Living in this beautiful place does have some downsides, but I don't even know if I want to call it that. BUGS. So many. In reality I appreciate them, because I know that their abundance is just evidence that this environment is clean. But, nonetheless, they bite. My mom joked that at least the mosquitoes are huge because it makes them slow and they're easier to catch. These guys will drink OFF deep woods by the gallon I bet lol. Anyways, it's not that bad but I wanted to make something to help with the itch that wasn't as heavy as a salve. Especially for my youngest. Not only does his condition make him more of a buffet because his blood is literally sweeter than ours, but he also takes a REALLY long time to heal anything. This makes him way more prone to infections ect.
We have baby jewelweed coming up (yay!) Jewelweed is possibly my favorite plant to work with and forage for. It's also my husband's favorite plant to forage for, and possibly even the kids. Those exploding seed pods!! So fun. I also used lots of plantain. We have a beautiful patch of Calendula growing as well. So, I made a lotion to be able to quite literally slather on before bed to stop the itch and help us heal. It feels heavenly I could just kiss these plants.
Ingredients: Wildcrafted Jewelweed, Wildcrafted Plantain, Organically grown Calendula, Hemp Seed oil, Shea, Emulsifying wax, Arrowroot powder, Synergy Natural Preservative (coconut derived)
Let's talk a little about the plants in this lotion!
Jewelweed is most commonly known for being a wonderful poison ivy remedy (and for good reason!), but this plant is a lifesaver for soooo many skin issues. It's both healing and incredibly soothing. From stubborn rashes, itchy bug bites, bee stings, spider bites, and even hives. It is my absolute favorite plant for all things itchy! The main contributor to these wonderful qualities is a compound it contains called lawsone. Lawsone is a great anti-inflammatory and anti histamine for the itch! Jewelweed also contains Balsaminone which like lawsone is a strong "anti itch" component. Jewelweed has wonderful antibacterial properties making it a great ally for minor scrapes, cuts, and burns (including sunburns!) ect. The sap in this plant holds most of its potency, so I prefer to use it fresh whenever possible. In this soothing lotion we use fresh jewelweed! Which is why this is a seasonal farm remedy and not a year round offering.
Next we have Plantain! Plantain is really just such a versatile herb and can be found pretty much anywhere! The trouble is finding plantain in areas that havent been sprayed :( Like I said, Plantain is incredibly versatile, so I'll just concentrate on its topical benefits in this listing. Just like Jewelweed, Plantain has antimicrobial components that help prevent infections and is appropriate to use on minor scrapes and wounds to help speed up healing. It's helpful for everything from bug bites to dermatitis and inflamed skin. It has drawing properties, which help to draw out any venom, dirt, or infection while also being antiseptic and having the ability to disinfect the area. Plantain contains a compound called allantoin which is an incredibly powerful skin soothing agent and it also encourages cell regeneration.
Lastly, we have Calendula! Last but certainly not least. Calendula has been such a gentle soothing ally for us. I first really started getting to know Calendula when my first born was an infant. He was suffering from a terrible case of thrush and we used Calendula succus on the area for several days and it completely healed him! It's been love ever since. Gentle enough for even the tiniest of babies. Calendula has quite the list of benefits internally, but we will just focus on the topical benefits in this listing. From being a wonderful antifungal, to its powerful antibacterial properties keeping infections at bay, it's also a great anti-inflammatory and very moisturizing. Calendula has cell regenerative properties which makes it particularly helpful to heal some of those slow healing wounds. Most of its healing properties aren't actually in the petals, but in the sticky resinous sappy flower base. We use whole flowers for this preparation to make sure we are pulling all of the healing components from the plant.
All of these plants come together in complete synergy to create a lovely, soft, healing, cooling and soothing lotion for all those Summer time complaints!
