Natural Herbal Beauty

Use this herbal rinse after shampooing and conditioning to freshen your scalp and give body to your hair.

Normal hair (dark): Rosemary, sage, lavender Normal hair (light): Chamomile, calendula Dry hair: Chamomile, comfrey

Oily hair: Nettle, yarrow, thyme, sage

Dandruff: Sage, thyme, nettle, lavender (more…)

Herbs have long been valued not only for their benefits when taken internally, but also for their healing and beautifying properties when used externally. For the following facial and bodycare recipes, choose herbs and essential oils according to your skin type.

Dry Skin

Herbs: Chamomile, comfrey, elder flower, rose Essential Oils: Chamomile, sandalwood, lavender (more…)

Modern medicine tends to consider “catarrh” as a uniform problem; however, for the herbalist it can be either “hot” or “cold”. Cold catarrh is copious, thin and watery; hot catarrh is thick, scanty and yellow with more inflammation of the mucous membranes. Those with a tendency for “cold” catarrh are often the cold, damp, “phlegmatic” types, with a sluggish digestion. Hot catarrh is a characteristic of more active, tense, “choleric” personalities. While cold catarrh is more characteristic of common colds, some types of sinusitis would come into the “hot” category with thick, yellow mucous that stubbornly refuses to move. (more…)

Colic

This is a severe abdominal pain which tends to come in waves a few seconds or minutes apart. In adults it can be due to an obstruction in the intestine or simply to constipation and can need professional treatment. In babies, colic is usually caused by air becoming trapped in the intestines and is generally associated with feeding difficulties — or a failure to “wind” the infant properly after it has finished sucking. Colicky babies often remain so for the first three months of life, which can be extremely wearing on the parents as the child’s only reaction to the pain it feels is to cry — loudly.Traditional gripe water is, of course, a herbal remedy usually based on dill extracts. Alternatively, use weak infusions of fennel or dill. Another suitable option for colic is homoeopathic chamomile (Chamomilla 3X), which is available in drops or pilules. (more…)

Plants for Paths. To give an aromatic scent when trodden, the plants advised for paving may be planted to form a path, mixed or of one kind only.

Knot-Garden Beds. As a central feature, a bed planted in knot-garden style lends distinction. The simplest form is a wheel with the spokes made of compact herbs such as hyssop, rue, santolina or curry plant (kept clipped) or thymes. The segments between are filled with carpeting herbs such as chamomile, or low-growing kinds such as chives, savory or marjorams. (more…)

Chamomile has been used for centuries as a calmative. It brews into a soothing nerve tonic, and insomniacs find it invaluable. A cup of chamomile tea before bed is said to prevent nightmares.

Chamomile stimulates a flagging appetite, improves digestion, encourages the bladder, relieves colitis, diverticulosis, and hemorrhoids. Chamomile is even beneficial in the treatment of rheumatism, arthritis, headaches, muscle cramps, and pain.

Chamomile tea has been used with some success against the delirium tremens sometimes suffered by alcoholics. (more…)