Botanical Ingredient

Sweet Basil

Ocimum basilicum

Sweet basil is sacred in Ayurvedic tradition and has been valued in herbalism across South Asia, the Mediterranean, and Africa for centuries. Its leaves are rich in eugenol — the same aromatic compound found in cloves — as well as significant linalool, which contributes a calming, comforting quality to its aromatic profile.

Skin-soothing (rich in eugenol)Warming aromaticTraditionally valued for skin careAntioxidantCalming (rich in linalool)

Infused into 2 InVine formulas

Sweet Basil — bright green aromatic leaves

Traditional Uses

  • Traditionally used for soothing skin after insect bites
  • Historically valued for comforting stings
  • Traditionally used in skin care routines
  • Historically applied to temples for comfort
  • Traditionally valued in Ayurvedic skin care
  • Traditionally used in first aid preparations

Key Properties

Skin-soothing (rich in eugenol)Warming aromaticTraditionally valued for skin careAntioxidantCalming (rich in linalool)

Did You Know

The word 'basil' derives from the Greek 'basileus' — king. In ancient Greece and Rome it was considered the king of herbs and was valued in traditional herbalism long before it became a kitchen staple.

Our Sourcing

Sweet basil is a warm-season annual and one of the most generous producers in InVine's Florida garden through the summer months. We harvest the leaves just before the plant begins to flower — when eugenol and aromatic oil content is at its highest — then dry them gently before an eight-week infusion in cold-extracted organic oils. Florida summers are ideal for basil: the heat and humidity bring out a richness that temperate-grown basil simply cannot match.

Why We Use It

I grow basil for cooking and for the balms, and it was an observation in the kitchen garden that led me to include it. Years before I understood the chemistry, I noticed that rubbing a crushed basil leaf onto a bite brought real, rapid comfort — faster than I expected. Basil is rich in eugenol, a compound that has made it one of the most historically valued herbs in traditional skin care. It belongs in the Bug Bite Balm because of that long tradition, and because it grows right outside our door.

Found In These Products

Sweet Basil is a key ingredient in these 2 InVine Botanicals formulas.

InVine Botanicals Basil Body Butter in 2oz amber glass jarSmall Batch

Face & Body

Basil Body Butter

Rich. Velvety. Revitalizing. A deeply nourishing body butter crafted with three Florida-grown basil varieties for soft, radiant skin from head to toe.

$42.00

2oz / 57g