Herb Journal: Hawthorn

6/21/13
Hawthorne Berries, Leaves & Stems, that's what I just made a decoction of, and it's an interesting mish mosh of flavors & characteristics. That's why I would recommend, to ANYONE that they decide what they want a tea of before proceeding with the hawthorn plant tea. The initial taste is quite astringent, so much so, that it makes you cringe. But the aftertaste makes you want more. Its one of those strange things... but its not that strange. The astringent aspect comes from the leaves, but the red berries are quite sweet, so its that that leaves the aftertaste, you have this aftertaste of tart, sweet berries. Hmmm.
So hawthorn leaves, not surprisingly, are known for their astringent properties. But it appears that the berry is most often used as a heart tonic. This herb is known as the best one for heart maladies across the board. From rapid heartbeat, to a weak heartbeat... any abnormal heart action can be regulated with regular consumption of the tea of this plant, which is known as a general "heart strengthener". It also aids in several issues one may have as a result of poor circulation, from cerebral circulatory disturbances to hemhorroids. This is the herb recommended most for high blood pressure. If you are just drinking a tea of the berries, I wouldn't complain. Only a few minutes after my last sip, I'm thinking its kind of sugary tasting even.
This herbs lifts burdens off the heart as well, and acts on the heart on an emotional/spiritual/phsychological level. It eases emotional/spiritual heartache, and related irritable and nervous conditions and stomach complaints. It opens the heart to forgiveness of others or of life events that may be preventing a persons healing process. Pretty cool. I can definitely see it. My hemhorroids are shrinking, and I'm starting to forgive my ex boyfriend for being such a deuchebag. Hmmm. Just kidding.
But I like the flavor and would definitely give it a chance. Since it is a tonic, it can't hurt to drink it on a regular basis.
It's constituents are:
Saponins
Glycosides
Flavanoids
Ascorbic Acid (and other acids)
Tannins
Because it stimulates blood circulation in general, and part of this is to the brain (as you age, the bloodflow to the brain decreases, which is what causes memory problems that are common as people age). For the increase of blood to the brain, and the task of improving memory function, hawthorn is best combined with Ginko Biloba.
In certain traditions Hawthorne was used to increase fertility. I will have to research that further to see if scientific studies have been done to verify this.

Hibiscus, Pink Rosebud, Lemongrass & Orange Peel Tea. Vitamin C tranquilizer.

6/19/13

I have to just say, THIS IS MY FAVORITE TEA EVER (for now.. I'm just starting my foray into tea-land). I have always loved hibiscus, ever since I discovered the Mexican drink they call Jamaica, which is basically just hibiscus flower tea served cold & sweetened wtih sugar. I don't recommend the sugar, but the flavor was unforgettable. It's not something that everyone loves off the bat.. or ever, but for me.. it was love at first sip. I had to find the source of the Jamaica.. and it led me to the hibiscus flower. I hunted it down at the local health food store.. this was years ago.. and made my first hibiscus tea. I've been hooked ever since.
Hibiscus is insanely high in vitamin C. It's a GREAT source. If you are feeling sick or like your immune system needs some help, go get some hibiscus tea. You can eat and drink your vitamins. It's easy and more pleasant, and drinking hibiscus tea is one great example.
Plus, its red. Which, is pretty cool. Who doesn't like a red drink? It's just exotic. It really is a beautiful color, but that's just part of the fun. Red teas have been making somewhat of a statement lately.. becoming more well known among the tea drinking populace. Roobois is another good example. You see that almost everywhere.
Today my body just wanted some hibiscus. It's insanely hot here (in New Mexico) at this time of year, and my body needed something insanely refreshing. I have been drinking more medicinal teas, since I've been also experimenting on formulas for my roommates cough, and then drinking the miracle teas myself as a result.. but today was the day for Hibiscus, and just vitamin C in general. Plus, the past few days, I have found myself adding herbs in the rose family to my teas. Yesterday was Rose Hips, Rose Buds, Rosemary and Echinacea.
Today the Hibiscus took the place of rose hips (both super high in Vitamin C), added orange peel, lemongrass and Pink Rose Buds. This was not only an absolutely beautiful tea to watch floating around in the pot, but one of the most amazing mixtures of flavors and health benefitting qualities I have impulsively put together on a whim. A instinctive whim, though.
The rose buds are sooooo relaxing. The smell is incomparable. There is no aroma like that of rose. A lof of people don't think you can drink rose petals. WELL YOU CAN. When we went on our plant walks at Truth or Consequences, NM.. it was UNBELIEVABLE the amount of leaves, flowers, bark & fruits you find in the wilderness, or even growing in your backyard, that you would NEVER think to eat or make into a tea. We are so incredibly detached from nature, we have no clue. It's not just for people who are lost in the wilderness... we are actually MISSING OUT by not knowing about these things we can eat. Instead we just drive through the Mc Donald's drive through. As if that's more convenient. More convenient than eating plants that grow in our backyard. Yup.
Pink rose bud tea is AMAZING. It is soothing and relaxing and healing and just picks up your mood immeasurably. You throw the whole buds in there, the petals, the tiny leaves that protect them and a tiny bit of stem ... and its a beautiful thing. If you think that giving or receiving roses is romantic, try drinking them. You will be happily surprised.

Muscle Salve: Less is More

6/17/13

I'm starting to realize (although I think I had mentioned it in a previous post) that I don't HAVE to put every herb a la, "the kitchen sink" into all of my recipes. Simply put, sometimes less is more. Or more is just excess... It's not necessary. I made this awesome muscle salve, but had the lack of foresight to put way too much camphor essential oil into it. I just didn't realize what a little drop of that powerful stuff can do in a small jar of salve. So.. I put it on... I won't give anything to anyone without trying it out on myself first.. and well, it was kind of intense, itchy, burny... and so.. back to the drawing board. I decided to scoop them out of the small jars, put them back into a mason jar, and place it with an open lid, into extremely hot water, hoping to evaporate the camphor out of the oil... it helped a bit, but not enough, so I added some more oil that I had already made of arnica, rose hip, lavender, chamomile & calendula. Still... too strong. Idea #2. Add copious amounts of rice bran oil and avocado oil, just to dilute it more. I was thinking it would be okay but I poured it into JUST ONE salve container (because at this point, I know better... there are only so many times you can scoop salve out of small bottles, and clean them out, only to start over), tried it last night and today, and I have to say.. its still pretty menthol-y. Now, some people might like it strong.. but the person I was making it for originally... it's hard to say how I know this, but its something that we learn to tap into as holistic practicioners.. its evaluating a patient's constitution. There is an ayurvedic way to diagnose personality traits and match them with "medications" that will be pleasing and in accordance with their .. what is called ones dosha in Ayurvedic Medicine. Your dosha is your make-up, constitution, body type, personality type.. all of these things combined, you can sort of tell what will bother and what will be pleasing to a certain person without even having to talk to them much at all. It's a method of evaluation, and once you understand it, it makes PERFECT SENSE. So, based on this woman's dosha, and I can tell you this intuitively, she would get a rash from too much camphor. It would irritate her skin, and she would most likely come back to the doctor and say it's too strong. I can just tell. So... I'm going back to another method. I'm infusing calendula, lavender, lemon balm and chamomile in almond oil. These, even on their own, will have a calming effect on the muscle tissue. Almond oil is very mild and is nourishing and calming for the skin. These four herbs alone would relax the body (and mind) effectively, and these are all herbs that are very gentle & mild on the skin. I will probably add a bit of wild lettuce (an intense muscle relaxer.. known as the herbal opiate), and possibly some wild willow bark (known as the herbal "aspirin"), neither of which has properties that can or would irritate the skin. Despite the fact that the "mints": peppermint, spearmint, plus eucalyptus and camphor are widely used to relax muscles, I have to be careful with these... use them sparingly, or as herbs, and be really really careful about the super potent essential oils that I might add to any salve. This is my lesson for the day. I look forward for helping my patient Mercedes get out of pain soon, so that she can stand on her feet for hours at work and not suffer from the nuisance of chronic muscle pain.

Chicory Root Tea

Yesterday it was dandelion, today its chicory root. My body is telling me that it needs tonic (or blood strengthening herbs), of which these are both. This herb/root supports liver function, increases the secretion of bile from the gall bladder (aiding digestion), helps stabilize bloood sugar, is rich in beta-carotene, and is calms rapid heartbeat.. no wonder it is good for balancing the stimlulating effects of coffee. It is also a diuretic, anti-inflammatory (decreases swelling & inflammation), antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant & laxative. I've definitely been feeling a lot of stress lately, and these herbs that support the liver definitely suit the purpose.
Contains:
Highly concentrated levels of inulin  (a soluble fiber that feeds digestive flora in the intestines)
Polyphenol (good for cardiovascular system and inflammation)

Chicory root tea is really good. It just tastes really good. It doesn't need to be sweetened at all, and has a grounding, and stablizing effect. If you feel like your thoughts are all over the place, and you can't seem to calm yourself down, chicory root tea is amazing. Plus, aside from calming me down (most likely due to its effect of balancing out the stimulating effects of caffeine - I drank too much coffee today), due to its functional uses supporting an array of vital body functions and organs, its a super tea to drink daily. You make this tea as a decoction: Add a tsp of chicory root to a cup or two of boiling water, reduce to a low simmer, leave for 15 minutes, let steep for 15 minutes or more.

Regional Herb of the Week: Chapparal. Southwestern Herb Series

6/15/13

Chapparal: Herbs of the Southwest Series

Since I've been in New Mexico, I've heard names of herbs that I was previously unfamiliar with. This has been happening, on occasion, and since I consider msyelf to be pretty knowledgeable about herbs, it throws me for a loop when it does. I shortly discovered that the reason for this has to do with the regional plant life here. Certain herbs, that grow in this region, are well known here. And widely used in this area. But outside of the Southwest US, they just don't get the same hype. Understandable. A few such herbs are chaparral, which seemed to be a plant known to all of my peers who live in these parts, and which posed a big question mark in my head... Osha, and a few others. But I'm going to start with Chaparral. For several reasons: 1. We harvested it on our field trip to Truth Or Consequences, so I have a bag of dried chaparral from that trip. 2. They sell a salve of it (just pure chaparral) at the school store, which means, it must be a good one (and commonly known & used, as I observed), 3. When I was in the store, a man came in and said he used it in combination with pine sap & a cyst beneath his skin that had been bothering him for years on and off, just came right out of his skin and never pestered him again (testimony to its efficacy). 4. everyone knows what this herb is but me. 5. I like the name of it. Chaparral, kind of pretty, though I can never seem to remember it off of the top of my head. So here goes:
It is anti-microbial. So, good for preventing or thwarting skin infections. Useful as topical antibiotic.
Helps impaired liver metabolism, symptoms of which would be dry skin, brittle hair & nails, cracks in the feet or hands, trouble digesting oils
Counteracts liver and lung damage to the system by free radicals.
Combined with milk thistle, strenthens the liver.
Alleviates:
joint pain
allergies
autoimmune diseases
PMS
It has been claimed to fight cancer however tests have shown to be inconclusive (some even showing stimulation of cancer cells... )
*The taste of chapparal is known to be intolerable, so it is not recommended to use it in tea form. If you want to use it internally, a tincture is the recommended form.

How to Sneak Iron Into Your Diet & Like It

If you are like me, you tend towards the anemia, which is just plaintly put, a low amount of iron in your blood. This can cause fatigue and easy bruising, and can also make it so that you just get hurt more easily. Iron fortifies the blood, among other things, and is necessary for a balanced diet, and a healthy internal environment. I don't eat white rice much, or several other sources of iron that would balance the situation out a bit, such as nuts, beans, liver, sardines, or red meat. I do eat leafy greens, but not enough to make up for everything else that I don't eat. So, when my body calls for iron, I have some time saving techniques, which don't require much preparation, or the swallowing of big iron pills, which will give you a really bad stomach and/or headache, and are just plain gross in my opinion. Anyways its always better to get your nutrients from food than from pills, or vitamin supplements. Your body absorbs them better, and plus, its just a better way to get your vitamins. I personally don't like swallowing horse pills, or those hard chalky vitamins.
Today I am incorporating iron into my drink, by using molasses to sweeten it. Not everybody likes molasses, so much like kale, which is a food most people don't enjoy unless prepared in a way that makes it more palatable, you have to mix it with ingredients that balance it out. Then it becomes both nutritous and enjoyable. Molasses is extremely high in iron, and a small dose of it can be very effective. Because I enjoy lime juice coolers, I tend to make several variations of it depending on how i'm feeling that particular day and what my body is calling for.
Today's Lime Cooler with Molasses & Ginger:
1/4 cup of lime juice (my favorite store bought brand is Santa Cruz Organic Pure Lime Juice)
2 tbsp molasses (my favorite brand is Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Molasses)
5-10 drops of ginger tincture
1 quart of water

Molasses is high in calcium, potassium, magnesium and iron, so it has a great mix of things your body needs to function at its optimum capacity.
The lime juice balances out the intense flavor of the molasses, which can be a bit hard to swallow on it's own, since it's extremely pungant and goopy. And the ginger lightens up the whole blend, making it an exceptionally good drink both for your taste buds, for hydration (trace minerals calcium, potassium, selenium, iron & manganese contribute to and help the body's absorption of elecrolytes that help to hydrate the body as well), and for all around nutritional benefit. Molasses is rich in B vitamins, which are key to healthy neurological function. It also contains choline, which prevents the buildup of fats & cholesterol in the liver. Put in a plastic bottle, shake (or in a pitcher & mix), pour over ice & enjoy!
* Tip: Molasses doesn't blend easily with cold or room temperature liquids, so you may have to shake it to blend it well. Another option is to put it in a blender to ensure it's consistency. Using a spoon to stir may be a bit laborious, and the molasses can (and probably will) stick to the spoon (which isn't the end of the world, I'm just saying..). Drinking this daily is a great way to get the (iron, in particular for me) and other essential nutriets into your diet without too much worry.

Finding Wild Lettuce in my Backyard. Nature's Opiate

6/14/13
This is not your everyday lettuce. No. You don't want to make a salad with this. Oh no. First of all, this sucker is a prickly little leaf. It has tiny needles all over the outside of the leaves and along the spine. It can seriously stab you if you grab it. Handle with care. There is another reason to handle with care, and this is that, this plant is known as "natures opium". I found out about this while researching herbs to use as muscle relaxants in the muscle salve I'm making for the chiropractor's office. This seemed to be the one. So i went on a mission to find it. Anything that says "opiate" in the description must be a pretty damned good muscle relaxer. So... I'm gonna add it, and kick those muscles butts. I had already found "natures aspirin", or wild willow bark the day previous, so I've got to get them both. I've got people in pain to help with arthritis, and other people in pain to help with severe muscle pain. The plan is to make their lives easier. I have high hopes for this herb.
Of course, some people would think to smoke this herb, which you can.. go ahead. Others, might want to make a tea with it. I might, some day, to try it out. But my plan is to add it to the muscle salve. I couldn't find the herb anywhere.
But then I went to school, and the owner of the shop at the school said they didn't have any there, but there just happened to be a big beautiful healthy plant growing in the front lawn. It took a bit of negotiating, but I managed to get some of the wild lettuce from the front yard at the school. That was super nice of him, and well, he's a super nice guy. He charged me $4, told me to make sure to dry it well before I soaked it in oil and off I went.
When I got back home and explained the situation to my roomie, he said he thought that this stuff grew wild around here. Not being the most focused on the botany aspect of herbalism (at least not for now) I had no clue. Figuring he had no idea what he was talking about, I shrugged it off, and planned to order some from an online distributor. But something interesting happened the next day. I had put the leaves in a paper bag on the windowsill hoping they would be dry by the morning. I woke up to find they were definitely not, and I wanted to get moving on the salve, so I tore open the bag, and put them outside in the scorching sun to dry. It wasn't windy, but I did know that I was taking a chance. If a gust of wind came through, the leaves would scatter all over the backyard, and I would be assed out. But I didn't care, i was totally focused on getting them dry to be smart about it. So.. I left them there to bake in the sun and waited in anticipation for them to get crispy. But then I started to make the tea for my next batch of kombucha.. and suddenly I remembered, oh boy, I'd better check on the wild lettuce.
They weren't there. The bag was nowhere to be seen. So I went on a scavenger hunt. AND GUESS WHAT I FOUND? I found that the plant was growing all over the backyard! And there are also a few little ones in the front yard! Not only does this plant "grow wild" around here... it grows wild in my yard. Wow! This is some pretty cool news. I had a nice lesson in botany.. I had to whip out the store bought wild lettuce and get intimate with the details to compare it to the plant that was growing in the backyard... and yep! wouldn't you know it! God only knows what my roomie will end up doing with all of this "nature's opium"... I may end up having to take him to rehab at some point, but for now, I'm just happy to have a resource like that in the backyard. Plus, its inspiring to learn about the local habitat here, and see how medicine can be growing in your own backyard and you might not even know it! Signing off for tonight. Sweet (non blue vervain induced) dreams.

Blue Vervain - The Morning After

Wow, I don't know what to say about that herb, but it is POWERFUL. First of all, it had a really strong laxative effect for me, which, I was not expecting, since it's not known for that. But definitely this herb made sure that whatever was in my stomach the day before, would be out promptly by the end of the day. That was unexpected. Also, i felt a bit groggy, although I'm not sure if it was the blue vervain or just the way I felt that day. I'm thinking its the blue vervain. It's a nervine, and those are interesting to try, because.. well, they can be mood altering. They are in the same family as prescription narcotics.. pharmaceudicals that are prescribed for sleep, anxiety, depression. Some nervines are also anti-depressants. Blue Vervain is used along with Scullcap for this purpose. Anyhow, lets just say that nervines can be quite an experience, and an experience this was.
Let's see. Blue Vervain is a:
Diuretic (increases the secretion and elimination of urine)
Nervine (Tones & strengthens nervous system by as a stimulant or sedative)
Sedative (Calms nervous system and reduces stress & nervousness throughout the body)
Digestive bitter (stimulates digestion)
Diaphoretic (promotes sweating & the elimination of toxins through the skin)
Lactagogue (stimulates the production of milk for nursing mothers)
Anti-Inflammatory (calms and relieves inflammation)
Anti-Spasmodic (calms spasms & cramps)
Mild Coagulant (controls bleeding; aids in the healthy clotting of blood)
Improves liver and gall bladder function
Stimulates the Uterus (post-childbirth, aids in healing & restoring to proper size & condition)
Astringent (contracts tissue to reduce secretions & discharges)
Alterative (known to be blood cleansers that restore proper function of the body, increasing vitality & overall health)
Anti-Depressant


Blue Vervain is good for:
*Stress
*Migraine
*Depression (best combined with oat, yellow lady's slipper & scullcap)
*Neuralgia
*Nervous Stomach (relaxes stomach muscles)
*Moderate stimulation of intestinal secretions (aha!)
*Jaundice
*Gall Bladder
*Insufficient Lactation
*Liver disorders
*Spleen
*Induces menstruation
*Promotes sweating
*Excess nausea & vomiting
*Externally for minor injuries, eczema, sores, abscesses)
*gum disease
*Urinary disorders
*Rheumatism
*Upper respiratory infection
*Asthma
*An ingredient in Recovery Tea, which woman can take post-childbirth to both support lactation and aid the uterus in contracting back to it's normal size. It also helps to heal the site where placenta was attached to the uterus and balances the hormones.

So, as it seems blue vervain pretty much can handle whatever the hell your problem is. Its one of those herbs that has too many uses, it makes your head spin (plus its hard to remember them all). All I know is that I felt like dog doo doo the day after I drank it. I feel like it threw me into a premature state of PMS, which makes sense, since it is used to induce menstruation. And since I have irregular periods anyway, G-d only knows what this stuff can do to my schedule. Wierder things have happened. I just started my last period around the first, but man, did these PMS symptoms start showing the day after I drank the herb. Especially the emotional/mental aspect of it. Let's just say I was ridiculously emotional, got extremely upset with my roommate for no reason that makes any rational sense to either of us, and then proceeded to throw a shitfit about it for the rest of the night and most of the next day. I don't know what is wrong with me, and maybe its just a coincidence. But I think I'm going to be staying away from the blue vervain unless I want to get kicked out of my apartment, and lose all of my friends. Other than that it was lovely. Okay, maybe I would use it in a sleep remedy or externally in a muscle relaxing formula. It's not totally useless.

Herb Journal: Blue Vervain

Made a tea of blue vervain. First an infusion, but it didn't draw much from the plant, so I added some more, leaves and stalks, and simmered it for 15 minutes. Then let it sit for a while. I forgot about it so it got cold. I came back to it a while later, better for that, the tea had been given a chance to infuse even longer than I had intended, and heated it up again. I forgot the way that it tasted when we sampled it in class. The last few teas I had been making were so incredibly mild by comparison. Horsetail & Nettles taste like variations of a weak green tea, and so my taste buds had a big surprise with my first sip of blue vervain. Now, there is vervain and blue vervain. We were given samples of both in class. I decided to try blue vervain. I'll have to later make a tea of the vervain to see what the differences are. This is a VERY bitter tea. Wow. So in that sense it's a digestive bitter, and a sialagogue. Sialogogues stimulate the secretion of saliva from the salivary glands, and wow, does drinking this tea. The good thing about sialagogues and digestive bitters (of which this classifies as one), is that it aids digestion and the production of bile in the liver, which are all good things for your body and for cleansing. It is quite drying, which is something I always seem to notice right away since this climate is incredibly dry to begin with. But the thing that I was looking forward to the most was to evaluate the nervine aspect of this herb. Now, since it's already practically 3 am, it's not the best time to decide whether its the tea that is making me sleepy or the fact that it's way past my bedtime. So I'll have to come back to that another time. I wanted to try out this herb as a tea since I was still thinking about what I am going to add to my muscle relaxing salve, and blue vervain is one of the nervines recommended to use externally (in a salve, for example) as a muscle relaxant. But it has a few contenders: kava kava, passionflower, and motherwort, all nervines that would have similar, but not the same influence on the muscles... so it's a comparison game right now. I'll have to see. I bought an ounce of blue vervain today just in case. If I don't use it for the muscle salve, I know I will definitely find other uses for it. 

Cough Tea Miracle

6/14/12

So excited, my roomie came home today & told me that I have a new client. It is a patient of his, who has has a horrific deep bronchial cough for a long time now, and can't seem to kick it. He had brought the tea I made him to work, and heated some up, and offered it to her. She drank it, and as he told me, her cough miraculously "just stopped". He said she was really impressed, yes in those words. Wow! What a great feeling! So she wants to buy my cough tea formula. Oh My God!! Well, thank god I had documented the formula, since I throw together teas all of the time without writing down the herbs I put in them. I will be sure to document every tea from now on. So.. now I just have to figure out how to distribute the tea. This was ironically something my roomie & I had discussed yesterday. How to distribute the teas. So, I have two options as I see it. One is, I can use the muslin cloth tea bags I bought at The Organic Grocers and fill each one with enough tea for a cup, or I can give her a large bag filled with the loose tea and a tea infuser ball. He said she had been suffering on and off for years with this cough, and had even left New Mexico in the summertime because her allergies got so bad from the pollen that time of year.
For those who haven't read the dry cough tea post, this was the tea she had drank. It's:

1. Echinacea - it fights colds, flu & viruses, general antibiotic, immune system booster which helps combat allergies.
2. Oregon Grape - used in the place of Goldenseal oftentimes, as Goldenseal has become an "endangered herb", it is also immune boosting, virus fighting, antibiotic herb, helps combat allergies.
3. Licorice - mucilagenous herb (coats the throat, and pretty much anything it touches) and is good for bronchitial issues
4. Anise - Recommended for coughs
5. Mullein - good for upper resperatory infections and asthma
6. Black Cohosh - good for asthma
7. Plantain - mucilagenous herb, coats the throat
8. Ginger Root - good for circulation & anti-bacterial.

It's best to use an organic raw honey if possible to sweeten, since that coats your throat and has curative characteristics due to it's homeopathic constituents. Plainly put, it serves as a natural vaccine for several common outdoor allergies.
But if you don't have honey, no worries: This tea is incredibly sweet naturally due to the licorice and anise. It's good either way!

Yummy Summer Tea for Allergies

Summer Tea for Allergy Sufferers:

Nettle Leaves
Ginger Root
Spearmint Leaves
Lemon Peel

What is one of the most well-known herbs for allergies? Nettles. And actually nettles tea IS NOT BAD AT ALL on it's own. It tasts like a light, less bitter green tea. And it's a really wicked color green, (chlorophyll green) if you let it steep long enough. Yesterday I gave it to my roomie, and I drank some myself, and it was pretty good. We both gave it a big thumbs up. Its light, crisp and tangy. For an herb tea, its mild and pleasant. Upon drinking it, I felt my nasal passages open up quite quickly. I was giving it to him for his dry cough, of which the source is unknown and his guess is some sort of allergy. But it was really clearing up my nasal congestion and that's a good thing, no matter what.
Because I like to shake things up a bit, I decided to do a variation on the nettles tonight, since he asked me if I could make him something that he can drink every day for his allergy/cough, and I try to do what I can to give back. So tonight, I decided to throw some other things in with the nettles, things that I was in the mood for, and that I thought would make a more pleasant tasting, or at least more interesting, well rounded tea. I added ginger root, Spearmint leaves & Lemon Peel. The ginger added quite a zing that put my roomie into a momentary shock at first sip, the spearmint is exceptionally cooling and just yummy. Also great for sinus and any kind of congestion really, and the lemon peel adds the vitamin C and a zesty lemon flavor to the mix. People love their tea with a lemon wedge.. well this lemon is thrown into the mix. And it's all natural. And medicinal.
Brought it up to roomie and he made a comment that was the greatest thing that I could hear, which is, "I could drink this every day". He followed that with, I usually hate tea, how do you make it so that it tastes good? That is my "aha" moment. I said the same thing myself when I first learned how to make tea the right way. It was this huge epiphany, and I had said the very same thing about how I hated tea as well. Because, well, it's boring. And besides that it doesn't taste very good, or at least like anything special. Plus, I just don't like hot drinks for the most-part. I have a history of drinking iced coffee in the harshest of winter climates. That's just my thing. And tea... I just had no patience. Plus, it just basically bored me half to death.
So... HERB TEA. Well, first, you have to use fresh herbs. Or rather, dried herbs that are on the "fresher side". Meaning, no tea bags. Go get the bulk stuff from the store, and if it's organic.. well even better. Not because it's in style, but because anything organic tastes 1000 times better. It's just true. I don't advocate the insanely high prices of organic anything, because that SUCKS. but if you can get it organic, and not go broke, I would always recommend it because there is a very real difference, and the more you understand what organic means and what makes a product organic, the more you will understand the very real difference between organic and conventional. Its basically about chemicals. And no matter what you might think, that organic is all "hype" or any sort of thought such as that (because I was once one of those cynics), organic just means natural, the way that untampered food and plants come when people don't come along and add all sorts of chemicals. Chemicals to make them grow faster, bigger, higher, in conditions that aren't meant to suit that particular food, to make them abnormally large, wierd colors, pesticides.. you name it. Growing food and plants is not an easy task. A lot of things can go wrong. And for every thing that can go wrong, there is a chemical to counter-act that. Not only that, but when you are mass producing food, it is temping to tamper with it to create bigger, stronger crops that are resistant to all sorts of problems that can ensue. However, the cost of this, is chemicals that cause all sorts of diseases in our bodies. Plus, it makes the food & herbs taste like crap. What you are tasting is chemicals, or wax or artificial coloring. Yes, its gross. When you eat an organic orange, for example, you will find out what an orange really tastes like. I kid you not. It happened to me. I was converted. Anyway, my point here is, many of the teas you have had in your lifetime, I am sure, have not been organic ones. That is just one of the problems. Loose teas are the best. You have to add just the right ratio of herbs to water, and you have to follow directions.
There are several ways to make tea. But you have to do it right. The two most common ways to make herb teas (aside from the traditional steeping a tea bag approach) are infusions and decoctions. Learning how to use these two methods effectively are the difference between those who drink tea sometimes and are not too impressed, and those who drink a tea I made (which happens often) and say... "wow, this is REALLY GOOD". And that's all kinds of teas I have made for different people for different effects, but I almost always get that reaction. PLUS, I usually don't use ANY SWEETENER of any kind. So to get that sort of reaction, well, I can only say, you really have to know how to do it right. And I am happy to say, that I am one of those people, now. I will get into how to make infusions & decoctions and what my answer was to my roommate when he asked me, "but how does someone make these teas for themselves... when they don't know how to do all of that infusion and decoction stuff... or which bulk herbs to buy or where... Of course, not everyone is going to want to run to the local herb store and buy bulk herbs and then measure them out & then cook them on the stove and/or let them infuse for several hours. Because, well, not everybody has the time or inclination. I'll use myself as an example,  I could, if I wanted to, learn how to sew, buy my own materials, and make my own clothes. Despite the fact that I think about how cool it would be to do that, I just can't seem to ever get around to it. So,  I let someone else do the sewing, and buy clothes that are already made. So... what about those people who want to drink tea that actually tastes good PLUS has the medicinal properties they need but don't want to spend all day long making them? Well, you go to an HERBALIST, and I come up with formulas for you, and I package them for you.. so all you have to do is heat the water and steep them according to my directions. I'm so excited to help people out! And help them to discover that TEA IS GOOD, and TEA HEALS, and DRINKING TEA CAN BE ENJOYABLE. You might even look forward to it!

Herbs for Allergies

Roomie's Still Got A Bad Cough Today. I couldn't recall what I had put in that tea that he said had made him stop coughing, and then it hit me, much like things often do, when you are not trying to remember something... that the one thing I had left out in the tea I made last night that I had added to some of the teas I had made a few weeks ago was NETTLE LEAVES. Duh!! I was so wrapped up in making my salves for every other problem a person can have that I overlooked the most obvious herb to use for allergies. Poor guy. He's been coughing all afternoon. So I just heated up some water and poured it over a gracious amount of nettle leaves. Since I want to give it to him sooner rather than later, and can't afford to let it steep an hour or more, I just dumped it in a saucepan and will simmer it on low heat for about 10 minutes and give it to him, without honey this time, since we both like to drink herb teas without sweetener, and anyway, I want to make sure that it's the nettles that is helping him, and not the honey, just as a process of elimination, to know what it is exactly that is making his cough go away. Of all the herbs listed below that I referenced that are especially helpful for allergies, the only other one I have at the moment is Yerba Mansa. Well I do have green tea, but I'd like to try the yerba mansa as well. Tea is well.. it's tea. We've all tried that many times. Let's see how the others compare.

Nettle Leaf
Horseradish
Ma Huang (ephedra sinica) Family: Ephedraceae
Spikenard
Schizadra
Tea leaves (Camellia Sinensis) Green, white or black tea.
Yerba Mansa

*Raw honey, though not an herb, is highly recommended for allergies. A great allergy remedy would be to infuse various herbs from the list above into raw honey, and use as a cough syrup. Making honey infusions will be a topic of discussion in later posts.

Muscle Salve. For tired, achy, muscles & Muscle spasm

6/11/13

Tomorrow will be a long day of salve making, as I have promised my roomie also to come up with a salve for muscle aches, stiffness and spasms to give to his patients at the office. I'm way too tired tonight, plus I promised to do something with the on-the-verge of wilting kale, spinach & collard greens in the fridge via sauteeing them with garlic. So, for now what I need to do is come up with the formula, so tomorrow all I have to do is gather the ingredients & throw it in the crock pot to get started.

So, here is my muscle salve formula:
blue vervain - Anstispasmodic, muscle relaxer (nervine, relaxes nerves)
passionflower - Antispasmodic, muscle relaxer, nervine
skullcap - Antispasmodic, muscle relaxer, nervine
Cramp Bark - eases muscle tension and spasm
peppermint leaf - penetrates sore & achy muscles
Spearmint leaf - penetrates sore & tired muscles
Lavender - muscle relaxant, nervine
Eucalyptus - Penetrates sore, tired muscles
Echinacea - general healing & anti-inflammatory
Ginger Root - stimulates circulation & healing
Chamomile flowers - Penetrates & relaxes sore muscles
ALL OF THE AFOREMENTIONED combines with 3/4 cup of olive oil and 1/4 cup of coconut oil.

Why coconut oil? It is one of the carrier oils that penetrates most deeply into the muscle tissue, thus delivering the medicinal properties of the herbs to the source of pain & discomfort.

Why olive oil? It is nourishing to the skin & has anti-inflammatory properties.

Dry Cough Remedy Tea

6/11/13

So I get home and roomie's cough is back. But he's NOT SICK, he insists. It's a dry cough that he's had on and off for at least a year now, it comes and goes, and he believes it most likely must have to do with outdoor allergies. The problem is, that he said one of the teas I had made when I first moved in here had made the cough subside, and the "tickling" feeling in the back of his throat go away. However, I had made so many different teas, that I'm not quite sure what I had put in the exact one that caused his symptoms to subside. So here we go: I'm making a tea of what I can remember I had put into those teas that would have, and could have made his cough subside. Either way this is a powerful combination of herbs that could address any number of causes for & symptoms of his cough. These herbs are good for bronchitis, allergies, asthma, coughs, bacterial infections and viruses, and general immune system enhancers.

1. Echinacea - it fights colds, flu & viruses, general antibiotic, immune system booster which helps combat allergies.
2. Oregon Grape - used in the place of Goldenseal oftentimes, as Goldenseal has become an "endangered herb", it is also immune boosting, virus fighting, antibiotic herb, helps combat allergies.
3. Licorice - mucilagenous herb (coats the throat, and pretty much anything it touches) and is good for bronchitial issues
4. Anise - Recommended for coughs
5. Mullein - good for upper resperatory infections and asthma
6. Black Cohosh - good for asthma
7. Plantain - mucilagenous herb, coats the throat
8. Ginger Root - good for circulation & anti-bacterial.

* Honey to sweeten

Now, I think I have covered all angles of this cough. Immune system boosting for allergies, colds & flu type viruses, herbs for bronchitis, athsma & cough. Let's see if it works :)

Making a decoction, since most of these herbs are roots (Decotions are best for roots, infusions are best for leaves & flowers): Simmer herbs & water for 15 minutes, let steep 15 minutes. I am going to add honey, which improves immunity to local allergens, such as airborne pollen from trees, grasses & flowers. He has been doing a lot of gardening lately..

Why is honey the best sweetener to use in a tea to treat allergens and cough? Well for coughs, the honey is soothing for the throat because it coats it quite effectively. For allergens, the reasoning is more complex. It is like a vaccine, which is also a similar kind of thinking that is behind homeopathy, which is that adding qualities to the medicine that contain traces or similar qualities to what is causing the malady will in effect cause a reaction in the body to conquer the illness and re-balance to a state of health. So.. that being said, honey contains traces of these pollens, and causes the body to produce the appropriate antibodies to combat the culprit. Many people throughout time have attested to the effectiveness of honey in alleviating allergies. Therefore, honey is the sweetener of choice for the roomie's cough remedy tea for now.

*Drinking the tea right now. I didn't add honey to mine because I generally do not like to sweeten my medicinal teas... at least for now, I want to be sure that I am very much aware of how the herbs taste and smell without anything altering them. This tea is amazing tasting! Wow! The Anise, Licorice & Ginger are so aromatic and flavorful it's a great tea to drink cough or no cough. I'm pretty psyched and happy that it has such a great taste, since my roomie says he wants me to make a big batch of it so he can sip it throughout the day at work!

Salve for Bruises

June 11, 2013

I just hung up with my dad, and he told me of some horrific bruise he got around his eye, resulting from some sort of collision with an inanimate object of which he was not aware, while he was sleeping. My dad bruises easily, and this has been a problem for him ever since he was recommended blood thinners by doctors, to prevent clots that could lead to a stroke or heart attack. The result is, he looks like he was just in a train wreck, or boxing match every time I see him. Bruises all over his arms and legs, caused far too easily by the most innocent brush with anything at all. So... after he told me of this "shiner" he woke up with, which prompted an emergency visit to the optomologist, and ultimately was a simple bruise, I came to the rescue, "Dad, I can make you a healing balm for bruises...". It's just time, and while normally unresponsive to my suggestions in the past, my submergence in the studies of the medicinal qualities of herbs (plus the mention that have patients that I am currently treating) must be giving me some sort of legitimacy in his eyes, hallelujah! So, it's time to work on the salve for bruises. Yay!!
Bruise Salve
Olive oil (base) - nourishing, vitamin rich, healing oil.
Rosehip Oil - speeds healing of bruises, soothes & heals skin. High in Vitamin C.
Vitamin E oil - speeds the healing of all external bruises, cuts, scrapes & wounds.
Calendula oil - sooths & heals skin in general, speeds healing of cuts, abrasions & wounds
Lavender - accelerates healing of abrasions
Comfrey - heals wounds & bruises
Echinacea - A great addition to any healing salve, as it has strong healing properties in general and speeds healing of all sorts of wounds/injuries & complaints.
Shea Nut Butter - nourishes skin, accelerates healing of bruises
Cocoa Butter - nourishes skin, accelerates healing of bruises


As an aside, some other helpful herbs for bruises, which I do not have in stock at the moment, but could be added to any salve for bruises specifically are:
Spikenard
Wood Betony
Arnica
St Johns Wort

Salve for Arthritis

Now that I have come across the herbs I need to make a powerful and effective relief salve for arthritis, it's time to bear down and go ahead with it. My roommate is going to be marketing these at his chiropractic practice, so I have to be very careful about making it right, especially because he wants to charge an exhorbitant amount of money for them, which is fine by me, however I want to be sure that people are getting their money's worth. But even more that that, I want people to be satisfied with the product, and come back for more (that's the idea) and to build a reputation for having quality products that cannot be matched or duplicated. My hopes are for poeple to say "this is the BEST" of anything I make, whether it be a salve, or a tincture, or a hair oil, or a curative tea. I want only the best for my clients, and that's what I will deliver. So, here are the best herbs for arthritis:
Birch
Bittersweet
Black Cohosh
Bogbean
Celery Seed
Daisy
Guaicum
Juniper
Meadowsweet
Pine
Prickly Ash
White Poplar
Wintergreen
Yarrow
Wild Yam

Since there is no reason to use all of these, I have cut it down to a few:
Meadowsweet (leaves) - known as "herbal aspirin", has analgesic (pain-killing) and anti-inflammatory effects
Black Cohosh (root) - treats rheumatic pains
Celery Seed - treats rheumatism & arthritis.
Yarrow - hemostatic & antispasmotic
Pine - Treats rheumatism & arthritis. Stimulant
Wild Yam (root) -anti-spasmotic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic & alleviates rheumatic pain
Prickly Ash - anti-rheumatic, circulatory stimulant (similar in action to cayenne pepper)
Peppermint Leaf - anti-inflammatory


What is rheumatism?

• Rheumatism is an indefinite term applied to various conditions with pain or other symptoms of articular origin or related to other elements of the musculoskeletal system.
  
• Arthritis is an Inflammation of a joint or a state characterized by inflammation of the joints.

Rheumatism is a blanket term which encompasses numerous inflammatory conditions, one of which is arthritis.

Step 1. Making the herb oil base
I will be making three infused oils to add to the oil base for the salve:
Rose hip infused Olive oil
Calendula infused Almond oil
Carrot infused Grapeseed oil
Add two tbsp ground rose hips to 1 cup of olive oil, seal in glass jar, steep in crock pot for 4-6 hours at 150 degree temperature water.
Add two tbsp calendula flowers to 1 cup almond oil, seal in glass jar, steep in crock pot 4-6 hours at 150 degree temperature water
Add 3 tbsp pulverized carrots to 1 cup grapeseed oil, seal in glass jar, steep in crock pot 4-6 hours at 150 degree temperature.
Once this is done, I will have 3 very potent carrier oils to mix with the herb oil infusion specifically formulated for arthritis.

Making the arthritis formula oil:
1.5 cups of olive oil (base)
Add 1.5 tsp of each herb:
Meadowsweet Leaves
Black Cohosh Root
Celery Seed
Yarrow Root
Pine Sap (pulverized)
Wild Yam Root (pulverized)
Prickly Ash Bark (pulverized)
Mix together in glass jar and place in crockpot, simmer 4-6 hours in water at 150 degrees.

When the oils are all sufficiently infused, I will strain them, and add the carrot, calendula and rose hip oil to the arthritis formula oil, add beeswax, pour into containers and let cool to room temperature.

Reflections on last night's hair Rinse & the hair saving properties of Burdock Root.

June 11, 2013

Last night the last thing I did was strain the hair rinse I made and pour it over my head. It felt amazing, refreshing and conditioning. For a moment, my scalp felt like it was stinging, and I thought perhaps I should have just applied coconut oil and aloe the same day I dye my hair, considering the scalp is going to be very sensitive (and a bit burnt) from the process of dying. I will most likely do that the next time I dye my hair, possibly make a tea of lavender, and then mix it with aloe and coconut and apply to my scalp and do this for the first few days, then the conditioning treatments daily after that. But the burning sensation didn't last long, and either way there wasn't much I could do about it, it must have been due to the astringent properties of the marshmallow and slippery elm (they also have astringent properties, aside from their mucilaginous, strengthening & conditioning properties), but hey, it's all natural, so it's not going to hurt. As my hair became dry I started to see something amazing, there were some highlights there that hadn't been there before. They were gold and blonde, wow! It looks amazing. I hadn't been expecting this, since I hadn't done a whole lot of thinking about how the herbs can tint the color of your hair a bit, and was happily surprised. I had been thinking actually, prior to the rise, how if I decided to market these, that it would be great to create them for different shades of hair, since it seems appropriate, there are herbs that will bring out blonde highlights, and others that will bring out red, brown and black. You see this often on the boxes of henna, under recommendations to blend with certain teas, or coffee, if you want to infuse some color or bring out some highlights in your hair along with the conditioning treatment. So now, my hair has sort of chestnut & golden highlights, wow, very nice. It actually looks like I got some highlighting done at the salon. Plus, it does look shinier and feel stronger. I'm going to do this at least once a week. But I have to add burdock root, which I somehow must have run out of without realizing, and which is one of the most recommended herbs for strengthening hair.
What does burdock root do for hair?
Here's what it has going for it chemically in the arena of hair repair:  High in mucilage (up to 75% of fructo-oligo-saccharides (FOS) including inulin), calcium, potassium, amino acids, polyphenols, arcigen, essential oil, flavanoids, iron, lactone, chlorogenic acid, polyacetylenes resin, tannin and taraxosterol. Herbs high in mucilage (also marshmallow and slippery elm) coat and soften the hair shaft and keeps the strands from tangling. High levels of vitamin A and essential fatty acids help strengthen the hair. The chemical constituents of burdock root also reduce symptoms of scalp conditions such as dandruff, itchy scalp, redness and scalp infection, prevents hair loss and stimulates hair growth. So, basically strengthing, prevents hair breakage and loss, plus stimulates new hair growth. And good for scalp conditions.
This is such a highly recommended herb (root, actually) for hair health, I will have to add it to any hair product I decide to sell. As of now, I'm thinking of hair rinses and and oil. Later on, I'm sure I will come up with shampoos & conditioners, but one thing at a time.
The oil is a different consideration, because I have to look into what oils are best for the hair and why, aside from the herbs I will be infusing into it. So far, I'm thinking macadamia nut oil, jojoba and argan. All of the nut oils are amazing for strengthening and conditioning hair, so I'll look into some others, such as walnut, pistachio, etc. But for now, I'm thinking those three, perhaps with some shea nut butter and cocoa butter mixed in there. But the hair oil, unless I have time to grab some burdock today, will have to wait for another day. For now, I'll continue with the recipe I made last night and keep using it as a hair rinse just to see the results and make my hair healthier, shinier & stronger! I have to use myself as a guinea pig before I can vouch for any of my products anyways.
It also occurred to me, that it would be an awesome project to make a scalp oil for after dying your hair (calming and soothing) of aloe, lavender and coconut oil, and a scalp oil for dandruff, of which my ex-boyfriend frequently dealt with, and would be an excellent personal project for me. As well, dandruff is a common complaint, so I think it will be of interest to those people who have an ongoing struggle with this, and/or who use over the counter products full of chemicals, and are looking for a harmless, natural, healing alternative. That's our goal. So, I'm going to add these two to the list of products for hair that I will be formulating first and foremost.

Horsetail: Good for hair & nails, connective tissue & joint repair, and MUCH MORE

June 10, 2013

Herb of The Day

Horsetail

Made a decoction of horsetail, although not recommended, just to get the tea done more quickly. Was going through some of my herbs to make a hair rinse and one of the herbs was horsetail, which is good for hair because it is rich in natural silica & minerals, sulfer, amino acids (valine, paraginic acid, lucine, serine and citruline), contains high amounts of silicic acid, cystine, flavone, glycosides and saponine. Silica strengthens hair, prevents split ends and increases shine. I smelled the herb and my body said "I need this". This happens often, and I'm not even sure why all of the time, but if my body says YES then I go ahead and make a tea of it. There is a reason you respond to the smell of something. The chemical constituents of a particular plant are much needed by your body at the time. So, I followed my body & made a decoction (15 minutes simmer & 15 minutes steep), strained and now I'm drinking it.

To be quite honest, its a bit hard to pinpoint since I was munching on licorice only moments before drinking the tea. How do I really separate this at the moment? Well... I can't. But i'm waiting for the enzymes in my saliva to slowly eat away at the licorice stuck in my teeth so that with every sip, perhaps I could get closer to the true taste of horsetail.

I went through this process with my housemate last week. He is a chiropractor and told me that horsetail was an ingredient in many of the arthritis combatting formulas he has seen throughout the years, and so he was eager to try the tea on its own, and see what it had in mind for him. He commented that it was light and somewhat flavorless, pleasantly, compared to many teas he considered to be a bit more bitter or "medicinal" tasting.

Yes, I find this to be true. Perhaps I made the tea too weak, but I am finding that it has very mild taste, quite like Green Tea, as he had commented. So, why does my body crave this tea? Well, let's look at what it is good for and solve the mystery:

So... the energetics are COOLING, DRYING & EARTHEN

The medicinal Actions are:

ASTRINGENT

DIURETIC

VULNERARY (WOUND HEALING)

INCREASES CONNECTIVE TISSUE TONE & RESISTACE

SYPTIC (STOPS BLEEDING)

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY

ANTISEPTIC

Well it's not much of a mystery anymore. My ankle has been bothering me a lot over the past few days, the ligament (connective tissue) has been feeling like an old worn out rubber band, and as I bounced down the stairs to the kitchen I had just thought to myself, oh my goodness, I need to tone up that ligament I never took seriously enough when I sprained my ankle, it feels like steamed calamari instead of the tight, correct tone that it normally has when its in reasonable shape. So, body says horsetail and there is the explanation.

Since I'm still getting over a cold, and it was due to a travelling virus that is going around the area, I also instinctively threw in lemon balm (anti-viral) and rose hips (high in vitamin C) for the 2nd batch of tea. 

I have two projects in the works for horsetail:

#1. It will be an ingredient in a salve for arthritis that my roomie will give to his patients, since it assists in bone & joint repair, heals wounds & tissue repair, and helps to rebuild damaged cartilage & structures.

#2. It will be an ingredient in a hair rinse that I will use tonight, since it strengthens hair (and nails) & I just dyed my roots and my hair needs a savior right now, and a hair oil that I will eventually sell on the internet.

Formula for tonight's hair rinse:

A decoction of:

Horsetail

Nettle Leaves

Marshmallow

Slippery Elm

Chamomile

Catnip

Rosemary

Strain & pour over hair to nourish & strengthen. Too many split ends, as well. Hoping to do something about that. We shall see.

Just took the tea off of the stove. It's awesome, it tastes REALLY good! So, I'm going to go ahead and recommend this tea for general immune boosting, allergies, respiratory infections & susceptibility & asthma (all treated with horsetail).

Horsetail (upper respiratory)

Lemon Balm (anti-viral)

Rose Hips (vitamin C)

Plus it tastes really really good! I don't usually sweeten the herbal teas I make, but if you do, I would recommend putting some agave syrup in it (my favorite! But also especially good in certain teas, like this one). Of course, honey or maple syrup would also do.

So.. all in all, horsetail was not the best choice for me to make a tea of today. I can say this a few hours after the fact, since i am now feeling the full force of its astringent action/drying properties. Today just happens to be one of the hottest days, if not the very hottest that I have felt so far in New Mexico, I made a comment on my facebook about desert heat for the very first time, which means, okay wow, now I'm starting to feel it, i get it, okay here we are, THIS is the desert. Of course, i am aware, that it gets hotter than this, but this is the first time it was just too hot out for me. And that's saying a lot, because I like it HOT. But anyways,  my point is, that horsetail is not the best herb for a hot day in a dry climate (like the desert) because it is extremely DRYING (antiseptic, astringent, diuretic). This is a good thing, for many reasons, when treating certain ailments, of course, especially if those people have a wet/heat related condition, and are living in humid, cold climates. perfect. But today... hmmmm, perhaps not. I can feel my pores, literally and I kid you not, tightening, my skin feels like its tightening up, which is okay, but not the most desirable thing at the moment. My breathing has improved a bit, I feel a strange emptiness in my chest, perhaps that's the strengthening of the mucosa in there, which would be great, but my throat feels a bit dry and my skin has that tingling sensation you get when it's dry. My nose feels almost on the verge of a nosebleed. So, my conclusion is, horsetail is not the best tea for a hot day in a dry climate. However, the positive results could definitely outweigh the negative, if you are suffering from joint pain, for example or allergies/upper respiratory issues. Also, I can imagine, that this tea would be a great one, and horsetail and great ingredient in an herb mixture for a tea to combat acne. That's my guess. At this point, I'm going to leave horsetail for the external applications, I know it will be great in any formula for injuries and will be great to apply externally to my sprained ankle in a salve, as well as the arthritis formula I am making for my roomie, the chiropractor.
Another afterthought: This would have been a perfect addition to my patient Miguel's abscess healing salve, since it is super astringent and antisceptic. I can definitely feel it working, so now, from personal experience, I would know that this would be an excellent addition to any external salve that needs to fight infection and have a drying action (draining pus from the abscess in Miguel's case). However, I am quite fine with the salve as I made it, it contains enough drying herbs that are also antiseptic and astringent. This would just be a helpful other one, an alternative or addition in another formula.