As a staunch believer in holistic skin care, I strongly adhere to the saying “you are what you eat”. This saying is attributed to many, most notably to the French lawyer Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. With it, he meant a person’s mental, emotional, and physical health. And of course, all of it is visible on your skin. That’s also why it’s great when it works on the inside, it also works on the outside. One such a treasure is fennel.
You can take the bulb, foliage, fruits, and seeds of fennel and make all kinds of delicious treats – and it’s also great for your skin. Scroll down to discover how fennel can balance and soothe skin as well as firm and regenerate it.
Fennel
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is part if the carrot family (Apiaceae). Sometimes it’s also called the celery or parsley family, which gives you a hint of what its other famous and economically important cousins are, including
Angelica
Anise
Coriander
Cumin
Dill
It’s shaped a bit like an umbrella and has feathery leaves and tiny little yellow flowers. It can grow to about 1 metre tall.
Depending on the source, it was believed to be indigenous to the Mediterranean and Asia Minor. Or, it’s said to be native to Asia from western China to the Caspian Sea, where it then spread to southern Europe and the Mediterranean area.
It now grows in many parts of the world, near seashores and on riverbanks. It’s even considered an invasive plant in Australia and parts of the US.
The word fennel comes from the Latin word faeniculum, it means small hay (faenum, Latin for hay). It’s because the scent of dried fennel leaves reminds you of hay. Faeniculum turned into fenoil in Old French and transformed into the Old English fenol – which is not far from fennel.
Uses
Fennel was already used by the ancient Greeks and Romans. They valued it as food, medicine, and insect repellent. It was so valued, you can even find it in Greek mythology. To steal fire from the gods, Prometheus used a giant stalk of a fennel plant. Drinking fennel tea before battle was believed to make warriors brave.
Fun fact: Did you know that marathon means “a place full of fennels”? Seriously. A famous battle between the Greeks and Persians was fought on a field of fennel. And the legend of the long-distance, gruelling endurance race, the marathon comes from a Greek runner who was sent from Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians were defeated.
In the traditional Indian medicinal system, Ayurveda, fennel was long a staple. It’s recommended for all sorts of digestive issues and can also support many other systems of the body. It was used to soothe nerves and to promote mental alertness.
For Traditional Chinese Medicine, fennel is classified as having a warm temperature and so can be used to circulate qi.
In the early Middle Ages, emperor Charlemagne ordered all imperial farms to grow fennel. It’s one of the plants needed to invoke the Anglo-Saxon Nine Herbs Charm. It was believed that it can ward off evil and so people hung it over doors and windows to prevent demons and other wicked spirits to enter.
When Shakespeare was written Hamlet, fennel was a symbol of flattery.
Did you know that absinthe, also called the green fairy, was made with fennel?
A famous Chinese spice blend called Five-Spice Powder contains fennel. The other four are Chinese cinnamon, star anise, and cloves. You may have counted 3 spices and that’s because the 4th is a bit of a wild card. Some people like ginger, others add white pepper or Szechuan pepper.
In the 60s of the last centuries, hippies grew fennel as a hangover remedy.
Content
All parts of the plant can be eaten. The leaves, bulb, stem, and seeds can be eaten. But what is commonly known as fennel seeds aren’t seeds at all. They’re the fruits of the fennel plant but because of their appearance and size, everyone calls them seeds. The leaves look a bit like dill and can be used in exactly the same way. You often find the bulb in salads and the stem can be eaten like celery. The “seeds” (fruits) are often used in curry spice mixtures.
All parts have a mild liquorice-like or anise flavour, but the leaves and stems taste more leafy or green. The liquorice and anise-like flavour come from its volatile oils, especially anethole and estragole. Other volatile oils give fennel its complex aroma include fenchone and limonene.
Apart from the volatile oils, fennel also includes phytochemicals such as polyphenols, minerals, and vitamins
- Vitamin B1 (thiamine)
- Vitamine B2 (riboflavine)
- Vitamin B3 (niacin)
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
- Calcium
- Iron
- Magnesim
- Manganese
- Phosphorus
- Zinc
No wonder the Greek and Roman physicians Hippocrates and Pliny the Elder recognised and used fennel in many of their treatments.
Why use it on your skin?
Fennel is a great source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It can regulate your skin’s ability to hold onto moisture. This means it’s especially interesting for people with oily skin. Just think about it: When your skin feels it’s losing water, it compensates and makes more oil to prevent moisture from leaving your skin.
But more oily means a higher potential for blocked pores. And of course, you look shiny like a glazed donut.
Ward of environmental damage
Since it contains a high amount of vitamin C, fennel helps ward off the effects of oxidative stress. When you’re exposed to environmental stressors such as UV rays, toxins, and pollutants, it may cause a chain reaction with free radicals that end in damage on the cell level.
In other words, UV rays, pollutants, and other environmental stressors contribute to dark spots, blemishes, and premature skin ageing. Besides vitamin C, fennel is packed with antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase, fennel works to strengthen and protect your skin against environmental damage.
An all natural spot remedy
Thanks to its zinc, magnesium, and potassium content, fennel helps you fight bacteria on your skin. Good news since it helps oil off and prevents bacteria that can cause zits to erupt.
Soothe
Fennel contains many phytochemicals such as the polyphenols rosmarinic acid and chlorogenic acid and quercetin. Both are not only potent antioxidants. They also are powerful anti-inflammatory agent.
So, fennel can depuff under-eye bags, soothe redness and irritation, and reduce swelling.
Delay signs of ageing
With zinc and vitamin C, fennel can help maintain and rebuild support structures in the skin. These are the proteins collagen and elastin. Having more means your skin is firmer and bouncier, but over time, these structures can break down naturally. Also, your body has a more challenging time to rebuild these proteins.
Closing words
Some brands love to add fennel essential oil to their formulation because of its anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and antioxidant properties. Fennel essential oil is steam-distilled the fennel “seeds” (fruits).
If you like a more hands-on approach, you can also use the ground seeds in a face pack to get for mild cleansing. The mask will balance your skin and cleanse congested skin while brightening it and tightening the pores. Fennel fits any signs of ageing before they even appear.
If you’re using the essential oil, always dilute it with a carrier oil.
