Blog Party Soothing Skin Natural Treatments and Remedies

There are some great remedies for soothing skin and my old stand by has been plantian, you can read a great post on Darcey's blog on plantain here
for a poultice (it is literally everywhere around here in the Pacific Northwest) , calendula, chickweed itch oil for itchy skin and bites, you can read about this on my post chickweed


I like arnica oil or lotion for bruises.

If I have some echinacea tincture around, I like this for stings & bites too.

Aloe is nice for burns after applying cold water & ice, especially if you have a plant and you can use the fresh directly.

A comfrey or calendula salve is nice to have around, good to use on pets too for skin irritations from flea dermatitis or hot spots.


I like to have a face astringent on me all summer long. I tend to have oily skin, if I use the astringent throughout the day so my pores stay clean & tight and I am less likely to get skin irritation from wiping my face, getting dirt in the pores, irritating them causing blemishes.

Here is my recipe:

Facial Toner
2 cups witch hazel extract
wild rose petals or rose water (about 1/2 cup)
1 T lime zest
2 rosemary sprigs or 2 drops rosemary EO
Variation use
1/2 cup peppermint leaves or 2 drops peppermint EO (cool and refreshing)

put in a wide mouthed jar with a lid, keep in a cool, dark place, shake daily for 2 weeks, strain through muslin, it will keep about 6 weeks refrigerated.



The one thing I have to say is my first instinct when my skin is irritated is to take a bath, or preferably jump in the ocean (obviously not always accessible) . The ocean is very healing to me, I always add sea salt to my bath, I like a little kelp too if available. I like to wrap herbs up in a cheesecloth and hang them from the spout as the water is running, when the water is done I like to rub the bundle on my skin. I like lavender, elder flower, yarrow, calendula, & rosemary. Below are some other bath ideas.


Soothing/ healing skin bath
1/2 cup fine ground oat meal
1 cup olive, almond, or johoba oil (your preference)
2 cups aloe gel
Calendula & plantain in bath bundle

Revive bath
Fresh Rosemary in bundle
2 tablespoons fresh ginger added
Rose petals or rose water about a cup

I also like to use fresh veges on my face occasionally as sort of a mask after I use a good face scrub , such as avacado, cucumber, or grape. For skin that has dead skin cells. Not for skin that is recently sunburned.

A cool chamomile tea bag, or cucumbers on hot dry eyes (closed) after walking in the wind or boating is also great, I found a chamomile tea bag is also good to draw out an eye stye.

After long hikes or spending a lot of time with bare feet, I like to use a scrub on my feet for the dry irritated areas

Mint foot scrub
1 cup unflavored yogurt or you can use olive oil about a 1/2 cup
1 cup sea salt or rock salt
3/4 cup mint leaves chopped or peppermint EO