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

Miner's Lettuce Monitia Perfoliata

Miner's lettuce is a great wild food to try. It has a fresh, mild, sweet taste. Miner's lettuce is great on sandwiches and in salads. As you can see from the above picture it has a unique shaped leaf with the flower growing from the center, some botanists believe these used to be two leaves but eventually they merged together to make the one leaf you see above. Depending on the mood I am in, it reminds of a little round table with the flower being the center piece, sort of like the barista's at Starbucks, or a waiter holding a tray with a nice cocktail in the middle. The younger plants tend to bear single un-merged spatula shaped leaves, each arising from it's own stem. The mature plant tends to be about 6 to 8 inches high, sometimes higher in tall grass. It self-sows so easily and can probably be kept year round in most gardens. Around here in the Pacific Northwest it usually starts flowering in early May. It prefers cooler wetter climates but can also be found in other rich soil across America, sometimes I have seen it grow in a more sandy type soil as well. It grows from sea level up to about 6000 ft. This plant likes wilderness and is perfectly at home in a garden, in fact it loves manure and can be found at most ranches (because of all the horse poop) Miner's lettuce makes a beautiful ground cover and would be a delicious addition to your garden, with the mild climate in the Pacific Northwest you can grow it year round. The minors mining in the mountains would eat Monitia Perfoliata with their meals for a fresh vegetable, the plant is a source of vitamin C.

Miner's lettuce is best eaten immediately after harvest. It is also great to add to stir fry. Here is a salad recipe idea to try straight out of your garden, of course experiment for your self with other tasty herbs and salad greens.

approximately 4 cups Miner's Lettuce
A few handfuls of dandelion leaves
A few handfuls of basil
1 or 2 sprigs of dill
Your favorite nuts (almonds, pinenuts, or pecans are great)
Some dried berries or sun dried tomatoes
Balsamic Vinagar, olive oil, and a little sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and some garlic (in the dressing) to taste
Squeeze of lemon
Please do not make baby food out of this plant read my post nitrates
Photo by Dave Skinner

Going out with beauty good-by hen and chick

Hen & Chicks (Sempervivum sp) are among the easiest plants to grow, needing very little care, & usually difficult to fail. Yet now & then a new one will commit seppuku.

I bought a handful of unlabeled Semperviva & planted them here & there in pots and garden boxes. The habit most stores & nurseries have of selling mixed hybrids with no indication of what species or variety they are is a little annoying, but O well.

The one shown on this page loved its location & decided to bloom. Unfortunately, putting on such a fine display before having any chicks or developing a good root system will completely exhaust the plant & it will probably die soon after blooming.

Most of the time when a given rosette of leaves puts up one of these spectacular blooms, that particular hen dies when the task's completed, or gets so elongated & scruffy it has to be trimmed out of the mass. When there are lots of chicks coming along, & other hens, one faded rosette is hardly noticeable. But if it's just one hen, alas.

It's useless to cut off the stalk before it flowers because by the time the thick stalk erupts, the hen has already very likely passed the point of no return. So I will watch this beautiful display, and if the hen and chick passes, will have to say good-by.

When these plants do well, (as is more common than the fate of this particular example) it clumps into a ground cover with lots of chicks around the hen.

Old Time Medicinal & Other Uses

Sempervivum tectorum, Hen-and-chicks or Houseleek

The Latin botanical name has an historical reference. Charlemagne (742-814 A.D.) recommended that his subjects plant these hardy prolific plants on the roof of their houses to ward off lightening and fire. The leaves contain tannins and mucilage that are soothing to skin. It is used in the treatment of burns, skin wounds and infections.


The roman-greek scholar Dioscorides (Dioskurides) (~40-~90AD) mentioned the sempervivum in his work 'De materia medica' and recommended crushed leaves with wine to get rid of intestinal parasites. Cut leaves were used against warts, calluses, corns and insect stings - the juice was used to treat shingles and earache. As above the mashed leaves where used to treat burns and scalds.

'Naturalis Historiae' by Pliny the Elder is by far the best reference for uses of the Sempervivum. In countless passages he mentions the Sempervivum against articular gout, diarrhea, worms, stomach pain and more. The usage was either internal (juice), rubbing on the area of pain or simply applying parts of the plant on the body.

Pliny uses several names for one species, but comparisons with other ancient authors lead to a certainty for attributing to modern species names.

Resource: http://www.piam.com/mms_garden/plants.html
http://www.bryophyllum.com/b/antiquity/

Wood Sorrel Oxalis oregana One of my favorites!

When I was a kid, wood sorrel grew abundantly in the forest behind my house. I did not know it's name, and I can't remember what brought me to try eating it. I just remember I ate it every time I went exploring through the woods. When friends were with me I would talk them into eating it too. Their reaction (after some hesitation to try it) was always "WOW". Wood sorrel has a wonderfully sour taste. Great to add to salads, or to just eat as you are walking the trails. I have also heard the root stalks where used (back in the "old days") to make a pie similar to rhubarb. We harvested rhubarb every year in the field behind my house and made tuns of pies & crisps, I wish I would have thought to add the sorrel, perhaps this year.

Medicinal Uses
Medicinally this herb is a diuretic. My personal experience is this plant helps with minor stomach complaints, nausea. The herb is rich in vitamin C. I have heard some warning of the oxalate content of this plant, for more info on this read my post in the wild foods section on oxalate content in plants.

Identification
Oregon Wood sorrel is the species of sorrel I discussed above (oxalis oregana). This plant looks like a shamrock and is a gorgeous ground cover. There are other types of sorrel's (also called sheep sorrel) such as Rumex acetosella mountain sorrel, Oxalis stricta Cascade sorrel, as well as some poisonous look-a-likes you should be aware of. The other species I mentioned have arrow head shaped leaves, this can be mixed up with Solanum Dulcamara or bittersweet nightshade & the bindweeds Convolvulus arvensis that also grow in similar habitats.
The other sorrels have succulent leaves with some body to them, they are not papery or leathery. The sorrels are found in 4 basic forms. A plant whose leaves all rise from the ground ( a basal cluster of leaves sometimes forms a rosette); a plant with an upright flower stalk, with a rosette of leaves at the base; a colony of plants so intermixed you see a whole bed of leaves arising form the ground; or an intermixed colony of flower stemmed plants resembling tall reddish grass.
Sheep Sorrel often grows in colonies of exact clones, it reproduces by quick spreading rhizomes. Colonies are great because they make for easy harvesting.
The poisonous look-a-likes.
The best way to distinguish sheep sorrel (rumex acetosella, ocalis stricta) from the other poisonous plants is sheep sorrel's leaf is wider at the tip and the lobes are not typically aligned directly across from each other. You cannot see the veins in sheep sorrels leaf unless you light it from the back. The flowers are small and red.
Most bittersweet nightshade plants have leaf lobes that are separate from the rest of the leaf blade. The veins in the leaves clearly arise out from a main vein. Nightshade's stems get woody and can grow to be yards long. It has rocket ship shaped flowers that have purple petals and yellow anthers.
Field Bindweed's leaf lobes are directly across from each other, like bittersweet nightshade the veins arise directly out from a main vein. The vine stems twine around the stems of other plants. It's flowers are trumpet like, white or pink, and large.
Sheep sorrel grows all over North America in a varity of habitats. Mostly it likes acid, disturbed soil. I have found the wood sorrel in most shady wood areas around the Pacific Northwest.

PHOTO LINKS

Follow this link for some great pictures of Oregon wood sorrel
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/yamhill/pdf/native_plants/wood_sorrel.pdf

Rumex acetosella Sheep Sorrel

http://www.henriettesherbal.com/php/get.php?id=8468

Bittersweet Nightshade (solanum dulcamera) Photo

http://www.henriettesherbal.com/php/get.php?id=9051

Bindweeds (Convolvulus Arvensis)

http://www.henriettesherbal.com/php/get.php?id=3319

Resource: Wild Food Adventurer 2001 Volume 6 #3
Photograph by Gary Braasch/Corbis

Balance, Nature, & Your Home

Balance and Nature

Observing Nature's Cycles

Camping is very rejuvenating to me, not only is being out in nature healing, but the change of being outside and being aware earth’s sun and moon cycle is very uplifting. Being connected to this natural earth rhythm is a welcome change. If you can’t make it camping, you may want to try to rise and sleep with the sun or live without electricity for a weekend and then monitor how you feel. Eating the foods that are in season and locally grown also help you to get in tune with the earth. I believe it is good for our bodies to eat the in season foods, live with the seasons. When spring comes around I naturally get a sense that I want to start something new, I feel renewed, more alive.

Bringing the outdoors in

I like to create harmony in my home by making a smooth transition between my indoor and outdoor spaces. I also love the ocean so I have several shells I have found beach combing, along with my rock collection adding to my décor both inside and out. I have several indoor & outdoor plants. I like to put comfortable furniture outside, so in the morning I can sit and enjoy the fresh breeze. By making the outdoors more comfortable, I can easily sit and watch the wildlife, smell the fresh air, and enjoy the moon & stars at night. The more often I do this, especially when I lived at the coast, I found myself noticing the pull of the full moon on bodies of water, as well as feeling this in my body.

As I try to seek more balance in my life, I want to balance not just my role in life, but also the natural elements in my living space. Having natural elements in my home is good for my mind, body, and spirit, as well as it gives my home a good overall energy. Often when I have friends over they pick up my rocks or shells, it is like they can’t help but touch them. Inevitably, we always have a conversation about where they were found or about nature. I find most people really do not get enough nature in their lives. I find when I am more in tune with nature both in my home and outdoors my energy is more in sync and I feel an overall sense of balance and well being.

One of the best remedies Gardening!

Well I made my order to Horizon herbs. Can't wait for it to arrive! Here is what I ordered

	Dragons Head, Siberian Seeds
	Poppy organic
	Sage, Chinese Red seeds, organic
	Gunnera, Giant seeds OK, Not medicinal but medicinal to the soul, huge whimsical looking plant.
	Kidzerbs Garden Kit This is an ideal hands-on educational gift for kids 5 to 12, and for the young at heart of any age. Designed to inspire children to garden medicinal herbs in a backyard plot or in pots on the windowsill. Contains: * The delightful book "Kidzerbs" written by Sena Cech, featuring Cheesie Herbalmouse. * 13 packets of organically grown seeds (Basil, Borage, Calendula, California Poppy, Catnip, Chamomile, Sage, Fennel, Feverfew, Flax, Johnny-Jump-Up, Lemon Balm and Love-in-the-Mist.) This part of the garden is going to be for Ella, she is going to get her own little sign and everything! I am also going to put a fairy castle and gnomes. She will have her own mini tools and watering jug. If you haven't noticed I am also a kid at heart, I will have fun with this plot! * 13 row markers Black Elderberry seeds Gift Blend Packet Calendula, Echinacea purpurea, Elecampane, Feverfew, Motherwort, Wood Betony and Yarrow. Organically grown 500 seeds/pkt. Just the anticipation for my seeds to arrive has gave me a new passion! Can't wait to tend to my plants and get started. Growing season is late up here, it is cool this week so I should be safe. I really believe growing, Harvesting and tending to your plants is one of the best overall remedies. There is really nothing like it. Great exercise, great stress relief, great for the soul, and the plants love it too! One bummer, they were all out of Osha plants and I really wanted some! I will have to wait for fall and order the seeds.

Tiger Lily Magic

If you have two loaves of bread, sell one and buy a lily- Chinese Proverb

As a child as far back as I can remember, as single tiger lily grew in the woods behind my house. I would wait with anticipation for the day that the tiger would emerge, a spot of orange against all green foliage. I dare not pick it, I knew even at 6 years old this flower was very special. I would hike up the steep embankment just so I could get close, I would just sit, starring at it's magnificent beauty. The lily made me feel like I was at a far away place, an exotic place, not simply behind my house. I felt like I was in a dream. I left the place feeling like I just found a treasure that no one else knew about, a spring in my step, a rush, a mischievous smile ( I know something you don't) Yes magic, that is what it is. Every year I would go back to say hi to my friend. Sadly, the woods are gone but the Tiger Lily will always live in my heart and memory.

Tiger lily symbolizes passion "my love knows no bounds"