Monday, December 05, 2005

An All Natural Eczema Treatment

To make an herb-infused oil/salve: get dried herbs, or dry fresh herbs out somewhat in the oven on the lowest setting. Cover them with the oil of your choice, plus about an inch, and heat to between 100-120 degrees (this can be done in the oven on the lowest setting, in a double boiler, or in a crockpot) for 2-5 hours.

To turn into a salve, grate beeswax and microwave until it melts, then add to your oil. A good rule of thumb for amounts is an ounce and a half of beeswax to a pint of oil, or one teaspoon beeswax to an ounce of oil (there are five teaspoons in an ounce of beeswax).

Blend avocado and castor oils (both good for eczema, wheatgerm oil is good too) infused with nettles, chamomile, calendula and red clover, then blend it with shea butter. You have to be careful blending shea butter with oils, as you can't really heat it or it forms grains.

Make one cup of herb-infused olive oil (or other base oil of choice) with the following herbs:
3 tbsp Burdock Root
2 flowers Calendula
3 tbsp chamomile flowers
2 tbsp comfrey leaf
2 tbsp fenugreek
1 tbsp red clover
1 tbsp rue
2 tbsp sarsaparilla root
4 tbsp lavender

Add beeswax if you wish to make it a salve instead of an oil.