The Dirt on Herbs

Origins, source, function, aesthetics. A few of the things to consider when creating a new product. A product is only as good as its contents... and in this case, good quality herb. This is something I believe wholeheartedly. The natural beauty space and wellness industry in general has boomed in recent years, and continues to scale as people become more invested in their health and businesses see opportunity. But where does the herb come from, and how is supply keeping up with demand? 

This is a topic I'm passionate and concerned about, as a medicinal herb grower, advocate for permaculture-based, regenerative practices and natural skincare formulator working mainly with British native and naturalised herbs.

Plants are deeply connected to the land they come from, and when grown within their native environments, they build natural resilience. They interact with other plants, microbes in the soil, insects, and environmental stressors that keep them alive and able to build defense mechanisms. These defense mechanisms are chemical, and this complex phytochemistry is what we rely on to protect ourselves. 

Herbs grown under different conditions, particularly with the use of pesticides, in monoculture settings and in different climates, will yield a different chemical spectrum. Plants grown and shipped across countries, stored for months if not years in warehouses and dried rapidly with industrial equipment, will yield a different chemical spectrum. Different in the sense of a lack of colour, vibrancy and scent, which are all key markers of a good quality herb. Sourcing locally, and working with trusted growers who understand sustainable cultivation, is a step in the right direction to responsible medicinal herb production.

The quality of the plants has an impact on how effective the final product will be. Herbs picked at the right time of day when filled to the brim with phytocompounds, worked with fresh or dried slowly will build the base of a product with great therapeutic value. Herbs grown from seed, perennials tended and mulched with organic materials, pollinators encouraged to join in. These are all practices I stand by as fundamentals. They're also choices, and in a world where the majority of cosmetics are produced en mass, cutting corners and maximising profit, these choices feel even more important. 

Having a traceable thread for all our ingredients, relationships with the growers, the land, the inhabitants, this is what feels important. Being in control of harvest, quality and the impact production is having on the earth. Beyond the positive impact for our skin, we need to be leaving a positive impact on our gardens, fields, local landscapes. This is where true healing happens, an outward spreading spiral of reciprocity, regeneration and abundance. Working with plants that are fresh and full of vitality with their energetic essence intact. 

So, as I sit here with a coffee, watching the honeybees settle on the lavender, hands sticky from harvesting calendula all morning for a restock of the Garden Flower Balm, I think about the responsibility and integrity of Lazuli and how to meet demand.

At the moment, this looks like growing and processing herbs in house and supplementing with fresh, organic herbs from local farms. It's a system that works, allows room to live in relationship with the land, and develop meaningful connections and roots within community and landscape. 

Scaleable? I'm not sure. But that doesn't feel important or a part of the vision. Using living ingredients, following slow processes and sourcing ethically is a serious undertaking in the modern world. It requires a lot of grit, hard work and commitment to the cause. The rewards are high, but it does take a significant amount of energy and dedication. This translates to deep, intentional, nourishing growth. The kind that has a meaningful impact on mother nature (that's us too by the way, we are nature). That's the vision.

"Give thanks for what you have been given. Give a gift, in reciprocity for what you have taken. Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever" - Robin Wall Kimmerer