Skin Deeper

A medical herbalist shares her win-win formula for healthy harvesting and happy skin.

By Cindy Hirschfeld | December 20, 2021

Medical herbalist Julie Levin relies on all-natural ingredients to craft products for Leaf People, her 18-year-old, plant-based skin care company. Some of them she forages herself through wild harvesting—just not too many at once. Her recipe for forest extract body oil, for example, uses plentiful evergreen sprigs as the main ingredient.

Having trained with herbal medicine practitioners from Africa to Australia, Levin, a longtime Roaring Fork Valley local, strongly advocates for ethical harvesting. That means collecting only what she needs, avoiding trafficked areas near trails, and returning to reseed areas when possible, among other practices. And she’s definitely not sharing her spots on social media.

“I see people foraging on Instagram, telling each other where these stashes are,” she laments. “Damage gets done to the ecosystem.”

Levin also abides by another, less tangible practice: She mentally and energetically cleanses herself on the morning of a harvest (think meditation and mantras). In the field, she asks permission of a plant before harvesting it and then makes a small offering—a sprinkling of leaves from other medicinal plants, say—in exchange for what she takes.

To formulate Leaf People’s creams, serums, and other products, “Every plant is chosen for its sustainability factor,” Levin notes. “Can I get this ingredient over a long period of time in a way that’s sustainable in nature?” For instance, even though root medicine can be powerful, Levin eschews it. “I’ve never collected in a way that would kill the plant,” she says. Plus, she enhances the potency of ingredients like arnica, which is routinely overharvested, with other plants so that she uses less of it.

Levin now grows many of her own plants—burdock root, red clover, chamomile, echinacea, Japanese honeysuckle, and more—on her property in Missouri Heights. She supplements with purchases from other wild harvesters whom she’s thoroughly vetted to ensure they’re of like mind.

As you set out to discover the satisfaction of brewing up your own natural potion with Levin’s recipe, remember to harvest with intention: Clear your mind, ask for permission, leave a little something in return, and take only what you need.

Find out more about Leaf People and order products at leafpeople.com.