Herbal Giveaway from Mountain Rose Herbs

http://mountainroseblog.com/recipes-year-giveaway/

Have you made any recipes from the Antique Remedies Blog? Make your own herbal goodness? Mountain Rose Herbs is where I get a lot of my ingredients. They not only have excellent products and great diversity but they have a well written blog with a lot of recipes and ideas. 


Mountain Rose Herbs is having a great herbal giveaway. Check out the link above and sign up. If you won this great prize package you'd be on your way to making some fabulous products. 

Here’s what the lucky winner will receive…

4oz Mango Butter, CWC

4oz Organic Cocoa Butter

16oz Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil

16oz Organic Sunflower Oil

32oz Organic Virgin Coconut Oil

16oz Organic Avocado Oil

1lb Beeswax Pastilles

2oz Vitamin E Oil 

1/2oz Organic Lime Peel Essential Oil

1/2oz Organic Mandarin Essential Oil

1/2oz Organic Nutmeg Essential Oil

1/2oz Organic Peppermint Essential Oil

20 x Clear Lip Balm Tubes

6 x 1/2oz Tins 

If you win, make sure you leave a comment here and let me know what you plan on making! And when you're signing up to win - let them know Antique Remedies sent you :)

And I know I haven't written a post in a long time (sorry!) but as 2011 comes to an end, I'm thinking about New Year's resolutions and one of them will be that I write more posts (and make more products)! 

Sunburn Home Remedy

The Sun - He's not trying to burn you, or is he?

Thanks to my parents and my heritage, I'm blessed with pale skin. Even though I got teased for in as a child in grade school, and once in college (can you believe it?), I've always fully embraced my paleness and take necessary precautions to keep it healthy. I've never been to tanning salons and I don't lay out to tan in the sun (though I love me some Vitamin D and sometimes just sit in the sun to feel it on my face). I pick moisturizers with sunscreen in them and make sure I have some with me on long car trips so I don't get a classy window-arm burn. I even invested in a white button up shirt that has UVA UVB protections in it. Even with all that protection - I still get sunburned! And no one likes a sunburn. They can be just pesky pink burns that go away fast or really severe burns that can leave scars or precancerous moles. Regardless of the kind of burn, they need to be treated.

Aloe is the most common sunburn home remedy. Many people have aloe plants in their homes but if they don't, you can easily buy a tub of it at the store. There is also a product called Solarcaine that people love because it has lidocaine in which makes your skin feel all tingly and cool. I must admit I used to use this all the time, growing up, when I used to go to the city pool everyday during the summer. For a German-Irish girl, I worked up quite the tan - for a 12 year old. But when I look at it these days, I see it has plenty of un-pronounceable ingredients and dyes. So what is a sunburn home remedy that can not only soothe the sunburn but also give it that tingly and calming effect?

Ingredients:
Aloe
Vitamin E oil
Lavender essential oil
Peppermint essential oil

I can't for the life of me find where I got this recipe from! I know I didn't make it up on my own. I thought it was from my absolute favorite home remedy/herb book - but it's not. I will continue searching for it but for now, I promise that when I write recipes down in my notebook I will always notate where the recipe came from! Seeing as how it is the season where women wear sundresses and tank tops and men forget hats and generally forget sunscreen altogether (*I admit to this glaring generalization of men and I apologize to any avid sunscreen users who are male!) -  I can't keep this recipe or product to myself any more.

Get yourself a spray bottle (a smaller 'mister' would be better - see link for example). Fill it about 3/4 of the way full with aloe vera gel (make sure it's pure). Then add just a bit of vitamin e oil. I have a bottle of vitamin e oil with a dropper. I put about two droppers in but if it's easier for you, you can use vitamin e capsules that you can get at any drugstore. Put a hole in it and squeeze out the good part! I'd use about 3 or 4 capsules. Then add your oils. Peppermint is what's going to make your skin feel cool and tingly but it's very strong. Make sure to avoid getting the sunburn remedy in your eyes (ouch!).

Peppermint makes it feel tingly, lavender soothes the sunburn and the aloe treats it. I took this to Florida with me on my vacation and thank goodness I did! My nose is always the first to get burnt, no matter what. And my poor mom burned her legs in a very funky pattern (which we had to laugh at). Lucky for her, I brought this homemade remedy along.

Homemade Insect Repellent

I've heard people say that they must be made out of sugar and that's why biting insects like them so much. And the same with people who never seem to be bitten happen to have vinegar coursing through their veins (what a strange notion!). I'm not exactly sure why some people seem to be more immune to bugs bites than others, but either way, there is always a time and place for insect repellent. But haven't we all heard the scary stories about insect repellent filled with DEET - it causes cancer, it's bad for children, even causing memory dysfunction! Like everything that is presumably unsafe for us but is widely used - there is much debate on both sides. I'm a big proponent of simplifying things if you can, especially when it comes to homemade, natural products. So why not make some homemade insect repellent?

This is my very own recipe. I learned from HerbMentor that Yarrow is an herb that helps repel insects. I happen to have learned this while I was in my excited tincture making phase (phase? What am I talking about? I love making tinctures and I know that I will always have jars of herbs brewing in my house!). I decided to make a yarrow tincture to use as insect repellent. I filled a glass jar half way up with 100 proof vodka (the higher the proof the better, but see this article to help you understand tincture making). I let mine brew for 2 months - but the longer it brews the better.

After I decanted the yarrow tincture I decided I would add some essential oils to it - one, to make it smell less like alcohol and two, many essential oils actually have properties themselves to deter winged insects. I happened to choose citronella, lavender, clove, eucalyptus and a bit of geranium.

If you don't have yarrow or don't have time to mess around with the tincture making process, you may want to try an easier recipe such as this one HERE.

So, does it work? I spent 2 hours in a friend's garden over the weekend (visit the AR Facebook page for pics of what I got from the garden!). We even sat on the ground and talked for at least a half an hour. Luckily we sprayed ourselves as soon as I got there. No bites, on either one of us!

Now, then I got to my house and sat on my front porch as I replanted the herb starts. Apparently I have mutant mosquitoes that live in my bushes on my front lawn. I woke up with 2 pinkish dots - but with no itch! Lesson? Re-apply this spray as often as necessary. It's natural so it won't hurt you and it's not as strong as the store bought DEET infused stuff.

Be sure to check out my Etsy store soon (I'll announce it on a blog post when it is up and running) to load up on products.


Have a safe and fun bug-filled season!

Sage Home Remedies

Herb: SAGE Salvia officinalis

Healthy sage plant

Ah, sage! Sage is one of my favorites herbs. In fact, I'm trying to create the new Antique Remedies logo with sage in mind.  I use it a lot, not for cooking, but for tea. Sage can be used for all sorts of home remedies. As soon as I hit my late twenties (yeah, I know, I'm not saying it's old!), my memory started fizzling out. Maybe it's all the hard work I do during the week, but maybe my brain is just on overload! I started drinking my morning green tea with a pinch of sage leaf in it. I don't know if it's just a mind trick or if sage really helped, but I definitely feel more alert and feel like I can recall details when I'm on a conference call at work! Plus, it gives me green tea a bit of a kick, which is nice in the mornings.

Sage plant after your dog has eaten it

Sage is an aromatic herb with a strong taste. Its Latin name contains the word 'Salvia' which comes to mean 'to heal' or 'savior'. Sage is an antiseptic and an immune stimulant. It's really great for stimulating the apetite and is a great digestive remedy, soothing the stomach.

What else can sage be used for?

• Sage Bath: Native Americans used sage in hot baths to soothe shaky, cramped or weak feeling legs. You can also make a poultice and apply it directly to those weary legs. 
• Headache Ease: Try a cup of sage tea to help ease a throbbing head.  Drinking this regularly can also help ward off colds and boost your memory. Bonus!
• Ghostbuster: Do you believe in ghosts? Have some lurking around? Sage was used to prevent nightmares - either burned as an incense or leaves were thrown around on the floor or on the bed to ward off lost spirits. (I actually own a sage 'smudge stick' and burned it in my (100+ year) house when I first moved in - happy to report, no ghost problems) It's not only said to help with ghosts but any kind of bad, negative energy that may be weighting down the atmosphere around you. 
• Throat Gargle: Just like rosemary, sage can be used to treat a sore throat. Brew some sage like you would a tea, let it cool and use it as a gargle in the morning and again at night. It's wise to swallow it when you're finished because of its antiseptic and analgesic qualities. 
• Menopause Sweats: Have the pleasure of going through menopause? Having night sweats? Pour boiling water over 10 large fresh sage leaves or 1.5 teaspoons of dried leaves. Steep for 5 minutes. Let it cool! Do not drink it hot! Drink this three nights in a row, then go to every other night, then three times a week. 
• Teeth Whitener: Rub a sage leaf on your teeth to help get rid of unsightly stains. A warning though, sage leaves have been known to trigger epileptic seizures. Please do not try this remedy if you have a history of seizures. 
• Brunette Hair Color: Like oregano, you can use sage to help color your hair a shade of brown. It happens to also add lift and decrease dandruff. Use 4 tablespoons of sage and use 2 cups of boiled water, steep for 2 hours. If you want it to be stronger add 2 cups of rum or 2 tablespoons of black tea and steep for 4 hours. 

According to some of the books I used to research sage, pregnant women should avoid high quantities of sage. 

References: 

- http://www.herbworld.com/learningherbs/sage.pdf

- Traditional Home Remedies: The Old Farmers Home Library Almanac, Martha White, ISBN 078354868-0

- Herbs (Eyewitness handbook), Lesley Bremness ISBN 1-56458-497-6

Homemade Tiger Balm

This Sunday's experiment was making homemade Tiger Balm. Like the 'Chapstick' confusion in my lip balm post, Tiger Balm is also a brand. The closest thing that I came up with to generically describe Tiger Balm is as a 'sports cream' or 'muscle rub.' But for this post, let's just call it Tiger Balm - since it's such a well known product name. Tiger Balm was created by a Chinese herbalist in the 1870s who left the Emperor's Court to start his own medicine shop where he could create and sell his special ointment. I'm glad Wikipedia made it clear "the rub does not contain tiger parts," because I certainly didn't have any spare tiger parts lying around for this recipe.

The recipe I half-way followed was one that I found HERE. I found the directions to be unclear and in some places, incomplete. So I winged it. I put olive oil and bees wax in my double boiler - after it was all melted I added about a tablespoon of menthol crystals, which melted almost instantly. As ingredients melted in the pot I mixed all my essentials oils together - peppermint, eucalyptus, camphor, clove and ginger. I also added a few drops of vitamin E oil too.

My first batch (1.0) was ridiculously strong. I knew I had to tone down the menthol crystals, and even the peppermint and eucalyptus oils (very powerful oils). The second batch (2.0) seemed just about right. I multiplied the recipe I had by 4 so that I yielded about 2 1/2 empty baby food jars full of homemade tiger balm.

Magic, tingly ingredient: Menthol Crystals

I have been using the winter weather as a way to escape from exercising (even though I have a treadmill AND it has been fairly nice weather here in Missouri for a few days). What I'm saying (besides that I'm lazy) is I have no sore muscles to test my homemade tiger balm on! But I did put a dab on my arm and it smelled just like Tiger Balm you buy from the store and in a few minutes it started to tingle! Ah, the sweet tingling! So I guess what this means is - there is really no reason for me not be exercising any more (because with my homemade tiger balm, any sore muscles will be eased with tingly goodness!).

*Update* After spending most of the day on my feet concocting remedies in the kitchen and the rest of it being hunched over my laptop writing this post and creating a new Antique Remedies logo, I ended up with a very sore back! Imagine that. I got my dear boyfriend to agree to give me a back rub but only if I returned the favor. For me, being the rubbee, the homemade tiger balm was excellent! I can still feel it tingling and my muscles feel much more loose and at ease. After switching places and being the rubber, it was an added bonus that the menthol crystals and peppermint essentials oils cleared my nasal passages (darn allergy season!). The only thing I will change next time I make it, more olive oil (or whatever carrier oil I use) so that it is a bit creamier and easier to dish out for the rubdown!

Any questions, suggestions or comments - I'd love to hear them!

Homemade Lip Balm - Cocoa Peppermint

Last week, I made some Cocoa Peppermint Lip Balm! I've always thought about how expensive lip balm can be at stores (we commonly say Chapstick when we actually mean lip balm - Chapstick is a brand name, and personally, not my favorite).  Such a little amount of actual lip balm for such a big price - especially if you go for the organic, natural stuff (a few of my favorites: Burt's Bees and The Merry Hempsters). But you have to have moisturized lips! Besides trying to carry around a jar of petroleum jelly all the time, I either have to suck it up and buy some quality lip balm and try not to lose it or, the alternative I never gave much thought (until now), make homemade lip balm.

Luckily for me, my dear Aunt Kathy is just as interested in herbs, oils and other 'antique remedies.' Once I turned her onto Mountain Rose Herbs (I was heavily hinting for a gift card from them for Christmas), she got her own stash of goodies, including some empty lip balm tubes. She graciously gave me some (on top of the gift card!). I couldn't imagine making my own lip balm but again, lucky for me, the good people who supplied the tubes also provided me with a great recipe.

The recipe I used can be found HERE. I happened to have gotten all the ingredient from Mountain Rose Herbs except for the peppermint essential oil and vitamin E oil (which I already had in my collection before I got this recipe). Making the lip balm was simple. I suggest using a double boiler and if you heat the ingredients in a Pyrex cup instead of the actual pan, be patient! It took mine a while for everything to melt (but maybe that is because my double boiler isn't the best!).

The finished product smells delightful and makes my lips tingle when I first put it on (that's the peppermint). The recipe yielded 10 tubes of homemade lip balm - which is way too much lip balm for me.

Interested in trying some out for yourself? Leave a comment on this blog post. I will put all names in a drawing and pick a name at random this Friday at 7pm CT. Good luck! 

Oregano Home Remedies

Herb: OREGANO Origanum vulgare


When I think oregano, I think pizza, Italy and the Simpson's episode when Marge didn't think "Or-uh-gahn-o' was a real spice (Simpson's Chili Cook Off Episode). But oregano is used for more than just food, by more people than just Italians, and has very little to do with a sassy cartoon family.

Oregano is a close relative of marjoram (often called wild marjoram) and is savory herb with a powerful, peppery flavor. Oregano has been prescribed as a home remedy by both the ancient Greeks and Chinese. Hippocrates used the herb as an antiseptic and a cure for stomach and respiratory problems. In China, it was used to relieve fevers, vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice and even itchy skin. There are compounds found in oregano that help loosen phlegm in the lungs and relieve spasms in bronchial passages, therefore, it is an expectorant.

How can oregano be used as a home remedy?

• Digestion: Well, you have most likely already used it to cook with, but now you will know it will help aid in digestion and may help reduce heartburn. 
• Mood Lifter: Adding it to pizza or pasta dishes (anything really) will help lift your spirits. If you're feeling a little down in the dumps eating some oregano could help boost your happiness. You can even put some in a glass of water and drink it down. 
•  Brunette Hair Color: Not that you have grey hairs, but when you get some (years from now, of course) and if you have brown hair, then oregano is the herb for you. Oregano, sage, black tea, rosemary, and/or instant coffee. Pick one or a combination of the above, mix with boiling water, let steep for 30 minutes (not instant coffee though), let cool. Strain the water, pour over hair - try and catch the runoff in a bowl or basin so that you can repeat the rinse over and over until you get your desired color. 
• Nervous Stomach: Stomach all tied up in knots over something? A tea brewed with 1/4 tsp of oregano and 1/2 tsp of marjoram, steeped in 1 cup of boiling water for 10 minutes should settle that feeling. If it doesn't work within two hours, go ahead and have another cup of the same tea - that should do the trick. 
• Toothache Relief: If you happen to be lucky enough to have a green thumb (surprisingly enough, I have been cursed with instant-plant-death-thumb) and you grow oregano in your garden you can chew the leaves for temporary relief for a toothache. 
• Wrinkles: I'm an essential oil cheerleader. I love them. If you do too and happen to have oregano oil, it is said to help prevent wrinkles. 

I hope you enjoy these and please let me know if you have any more ideas, suggestions or if you try one of them out. Cheers to oregano!

References:

www.herbworld.com/learningherbs

Healing Remedies, Joan Wilen and Lydia Wilen ISBN 978-0-345-52150-7

Herbs (Eyewitness handbook), Lesley Bremness ISBN 1-56458-497-6

Rosemary Home Remedies

Herb: ROSEMARY Rosmarinus officinalis

The first time I fell in love with rosemary is when my college roommate used it to season some fresh, aquaponic tilapia. You’re thinking, college? Really? Well, I have never been much of a cook and I was just lucky enough to have a roomie who loved it, er, well, was at least good at it. Many recipes and meals later, I have had my fair share of rosemary but just recently I found a way to use rosemary in a different way – as a home remedy.

Rosemary has been used for more than just cooking for years.  Rosemary has tremendous home remedy powers. Not only has it often been thought of as an herb to improve the memory but it has an old reputation as a symbol of remembrance. It has been used for its symbolism in both weddings and funerals – either a sprig thrown into the grave for memory of the loved one or a crown of rosemary on a bride’s head as a love charm.  The use of rosemary in weddings dates back all the way to the Middle Ages!

This savory herb is antiseptic, which helps fight infections, and is full of antioxidants, which helps both, preserve food and aids in the digestion of fats.  It’s high in iron, calcium and B6.  Studies show rosemary leaves increase circulation, reduce headaches and fight bacterial and fungal infections.  Rosemary is rejuvenating and aids in clear thinking by increasing the flow of blood to the head.  It also helps with colds that come with a nasty fever and headaches by clearing mucus and relieving air passages and lungs.

I’m sure you have some rosemary in your kitchen cabinet or spice rack, so now what can you do with it besides cooking?

•  Cellulite Remover:  If you’re feeling adventurous and have some time on your hands – rosemary stimulates circulation and drains impurities and it’s said it can help with that unsightly cellulite (that none of us have….). Take 1 TB of crushed dried rosemary with 2 TB extra virgin olive oil – smooth over thighs, wrap in plastic wrap and leave on for 10 min – rinse off – repeat once a week
•  Eye Wash:  Ever have tired, stressed eyes? 1tsp of rosemary in boiling water, steep for 10 min, saturate cotton pads with tea and put on eyes for 15 min, rosemary should help draw out that tired eye feeling. Try doing this while taking a relaxing bath!
•  Throat Gargle: Suffering from a sore throat? Steep rosemary in boiling water for 30 minutes (preferably longer if you can) and keep the cup or bowl covered. Let cool and gargle with what we call an ‘infusion.’ Do this a few times throughout the day.
•  Fixture Cleaner: Need a cleanser for your fixtures in a pinch? Boil a handful of rosemary in 2 cups of water for 10 minutes to make an antiseptic solution for washing bathroom fixtures.
•  Headache Ease: If you have a headache, rub some rosemary essential oil on your temples and at the nape of your neck. No essential oil on hand? Boil some water, pour it over some dried rosemary leave but don’t let them soak! Put the wet leaves in cheesecloth or even a paper towel or thin cloth. This will be a compress – put this on your head or where ever your headache is coming from.

      

     *Books I used during research advised - avoid consuming large quantities if pregnant or breast feeding; don’t use during first trimester – could cause miscarriage*

      References:
      www.herbworld.com/learningherbs
      Herbs (Eyewitness Handbook), Lesley Bremness ISBN 1-56458-497-6
      Healing Remedies, Joan Wilen and Lydia Wilen, ISBN 978-0-345-52150-7
      Traditional Home RemediesSearch Amazon.com for herbs, Martha White, ISBN 078354868-0

Body Scrub & Sugar Face Scrub

Ok, I know my first blog post ever promised a Kitchen Series - and I warn you, this is not the first post for the kitchen series. No, I didn't start my blog career off with a lie - I plan to start and complete the kitchen series fully but I know a lot of things will come up between posts. This blog will serve as sort of a public journal of my trial and errors of making herbal remedies. There is no specific timeline for imagination and sporadic motivation so you'll just have to keep checking back for the beginning of the kitchen series!

Onward to my Sunday night experiments -

Body Scrub:

This body scrub recipe came from an e-book I downloaded from www.herbmentor.com. A great and wonderful resource for aspiring herbalists! The ingredients said you could use course or fine salt. I only had course so I took my chances. I also used rose hip oil for the first time (I LOVE rose hips and make infusions out of them all the time but that is for another post). It has quite the strong scent, not bad, but strong - strong enough to overpower my essential oils, which in this batch, I chose eucalyptus and lavender.

The rose hip oil turned the whole scrub orange, which is fine, but it makes me want to make another batch and use orange essential oil. The process of making the scrub was very simple. When I finally got the chance to try it out, I was careful not to literally scrub my body with it. Since it's course salt I wanted to make sure not to damage or irritate my sensitive skin. But I did go to town on my heels and my feet and they feel absolutely heavenly now! In the shower you want to watch out for the salt that's rinsing from your body - make sure it goes down the drain and you're not stepping all over it through the rest of shower. Also, I would recommend you use the scrub after you use your regular soap or body wash. This scrub will leave you feeling a bit oily, but I say embrace it! Our skin is like a big sponge - and in the shower or bath our pores are even more susceptible to the lotions, soaps and washes we put on it.

Although I felt slightly oily (not overwhelmingly so) for a bit after my shower, my skin absorbed it right up. And with that, my body took in vitamin A - which can help delay the effects of aging skin, promotes collagen, and assists with cell regeneration. The high amounts of vitamin E and fatty acids help promote beautiful, healthy skin too.

Next time, what will I do different? A different, less pungent carrier oil - possibly sweet almond oil or grapeseed oil. And a different, stronger essential oil.

Sugar Face Scrub:

This recipe came from the same e-book as the recipe for the body scrub. It called for organic fine sugar. Well, unfortunately this product wasn't already in my cabinet and I wasn't quite sure where to find it. I went to a local store that sells local products along with other natural and organic products. They had organic sugar - made from evaporate cane juice. I decided to roll with it.

I mixed this with rose hip oil and tea tree essential oil (it varies from person to person but my face responds well to tea tree). This was all I had to do - but as I mixed the oil and the sugar, the sugar would start to dissolve. I used a lot more oil than the recipe called for, and I even added a bit of sweet almond oil because I ran out of my rose hip oil. The final product still looked more sugar heavy than it ought to have been but I put it in a jar and labeled it done.

When I used it, it did feel dry but I could feel the oil on my face as it rinsed. My face felt well exfoliated and moisturized for the night. We will see in a few weeks how my skin actually responds to it (will acne decide to rear its ugly head?).

If you have naturally oily skin (and most likely you hate it and try to avoid any kind of extra oil) don't be afraid of these products! These kinds of oils carry essential vitamins, fatty acids and other nutrients that the body and face just crave. If I'm wrong about you in particular, which could happen because every one is different, we'll work together to find a more drying product for you. That sounds like a future post.....

What to change for next time? Probably buy a different kind of sugar. But maybe all sugar will dissolve like that - I just won't know until I try it again, and I intend to.

Kitchen Series

Did you know that herbs in your kitchen cabinets or spice racks can be used for more than just spicing up your meals? Cinnamon, rosemary, black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic, parsley and others all can be used to treat ailments, prevent certain conditions and much more.

For about a year now I have been reading books, websites and other blogs about herbs and their medicinal uses. Some herbs I didn't even know existed in the world and some I can't even properly pronounce! It's nice to have this new, interesting knowledge but sometimes I just want to know - what can I do with the stuff I already have?

I will start my new blog career off with a 10 part Kitchen Series - a blog post dedicated to one herb you most likely already have and if you don't, you can just visit your local grocery store and pick some up.

Be on the look out for the first Kitchen Series herb - Rosemary!