tightening to prevent it from sagging. Carrot Seed Oils, both essential oils & pressed, help to remove hyperpigmentation by hindering tyrosinase in the skin, & leave skin with a natural
radiance & glow.

For Our Products: Her bounty of constituents are derived from the plant’s seeds, which form late in their growing season. As the beautiful flowers of Queen Anne's Lace begin to fade, the flower umbels curl inward upon themselves like tiny bird's nests, & the florets become the potent seeds. This is the time to extract their amazing pressed oil & use them to make essential oil & hydrosol.We use all three extractions in our products.

Are you obsessed with our Immortelle Cleansing Balm, Rejuvenating serum or Immortelle Velvet Balm? These amazing & powerful seeds are 100% one of the reasons why!

THIS is where that magic ingredient comes from!

Wild Foraging: Her flowers grow in umbels or clusters of tiny flowers. It is a member of the Apiaceae family, which includes some poisonous, dangerous plants, so it is very important you are 100% sure what you are gathering when collecting QAL.
Fortunately, Queen Anne’s Lace is easy to recognize when you know what to look for. An easy key ID factor is “The Queen Has Hairy Legs”-- Queen Anne’s Lace has solid, green stems covered with tiny ‘hairs’ while her dangerous lookalikes, Poison Hemlock & Water Hemlock, both have hollow, smooth stems
with purple splotches.

This beauty is considered INVASIVE. This means harvesting with care as to not unintentionally spread the plant, but it also means that large amounts can be gathered without worry of harming future supply or environment. But remember, our beloved pollinators are always happy to see her flowers too!

BONUS: And if these gifts this plant provides for us weren’t enough, Queen Anne's Lace flowers are edible & delicious! Check out our Herbal Spotlight on Queen Anne’s Lace for a lovely [& easy!] QAL Wildflower Jelly recipe!

queen anne's lace
wildflower jelly