A few months ago, I made tinted lip balm. It went well but they were not a great seller at the market, so I probably won't do that again.
Making Lip Balm
Natural Deodorant
After a great deal of research, I have made 100% natural, aluminum free deodorant that works! I'm thrilled with it! I left out the baking soda, after reading so many complaints about the rash and irritation it causes. What I make and use now is a coconut oil base with added tea tree, eucalyptus and peppermint oils. I am thrilled with how well it works, even after a long day and mowing the lawn in the heat of the sun!
My new natural deodorant does not feel oily at all, since I only use a tiny bit. It doesn't take much. A very, very light touch is needed here. Barely a pea size is all that's needed under each arm to last all day.
You can buy commercial, aluminum-free deodorant now, but I hear complaints that it doesn't work very well and, if its "natural", I wonder about my inability to read and understand the ingredient list...
I have tweaked my natural aluminum-free deodorant recipe a bit here and there until happy with it. I think it's good now and I will leave it alone and move onto something else. (Next: Natural Hair products...)
All Things Lavender
I have made Lavender Salve-Scent and new Lavender Soap! Lavender scent helps with headaches and tension. Lavender salve. helps lessen the appearance of scar tissue. You can use the lavender salve as a solid perfume. Smell like lavender everywhere you go! It's strongly scented!
We will have all lavender things in a special section of the table devoted to Lavender. We have lavender sachets that you can put in drawers, hang in closets or hang in your car. They are very strongly scented! We will have to keep them sealed up at the market so the scent doesn't irritate anyone.
I have made my non-toxic laundry detergent "Lavender". It softens the clothes as it cleans, making them super soft and now with lavender scent!
I am making a Lavender section on my table at the Farmer's Market in Fort Nelson.Everyone loves lavender!
New Soaps!
Rosemary, Bergamot & Lavender Soap with essential oils. I do still collect, dry and infuse the real herbs for soap and salve but sometimes I use essential oils in addition to my own for adding scent, when I find ones that I like. I do still have rosemary and lavender infused oils from my own plants that I use to make soap and salve. Pictured left is the Rosemary, Bergamot & Lavender soap. I think it turned out quite nicely coloured and smells nice too!
Cinnamon, Cloves & Vanilla - Ylang Ylang & Frankincense - and Cedarwood, which is not new but I'm sold out of it, all made with essential oils. I love the Ylang Ylang & Frankincense combination and I like the smelling and mixing too. These are all individual oils that I have combined myself after much time spent smelling them all. Loads of fun! I like to play with oils and scents! I plan to colour the Ylang Ylang & Frankincense with yellow that has pink bits or swirls in it. The Chai Tea is obviously going to have rusty red and brown swirly.
I sell these soaps and salves for $3 each at the Farmer's Market in Fort Nelson, BC every Saturday from 9am to 3pm. I am outside now, for the next two weeks, then I will be moving indoors for the winter. We are open every Saturday, all year around. Christmas is just around the corner!
Horsetail Nail & Cuticle Salve
Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea)
For many generations, Creeping Charlie (also called ground ivy) has been used to relieve several ailments.
Creeping Charlie has been used as a tea to ease gastritis and acid indigestion, bloating and nausea.
It has also been applied directly to the skin for wounds, ulcers, and other skin conditions. It is antiseptic and can be a help in treating urinary tract infections and clearing toxins out of the body.
Sow Thistle (Sonchus oleraceus)
The sap is said to be very effective in removing warts, just apply daily directly to the wart and in two weeks the wart should be gone.
Henbit & Dead Nettle
Henbit |
Henbit & Dead Nettle are close cousins, both members of the laminum - mint family. (It's called "dead" nettle because it doesn't sting.) is it a weed? What is a "weed". If it's anything that you don't want growing in your garden, then I think henbit and dead nettle are not weeds. Henbit is a beautiful, edible groundcover for all those empty areas and bees like it too. Its one of the earliest blooming flowers in the spring when bees need food. It's also good for humans!
Dead Nettle |
Henbit |
I would like some dead nettle, as well, and do know someone who has it growing in her yard. I might cut it down for her and move a plant to my garden. (I probably won't get there. It's a time issue. I don't have any!!)
Goldenrod
Goldenrod is one of those wild flowers that people take for granted and consider a weed. So did I, until this year. I have begun to do a lot of research into medicinal herbs, focusing on what I have growing here. We have been blessed with so much growing here in the way of medicinal herbs, right at our fingertips! Goldenrod is one of them!
Goldenrod (Solidago) flower tea is used to treat most urinary tract problems, as well as inflammation of the intestines and kidney problems, especially kidney stones.
It is antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and antifungal making it useful for healing all kinds of sores and wounds externally.
The chemicals in goldenrod are specifically effective against infection from the Candida fungus, which causes all kinds of yeast infections and oral thrush in the human body. Goldenrod tea is also effective in the treatment of chronic sore throats, in alleviating chronic congestion in the nasal passages as well as in treating problems such as diarrhea and other digestive disorders.
Goldenrod tea can also be used as a mouthwash or as a douche for the treatment of yeast infections in the vaginal cavity.
Another "weed" that turns out to be a great herb. I have some drying now for tea and plan to cut and dry a lot more before winter comes. I am putting it in my immune boosting winter tea.
Stinging Nettle - A Strong Medicinal Herb
dioica) is packed with vitamins, minerals, and trace minerals along with hefty dose of potent phytonutrients including deep-green chlorophyll and carotenoids. In fact, more than 100 chemical components have been identified in nettle, including:
Minerals – iron, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper, boron, strontium
Vitamins - A, C, K, and B vitamins
Phytonutrients - chlorophyll, beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, quercetin, rutin
- The natural polyphenols in nettle leaves are thought to be responsible the powerful antioxidant abilities of nettle tea.
- Fight infections. Nettles have antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal effects.
- Decrease inflammation. Nettles work as a natural anti-inflammatory through a number of different mechanisms.
- Lower blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol. Nettles are used in diabetics to combat high blood sugar and cardiovascular risk factors.
- Fight cancer. Nettles have a beneficial effect in prostate cancer.
- Heal stomach lining. Nettle tea helps heal the mucosal lining of the stomach in the case of ulcers or stomach irritation.
- Nettle roots instead of the leaves are used to decrease symptoms of enlarged prostate.
Acetylcholine binds to the mood receptors in our brains. It stimulates the autonomic nervous system, improves mood and heightens sensory perception, attention span, vigilance and intuition.
Plantain
Plantago, generally called "plantain" (no relative of the small banana) was first brought to the US with the first colonizers, where it quickly spread. The aboriginal people called this plant “white man’s footstep”, as it followed the path of the white settlers, growing along wagon roads and railroads. The Latin name of the common plantain also echoes this, Plantago major, Plantago referring to the sole of the foot.
“At first the Native people were distrustful of a plant that came with so much trouble trailing behind. But those people knew that all things have a purpose and that we must not interfere with its fulfillment. When it became clear that White Man’s Footstep would be staying on Turtle Island, they began to learn about it’s gifts. This wise and generous plant, faithfully following the people, became an honored member of the plant community. White Man’s Footstep, generous and healing, grows with its leaves so close to the ground that each step is greeting to Mother Earth.”
From: "Braiding Sweetgrass" a book by botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer, a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.
Unlike many other introduced plants, plantain has never reached invasive status. Instead, it’s considered a naturalized plant, being a good neighbor and fitting in the ecosystem, not bullying or displacing the local plant residents. Eaten by wildlife and pastured animals.
Plantain leaves are anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving and work very well applied topically to insect bites, rashes, eczema, scratches, splinters, poison ivy and any other skin irritations or wounds. Just crush a leaf and apply, or chew slightly to make a poultice. You can also make a tea and, after cooling, apply to wounds to aid in healing. I use it in my healing salve, along with 9 other healing herbs. It is also part of my soothing, paint relieving salve, not yet on the market.
The tea can be taken internally to help with gut irritation, ulcers, heartburn, bowel problems, lung congestion. "Plantain acts as a gentle expectorant while soothing inflamed and sore membranes, making it ideal for coughs and mild bronchitis,” wrote David Hoffmann, FNIMH, AHG, in his book Medical Herbalism: The Science and Practice of Herbal Medicine.
Plantain leaves are decent sources of magnesium, potassium (more than bananas), vitamin A, and vitamin K. They also supply some vitamin C and B vitamins, such as thiamine and riboflavin. Young leaves can be added to cooked dishes where you would use spinach. Use young leaves in salads, soups, stews, smoothies or stir-frys or as a steamed vegetable. Simmer in water for 15 minutes and eat like spinach. Older leaves tend to be too tough, thanks to the fibres that form the deep veins, but can be used in a vegetable stock or they can be used as a wrap for a dolma like dish.
You can make your own herbal teabags using coffee filters. You can get directions from a previous blogpost "Making Your Own Herbal Teabags".
Plantain is high in calcium, it's antibacterial, antiseptic, and has silica which can help with remineralization of teeth. As such it makes a great mouthwash.
You can also turn the leaves into an herbal salve or ointment.
The seeds are also called psyllium. Its the source of psyllium for most commercial psyllium powders, (i.e. Metamucil).
The psyllium in plantago has been used for GI conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), diarrhea, constipation, and hemorrhoids. It has also been used to treat hyperlipidemia and for its anticancer effects, and it may be useful for glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. Although some clinical data exist to support use of plantago in constipation, respiratory infections, and hyperlipidemia, clinical information regarding other potential psyllium uses is lacking.
Avoid the use of psyllium if you are pregnant or lactating.
Very high doses of psyllium may affect blood pressure or cause diarrhea.
Usnea
I processed quite a lot of usnea today, also called "Old Man's Beard". Four jars of cleaned, dried usnea ready to be made into salve, soap and tincture. I gathered it from the wild about a week ago. It was very dry when I brought it home, so it didn't need weeks of drying time. I have put a small silica pack into each large jar of usnea. The small jars are immediately being infused in oil to make salve.
fungal infection, and it is antiseptic and antiviral. These properties, along with the antibiotic, make it a good addition to any healing salve.
A New Location
We have a new location! We will be setting up our wares in the Fort Nelson Farmer's Market, in the Elk's Hall, located at the corner of 55th (Dump Road) across from the Lamplighters. We will have all the usual baked goods and soap for sale. Come out and shop!
If you want us to hold something aside for you, please contact us. We will be happy to do so!
Soap, Salve & lip Balm
I have several types of healing soaps and salves at the market now. The basic Healing Herbal Salve is very popular and is healing rashes, eczema and other skin ailments! It contains a mix of 10 healing herbs that are either grown in my garden or harvested from the wild. They are hand dried and hand processed so you get only the best parts with no additives or preservatives. Natural oils, including coconut, are infused with the dried herbs and made into both salve and soap.