Natural Remedy for Acne: The Herbal Facial Scrub

10. February 2010 · 3 comments · Categories: Herbalism, Remedies · Tags: , , ,

Coupon Codes & More Giveaways Here!

List Your Giveaways Here!

A Natural Beauty Regimen offers a Healthy Glow

When I was a teenager, I loved experimenting with beauty aids.  Soaps, shampoos, makeup, the latest products all jostled for my attention – and my money.  But thanks to a little herb store in a small shopping mall in town, I started playing with natural remedies.  I think of this as one of the big eye openers for me.  It was more fun than buying the latest product, and I was learning something my friends didn’t know yet!  Gaining an early understanding of how herbs can heal and restore just as well as, or often better than, the things in shiny bright packaging on television, can give teens a great start to a healthier future for them and for our planet.  So here’s a wonderful herbal facial scrub that acts as a natural remedy for acne.

Take 1/4 cup of oatmeal and 1 tablespoon each of dried rosemary, lavender, and thyme.  I’m a coffee grinder that you’ve reserved just for herb grinding, ground the herbs into a fine powder.  Place them into a glass container that has a tight-fitting lid and add 5 drops of lemon tea tree essential oil.  Mix well and close tightly.  To use, take 1 teaspoon of the mixture and blend with a little aloe vera juice or rose water.  Scrub the skin gently then rinse.

This natural remedy for acne is not only free of chemicals, it’s fun to try.  You never know – by sharing this recipe with your teen, you may be helping start a lifetime love for herbs!  If nothing else, it will help give a teen a good start into a chemical-free health and beauty regimen.

An Herbal Remedy for Children’s Cough and Sore Throat

14. December 2009 · 2 comments · Categories: Cold and Flu, Remedies · Tags: , ,

Find the dkM Giveaways here!

zoethout3It wasn’t such a big deal, but my son woke up with a cough last week.  I promptly cracked open a new bottle of Echinacea tincture, and I credit that with the fact that the “cold” hasn’t progressed beyond the occasional cough or need for a tissue.  But that first day, there was coughing and complaining that his throat felt “spicy”, what I can only imagine is toddler talk for a sore throat.  So I made him one of my favorite cough and sore throat teas.

Licorice root is a soothing herb that most kids enjoy because it’s sweet and pleasant tasting.  If you’re imagining the overpowering taste of cold and flu liquids, black jelly beans and the like, you’d be surprised to discover licorice root tea is much more mild.  Yes, it’s a very flavorful tea, but most people rather enjoy it.  It’s naturally quite sweet, so there’s no need to add sugar or honey to the tea.  Another great benefit, since sugar and illness don’t mix.  

Licorice root is great for coughs, sore throats, and lung ailments such as bronchitis.  To enjoy the tea, I use about a teaspoon of dried licorice root in a cup of just boiled water.  I let it steep for about 10 – 20 minutes, depending on how potent of a flavor I prefer.  (Kids usually like it a little on the weaker side.)  Licorice root can be purchased whole, but I use it cut for tea as sold at The Giving Essence.  A very helpful herb to have around when cold and flu season call for a natural remedy for coughs and sore throats!

Natural Relief to Curb the Menstrual Monster

16. September 2009 · 1 comment · Categories: Herbalism, Mommy Care, Remedies · Tags: , , , ,

 

This Would be a Good Day to Back Off

This Would be a Good Day to Back Off

Got cramps? How about bloating up like a blowfish, enough irritability to scare a WWF professional wrestler, flow as heavy as Niagara? Then I certainly don’t blame you for being cranky.  When that menstrual monster rears its ugly head and makes it impossible for you to remember what “normal” is, there are some natural period remedies you may want to keep at your side so you don’t break any more dishes.

 First things first: get some dried raspberry leaf.  This makes a tea that covers a wide range of symptoms, including cramping, bloating, and irregular bleeding.  You can drink several cups of it a day, and it’s pretty good stuff in my opinion.  A little honey and your day may start getting sweeter again.  

If your period is unusually heavy, you can try some yarrow.  Yes, yarrow is an herb that’s famous for its abilities to stop a cut from bleeding, but interestingly enough it works internally as well.  No, it won’t stop your period altogether (drat), but it will regulate excessive and heavy menstrual cycles.  In fact, if you have a very light period and need it to kick into gear, yarrow will assist you with that as well.  You can make a tea out of the dried flowering tops, or you can take it as a tincture.  

For natural pain relief ginger tea is always a favorite of mine.  It helps take the edge off the cramping, and it’s soothing as well.  One word of warning here: it can increase bleeding, so if that’s already an issue for you, you might try some valerian instead.  

And speaking of valerian, if you’re extra edgy and unable to sleep, and if you’ve got cramps to top it all off, valerian is very helpful.  Yes, it smells like cat pee.  But it works incredibly well. It works so well I’d like to take a moment to ask you: please don’t drink valerian tea and drive. No heavy machinery, no choosing that day to go to battle, etc. 

Those are a few of my favorite natural remedies for PMS and other menstrual frustrations. Keep them at the ready so when that ugly monster rears its head it won’t bite you – or anyone you live with!

How to Make Homemade Deodorant Spray

22. July 2009 · 3 comments · Categories: Contest, Product Review · Tags: , ,

Click Here for Giveaways & Coupon Codes

Add your giveaways

I’ve been using a great deodorant recipe for the last several months, and I just love it.  My husband uses it regularly too because the scent really is great for either men or women.  I got the original recipe from a book I reviewed awhile back called “Nature’s Weeds, Native Medicine, Native American Herbal Secrets” by Marie Miczak.  I’ve tinkered with the ingredients a bit to get it how we like it best, but the original recipe calls for just a few simple ingredients:

1 cup coriander seed infusion (I use 2 tsp. seeds in hot water for about 30 min.)

10 drops lemongrass oil

5 drops lavender oil

That’s it!  Placed in a spray bottle, you’re ready to go.  Now, the important thing to remember here is that it’s a deodorant, not an antiperspirant.  If you’re used to antiperspirants and you switch to a simple deodorant, you’ll probably sweat quite a bit as your body adjusts.  You see, we’re supposed to sweat a little under the arms because this is one way the body detoxifies.  So when you use antiperspirants, you’re blocking one of the body’s ability to release toxins.  After stopping antiperspirant usage, your body will say “yay!  Let’s dump all this stuff, guys!” and give you lots of extra perspiration until it figures out it’s free to do it’s thing.  Well, that’s it in a nutshell anyway.  After awhile (a few weeks, maybe even a month or two) the sweat factor will even out to something you can hopefully handle.

I’ve found the best way to use this natural deodorant is to apply it a couple of times a day.  Just a few fine sprays under each arm.  The smell of the mixture is wonderful, but it won’t be strong for more than a few minutes, so no fears in mixing it with any perfumes, etc. you may like.  Personally I love smelling like coriander, lemongrass and lavender!  Very natural and refreshing.

Hope you enjoy the homemade deodorant spray recipe!

Natural Relief for Sunburns

22. May 2009 · 4 comments · Categories: Remedies · Tags: , ,

Click Here for Giveaways & Coupon Codes

Add your giveaways 

Memorial Day weekend!  A long break for work, grilling, outdoor activities, sunburns…  Yes, sunburns can be a problem for many of us, especially up here in the northern regions where perhaps we’re still a bit pasty after the long hard winter.  So when a 3-day weekend approaches, it’s easy to spend too much time in the sun without realizing what we’ve done until it’s too late and too painful!  Here’s a simple remedy to give you natural relief from that sunburn.

Aloe vera gel is one of the best solutions for sunburns – or any minor burn – but make sure it’s completely natural.  I can’t tell you how many bottles of “natural” aloe I’ve looked at only to find an ingredient list a mile long.  Aloe vera gel should be just aloe.  Look for 100%, and be sure to check the label.  If you have an aloe plant at home (and if only your face or chest is burnt), you can simply break off a leaf and apply the gel.  I often keep the remainder of the leaf in the refrigerator.  It keeps for quite awhile until I’ve inevitably burned myself cooking later on!  If you are able to find a good 100% aloe gel, you can boost the healing properties by placing a big glop in a bowl and adding a few little drops of lavender oil.  A soothing cool and a comforting scent!

So enjoy your long weekend, have fun with the kids, and don’t forget to protect everyone from the sun! But if you do get caught up in all the activity and end up with too much sunshine, you’ll have your natural relief for sunburns onhand.

« Older articles
Newer articles »