Commonly called stinging nettle or common nettle, it is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant, native to Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America, and is the best-known member of the nettle genus Urtica. The plant has many hollow stinging hairs called trichomes on its leaves and stems, which act like hypodermic needles injecting histamine and other chemicals that produce a stinging sensation when in contact with humans and animals. The plant has a long history of use as a medicine and as a food source. Nettle leaf is an herb that has a long tradition of use as an adjuvant remedy in the treatment of arthritis in Germany.

Cosmetic use

Used externally, modern herbalists use stinging nettle in the form of a purified extract as a hair tonic and growth stimulant and also in anti-dandruff shampoos. Nettle tea is also considered an effective hair tonic that may bring back the natural colour of the hair also making it glossier.

The stinging nettle is rich in minerals, vitamins A, B group and C along with protein, high amounts of chlorophyll, formic acid, caffeic acid and malic acid, serotonin, glucoquinones, lecithin and lycopene.

Simmondsia chinensis (Simmondsiaceae)

This is grown commercially for jojoba oil, a liquid wax ester, extracted from the seed. A shrub native to the Sonoran and Mojave deserts of Arizona, southern California and northwestern Mexico, it is the sole species of the family Simmondsiaceae and is also known as goat nut or wild hazel. The oil makes up approximately 50% of the jojoba seed by weight. The wax esters are made up of a disproportionately large amount of docosenyl eicosenoate.

Cosmetic use

Jojoba oil is easily refined to be odourless, colourless and oxidatively stable, and is often used in cosmetics as a moisturizer and as a carrier oil for speciality fragrances. It is found as an additive in many cosmetic products such as lotions and moisturizers, hair shampoos and conditioners. Or, the pure oil itself may be used on skin or hair.