What your body already knows.
Perimenopause • Menopause • After
Most of us were never taught that our body has a sophisticated system to balance the workings of sleep, appetite, inflammation response, mood and more.
Or how women can engage that system to help us stay vibrant, sexy & joyful through all our body's changes.
Rockstar Woman
100% plant-based topical body & intimate oil hand-crafted for women in every stage of life.
$6918 reviews
What's Going On?
What women say.
What clients say
Trusted for generations. Confirmed by modern science.
The plants that have supported women through this transition for centuries aren't exotic. You already know them. What's newer is understanding why these plants — and more — have earned their reputations: they carry cannabinoids and terpenes, small aromatic molecules that fit receptors your body already has. Those receptors belong to the endocannabinoid system, a network every one of us is born with.
What's the endocannabinoid system?
Every mammal on earth runs on the same master regulatory network, and most people have never heard it named. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is three things working together: receptors — CB1, found mostly in the brain and nervous system, and CB2, found mostly in immune cells and skin — the molecules your body makes to switch them on (endocannabinoids such as anandamide, named for the Sanskrit word for bliss), and the enzymes that clear those molecules away when the job is done.[1] Think of it as a thermostat. It sits underneath homeostasis, nudging sleep, mood, inflammation response and appetite back toward centre, and it runs all the way through the menopausal transition. It isn't a private language, either: the same receptors respond to molecules made by plants, which is why a spice-rack terpene like beta-caryophyllene binds CB2 directly.[2]
Why these plants?
Black pepper. Lavender. Frankincense. Rose. Vanilla. Each one carries its own signature of aromatic molecules — the terpenes and resin acids that give the plant its scent, and that scientists study in their own right. Black pepper is rich in beta-caryophyllene, the terpene researchers call a “dietary cannabinoid” because it selectively binds the CB2 receptor.[2] Frankincense resin carries boswellic acids. Rose carries citronellol and geraniol.[3] Lavender carries linalool and linalyl acetate. Vanilla carries vanillin. What modern research is revealing is why traditional plant medicinals were reached for, generation after generation: many of them speak a chemical language your body already runs.
Where is the science?
Fair question. Here is some of what researchers have published about the plants we're talking about. None are claims about what Rockstar products do. Rose: a 2021 systematic review pooled 32 randomized controlled trials of Rosa damascena, taken or inhaled in any form, and found lower measured anxiety, depression and stress scores in the treated groups — while rating the quality of that evidence very low to moderate and calling for better trials.[4] Beta-caryophyllene, the black-pepper terpene: it was identified in 2008 as a selective CB2 agonist, a plant molecule that binds a cannabinoid receptor.[2] A 2019 study of skin wounds in mice found that wounds treated with beta-caryophyllene re-epithelialized faster, with more cell proliferation and cell migration in the renewing tissue, and that the effect was strongest in females.[5] Frankincense: a small randomized, double-blind, split-face trial in fifteen women found that a cream carrying 0.5% boswellic acids, applied daily for 30 days, measurably improved skin roughness, fine lines and elasticity compared with the same cream without them.[6] Small studies, animal models and mixed evidence quality are all named here on purpose.
Sources
- [1] Lu HC, Mackie K. An introduction to the endogenous cannabinoid system. Biol Psychiatry. 2016;79(7):516–525. Review: receptors (CB1, CB2), endocannabinoids (anandamide, 2-AG) and their synthesizing and degrading enzymes. Evidence: strong. ↩
- [2] Gertsch J, Leonti M, Raduner S, et al. Beta-caryophyllene is a dietary cannabinoid. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2008;105(26):9099–9104. Selective CB2 binding (Ki 155 nM), functional agonist — in vitro and in mice. Evidence: strong. ↩
- [3] Boskabady MH, Shafei MN, Saberi Z, Amini S. Pharmacological effects of Rosa damascena. Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2011;14(4):295–307. Review; rose oil constituents β-citronellol 14.5–47.5% and geraniol 5.5–18% (GC analyses cited therein). Evidence: directional. ↩
- [4] Rasooli T, Nasiri M, Kargarzadeh Aliabadi Z, Rajabi MR. Rosa damascena Mill for treating adults' anxiety, depression, and stress: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Phytother Res. 2021;35(12):6585–6606. 32 RCTs pooled; GRADE evidence quality very low to moderate. Evidence: moderate. ↩
- [5] Koyama S, Purk A, Kaur M, et al. Beta-caryophyllene enhances wound healing through multiple routes. PLoS One. 2019;14(12):e0216104. Mouse model; re-epithelialization, cell proliferation and migration; sex differences reported. Evidence: directional. ↩
- [6] Pedretti A, Capezzera R, Zane C, et al. Effects of topical boswellic acid on photo and age-damaged skin: clinical, biophysical, and echographic evaluations in a double-blind, randomized, split-face study. Planta Med. 2010;76(6):555–560. n = 15 women, 30 days, 0.5% boswellic acids vs vehicle. Evidence: directional. ↩
Our Products
Meet Heather Reilly Hiemstra
The magic of live music and its possibilities of ecstatic transformation have inspired Heather in her journey since childhood, from professional actor to record industry scout, jeweler to blacksmith, alchemist to Rockstar Woman. Surviving postpartum colon cancer was the catalyst for Heather’s foray into formulating with pure plant botanicals ~ an intense desire to heal herself and keep her family healthy and well through all stages of life.
Heather believes, simply enough, that when we feel good, we can do good, and that the world needs more of that from all of us. Heather has been building the Rockstar Blends audience one relationship at a time with this message for over a decade. She is especially dedicated to helping the hundreds of women she’s met, and the millions more like them, who are desperate to have the conversation no one seems to want to have. How can I feel good as I age? How can I stay vibrant and sexy as my body changes through life? What can I use to help myself that’s truly safe to use?
Building these 100% plant-based formulations that help everyone feel so much better is just the beginning of Heather giving back for her second chance on life, for getting to be a wife and mom, for every comped ticket, every backstage pass, and every ecstatic, transformative moment life keeps sharing with her.
Podcast
GenX Hits Menopause
Having the hard conversations about our bodies, ourselves, and each other that we all should have had a long time ago.
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
AudibleStay in touch
New episodes, new botanicals, and the occasional rockstar moment. Email now and then.