Indigo Elixirs’ All-Natural Medicinal and Beauty Products

Beauty Spotlight: Modern-day apothecary Deanna Rose mixes up all-natural beauty and medicinal concoctions using Island herbs, fruit and flora.

Photos: Odeelo Dayondon

Deanna Rose of Indigo Elixirs was whipping up homemade beauty and healing products long before she moved to Hawaii. In her native Massachusetts, Rose had developed a slew of lotions and salves using ingredients local to the Northeast, selling them on the side while working towards a degree in health sciences. But it wasn’t until she landed in the Islands, post-graduation, that she found the inspiration to take her line from pet project to dream job.

The bountiful mana, or power, of the natural Island plants and herbs reignited in Rose a drive to create. Her work took on a new life, still local and organic, but this time distinctly Hawaiian, incorporating ingredients such as coconut and macadamia nut oil from the Big Island, cocoa butter from Oahu, and lavender and olena (turmeric) from her own garden.

In her home workshop, tucked away in the lush Manoa Valley, Rose concocts a wide range of both medicinal and cosmetic products. In the mix are roll-on fragrances, hydrating lip stains, body butters and balms, facial scrubs, and congestion-relieving head tonics, even aftershave.

Savior Salve is a pillowy blend of shea butter, oils, clover and chamomile designed to sooth eczema. Mocha Rose Stain for cheeks and pouts is a vibrant pot of color made with beeswax, Kona coffee, fruits and flowers. Chocolate Body Balm is a luscious moisturizer composed of coconut and olive oil, with the rich scent of cacao and vanilla.

All Indigo Elixirs items are handcrafted in small batches to maintain a high level of quality. Rose also makes a special effort to use plants in the forms truest to their original states, with no extracts or preservatives. That means living plant materials, virgin, cold-pressed butters, steam-distilled essential oils, and raw kombucha and vinegars, for a pure, natural experience truly infused with the essence of the aina.