Laʻau Oil has transformed.
Every season, our signature ethnobotanical oil shifts with the turning of time. New plants are gathered, new infusions begin, and the medicine of the garden continues to flow. This season, we welcome a flower unlike any other: Blue Butterfly Pea (Clitoria ternatea), a vivid blossom treasured for centuries as a source of renewal, beauty, and strength.
Infused gently into our base of organic kukui nut oil, butterfly pea brings antioxidant richness, calming energy, and a deep blue vibrancy that mirrors the ocean and sky. This is seasonal skincare — alive, rooted, and in rhythm with nature.
Meet the Flower 🦋
Blue Butterfly Pea is native to Southeast Asia, where it has been woven into daily life for centuries. Known for its striking indigo-blue petals, the flower is often used in teas, tinctures, and natural dyes. When steeped in water, the blossoms release a sapphire hue that shifts to pink-violet when touched with lemon juice — a living reminder of transformation.
In Ayurveda, butterfly pea is considered a medhya rasayana, or brain tonic — a plant that sharpens the mind, improves memory, and calms the nervous system. In Thai and Balinese kitchens, the blossoms are stirred into rice, desserts, and refreshing teas, carrying both flavor and color. In Malaysia, it’s known as bunga telang, and has long been planted near homes as a symbol of feminine beauty, creativity, and abundance.
Across cultures, butterfly pea is both medicine and beauty: a flower that nourishes from the inside and shines outward.
Here on Kauaʻi, butterfly pea has taken root in our garden. The vines climb toward the morning sun, offering up blossoms each day in a rhythm of abundance. Our children love to gather the blooms with us, filling baskets with the soft blue petals. There is joy in the harvest, and reverence too — a sense that this humble flower carries something profound.
Why It Matters for Skin 🌿
Beyond its beauty and cultural heritage, butterfly pea is a powerhouse of skin-loving compounds.
1. Anthocyanins: Antioxidant Flower Power
The vivid blue pigment of butterfly pea comes from anthocyanins, plant compounds also found in blueberries and purple sweet potatoes. These pigments act as potent antioxidants, protecting the body — and skin — from oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress happens when free radicals (unstable molecules from sun, pollution, or stress) damage healthy cells. On the skin, this shows up as:
- Fine lines and wrinkles
- Loss of elasticity
- Dullness or uneven tone
- Premature signs of aging
By neutralizing free radicals, anthocyanins help the skin stay bright, resilient, and youthful. They don’t stop time — but they support the body’s natural ability to age with grace.
2. Anti-Inflammatory Support
Butterfly pea has been studied for its anti-inflammatory properties. Traditionally, poultices made from the flower were applied to swellings and irritations. For the skin, this translates to:
- Calming redness
- Soothing irritation
- Supporting balance for sensitive or reactive skin
3. Collagen & Elasticity
Antioxidants like anthocyanins help protect collagen fibers from breaking down too quickly. Collagen is what keeps our skin plump, firm, and elastic. Supporting collagen means encouraging skin that feels supple, rather than sagging before its time.
4. Even Tone & Radiance
By reducing oxidative stress and calming inflammation, butterfly pea supports a more even skin tone. Over time, it may help soften the look of sun damage and discoloration, bringing skin back to its natural glow.
More Than Skin Deep ✨
Butterfly pea’s benefits extend beyond the skin. In herbal traditions, the flower has been used as:
- A calming nervine: easing anxiety, tension, and sleeplessness.
- A brain tonic: improving focus and memory.
- A circulatory supporter: helping blood flow and vitality.
- A cooling herb: perfect for hot climates, balancing internal heat.
When we infuse this flower into Laʻau Oil, we believe its healing qualities extend beyond the physical. It’s not only about antioxidants and hydration — it’s about carrying the flower’s calming, renewing frequency into your daily rituals.
Our Process 🌱
At ʻOhi ʻOhi, every product is handmade with intention. Laʻau Oil is no exception.
- Hand-Harvesting: We gather butterfly pea blossoms fresh from our garden. Each flower is picked by hand, often with our children beside us, learning to notice the land’s gifts.
- Slow Infusion: The dried petals are placed into organic kukui nut oil, a traditional Hawaiian oil known for its deep nourishment. Over weeks, the oil absorbs the flower’s properties, becoming a rich infusion of both plant and prayer.
- Kukui Nut Oil Base: Kukui oil itself is beloved in Hawaiʻi for soothing sun-exposed skin, hydrating deeply without heaviness, and leaving the skin soft, smooth, and protected. Combined with butterfly pea, it creates a synergy of moisture + antioxidant defense.
- Small Batches: We never rush the process. Each bottle of Laʻau Oil is made in small, seasonal quantities. This ensures freshness, potency, and alignment with nature’s timing.
When you hold a bottle of Laʻau, you’re holding more than oil. You’re holding a season’s worth of blossoms, the rhythm of the land, and a ritual of care crafted with aloha.
The Philosophy of Seasonal Oils 🌗
Why do we change the plant every three months? Because nature is not static. She moves in cycles — blooming, resting, renewing. Our bodies also move with these rhythms, whether we notice or not.
Conventional skincare often promises sameness: the same formula, the same “solution,” year-round. But at ʻOhi ʻOhi, we believe in seasonal skincare — allowing the plants of the moment to guide us.
In summer, skin may crave cooling herbs. In winter, it may need deeper nourishment. By infusing Laʻau Oil with a new plant each season, we align self-care with the living cycles of the ʻāina (land).
Butterfly pea teaches us about renewal. Its blossoms last for only a day, fading by evening. But each morning, the vines offer fresh flowers again. The plant shows us resilience, regeneration, and the beauty of impermanence. Our skin, too, is always renewing itself. When we align with this rhythm, we cultivate beauty that feels alive, not manufactured.
Practical Ways to Use Butterfly Pea 🦋
While Laʻau Oil brings butterfly pea directly to your skincare ritual, there are other ways to welcome this flower into your life:
- Butterfly Pea Tea: Steep dried blossoms in hot water for a calming, antioxidant-rich tea. Add lemon juice to watch the color shift from blue to purple.
- Facial Steam: Add blossoms to a bowl of hot water, cover your head with a towel, and let the steam open your pores. The color and scent are soothing to the spirit.
- Bath Ritual: Sprinkle ground up petals into your bath for a calming soak.
- Food & Drink: Use blossoms to tint rice, desserts, or cocktails. They bring beauty and a touch of antioxidant power to your plate.
These simple practices reflect the spirit of ethnobotany: learning from the plants, not just for healing, but for living in harmony with them.
Invitation 🌀
This season’s Laʻau Oil, infused with Blue Butterfly Pea Flower in organic kukui nut oil, is now available in our ʻOhi ʻOhi online shop.
- Handmade in small batches, custom for you with chosen essential oil blend.
- Organic and garden-grown.
- Rich in antioxidants for glowing, resilient skin.
- A ritual of renewal, designed to shift with the seasons.
✨ Bring the vitality of the butterfly pea flower into your daily ritual.
Closing Thoughts 🌿
At ʻOhi ʻOhi, we see skincare not as vanity, but as relationship — with the plants, the land, and ourselves. Laʻau Oil is our way of honoring the cycles of nature and weaving them into everyday life. With Blue Butterfly Pea, we celebrate renewal, resilience, and the beauty of change.
May this season’s infusion remind you that your skin, like the land, is always capable of renewal.