When we think about healing with herbs, we often think about ingesting them. But did you know that herbs can also be used topically for healing? This practical approach allows you to target specific areas of the body or alleviate pain. This month’s Sunshine Sharing is about using herbs and essential oils as natural topical remedies to heal at the source.
Methods for applying natural topical remedies include compresses, fomentations, poultices, oils, lotions, or salves, and taking baths and soaks. Adding essential oils to herbs is often recommended when creating oils, lotions, salves, baths, and soaks for more benefits.
When to Use Natural Topical Applications
When to Use Natural Topical Applications- Insect Bites and Stings: Moistened black or green tea bags work well. You can use the leaves from an oak, willow, or poplar tree. Astringent herbs like witch hazel are also helpful. I love Witch Hazel and have used it for bites, stings, scrapes, bumps, bruises, and sprains. It is amazing. You should always have a bottle of it in your home and your first aid kit!
- Burns: Aloe vera gel is very cooling and soothing. You can also add a couple of drops of Lavender essential oil.
- Cuts and Bleeding: Clean it up and Apply pressure to stop the bleeding. Wait to add anything topically until the bleeding has stopped. To speed healing, once the wound is closed, apply styptics like calendula or an astringent like white oak bark.
- Skin Rashes and Itching: Witch hazel and aloe vera work well for rashes and itching. I would also add some essential oils of chamomile, tea tree, lemon, and helicrysum.
- Reducing Inflammation and Pain: Use herbs like alfalfa, horsetail, white oak bark, and menthol and camphor essential oils. These can help reduce pain and swelling. One of my favorites for this is Tei-Fu Lotion.
- Easing Respiratory Congestion and Lymphatic Congestion: Apply essential oils of eucalyptus and pine with garlic oil to your chest and back to reduce congestion and open things up. For your lymphatics, use essential oils of ginger, thyme, and rosemary to promote circulation and get things moving.
- For help with Cysts, Lymps, and Hardened Tissues, Check out Steven’s Castor Oil Pack Recipe in this month’s newsletter.
- Slivers: I love drawing salves for this, especially PRID Drawing Salve. Drawing salves are often made with pine gum or pine tar.
My favorite all-purpose skin salve to use as a natural topical remedy contains calendula-infused olive oil, beeswax, Lavender, Chamomile, and Tea Tree essential oils. It helps with itching, rashes, pain relief, and inflammation.