Unlikely Hero’s: Cleavers and Ground Ivy
There’s something quietly powerful about stepping outside, gathering a plant with your own hands, and turning it into something that cares for your skin. Two of the most overlooked yet generous plants you’ll find growing around Nebraska are cleavers and ground ivy. Often dismissed as weeds, they carry a long history of use in herbal skincare, especially for calming, clearing, and restoring balance.
Meeting the Plants
Cleavers (Galium aparine) is that soft, slightly sticky plant that clings to your clothes when you brush past it. It thrives in early spring and is known in herbal traditions for its cooling, lymph-supportive properties. In skincare, that translates to helping reduce puffiness, congestion, and sluggish skin.
Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea), also called creeping Charlie, spreads low across the ground with scalloped leaves and a fresh, slightly minty scent. It’s rich in aromatic compounds and has been used traditionally for its toning and clarifying effects on the skin.
Together, these plants offer a gentle but effective approach to skincare that works with the skin, not against it.
Why Use Them on the Skin?
Modern skincare often focuses on stripping, exfoliating, and correcting. Cleavers and ground ivy take a different approach.
Cleavers supports movement. If your skin feels congested, dull, or prone to swelling, this plant encourages flow and drainage, helping the skin look clearer and more alive.
Ground ivy brings balance. It has mild astringent qualities, meaning it can help tone the skin, refine the appearance of pores, and bring a sense of freshness without harshness.
Used together, they create a blend that is both soothing and revitalizing. Ideal for sensitive, acne-prone, or tired skin.
How to Harvest Thoughtfully
Both plants grow abundantly in spring around Lincoln and much of the Midwest. Look for clean areas away from roads, sprayed lawns, or heavy foot traffic.
Harvest gently. Take only what you need, and never strip a patch bare. These plants are generous, but respectful harvesting ensures they’ll return year after year.
Cleavers is best used fresh, as it loses potency when dried. Ground ivy can be used fresh or dried, depending on your preparation.
Simple Ways to Use Them in Skincare
Fresh Cleavers Infusion (for toning and soothing)
Because cleavers is so water-rich, it shines in fresh infusions.
Place a handful of fresh cleavers into a bowl and pour hot (not boiling) water over it. Let it steep until cool, then strain.
Use this as a facial rinse, a compress for puffy areas, or even freeze it into ice cubes for a cooling treatment.
Ground Ivy Oil Infusion (for facial oils and balms)
Ground ivy works beautifully infused into oil.
Lightly wilt fresh leaves (this reduces moisture and prevents spoilage), then place them in a jar and cover with jojoba or another stable oil. Let it infuse for 2–4 weeks in a cool, dark place, then strain.
This oil can be used on its own or blended into facial oils for clarifying and toning benefits.
Cleavers + Ground Ivy Steam
A facial steam is one of the simplest and most sensory ways to use these plants.
Add a handful of cleavers and ground ivy to a bowl of hot water, cover your head with a towel, and gently steam your face for a few minutes.
This helps open pores, soften the skin, and deliver the plants’ properties directly through warmth and breath.
A Different Philosophy of Skincare
Working with plants like cleavers and ground ivy invites a slower, more intuitive relationship with skincare. Instead of chasing perfection, it becomes about supporting the skin’s natural rhythms.
These plants don’t force change. They encourage it.
They remind us that skincare doesn’t have to be complicated or synthetic to be effective. Sometimes, what your skin needs is already growing quietly nearby, waiting to be noticed.
And when you begin to use these plants regularly, you start to see your skin differently not as something to fix, but as something to tend.
