Herbal medicine practitioners have long known the benefits of blue tansy, blue cypress and blue yarrow. But the color itself can still be startling, even in a natural skin care product, as some early Original adopters pointed out when they first rolled it on.
Our newest variation, Rockstar RollOn ~ The Balm, is more “in your face” blue, so I thought I’d explain a bit why blue is good for you.
Our Original botanical blend combines the deep green critical extract of german chamomile with bold yellow turmeric, vibrant steam distilled blue tansy extract, deep blue yarrow, and soft baby blue cypress ~ the color wheel at work!
Of course, I selected these botanicals for the anti-inflammatory benefits documented in herbal medicine, not the colors themselves. They just have both in common.
To better understand how and why these botanicals work, please bear with me while I chemistry geek out on you for an essential moment or two.
So, what’s in these blue herbs?
Azulene is a naturally occurring constituent of many plants and some invertebrates. It has two common derivitives, chamazulene, a deep blue color and guaiazulene, a sky blue color. Students of herbal medicine have long considered both to be powerful anti-inflammatories.
Chamazulene and guaiazulene however, do not exist in the fresh plants from which they are derived, so when looking at the fresh plant, you don’t always see the blue you see in Rockstar RollOn.
Instead, these amazing anti-inflammatory chemical compounds are biosynthetised through the process of steam-distillation from the sesquiterpene matricarin.
(If you’re familiar with terpenes from investigating CBD, a sesquiterpene is a class of terpenes that consist of three isoprene units (empirical formula C₁₅H₂₄).)
What was that again?
In other words, steam distilling these plants creates magnificent new structures, sesquiterpenes.
Sesquiterpenes are powerful anti-inflammatories that can also mean death to cancer cells!
Really?
“Various SLs (sesquiterpene lactones) have been demonstrated to execute their anti-cancer capability via inhibition of inflammatory responses, prevention of metastasis and induction of apoptosis.”
“Prevention of metastasis” means preventing the reproduction & spread of cancer cells”.
“Induction of apoptosis” means causing the death of cancer cells
Reduce inflammation and fight back against cancer.
Clear out the bad, to make room for the new!
Blue is also the color chosen to represent colon cancer survivors specifically. I am 13 years clear of colon cancer as of this writing, thanks in part to the sesquiterpenes combined in all Rockstar RollOn products, not just The Balm.
So yes, honey, it’s blue!