Summer is a wonderful time to enjoy the outdoors, but pesky itchiness from bug bites, contact dermatitis, heat rash, or dry skin can put a damper on our outdoor adventures. Fortunately, with a few common herbs and household ingredients, you can find relief from these summertime itches. In this blog post, we'll explore two DIY remedies: Herbal Soaking Salts and Anti-Itch Skin Paste.
Herbal Soaking Salts - Inspired by a recipe I found on Jan Berry's Nerdy Farm Wife website. She has a recipe for Lavender Plantain Bath Salts; I have tried her recipe and it is simply delightful. I have long had a love for relaxing in soothing herbal salt bath, but there is much more to herbal salts than just relaxation. Common herbs (weeds) such as plantain, chickweed, yarrow, lavender, mint, calendula, rose petals, St John's wort, and mallows can be used to soothe inflamed skin.
Plantain can be used to take away pain and itching associated with stings, bites, splinters, and general skin irritations.
Chickweed calms and soothes red, irritated, itchy skin associated with eczema, bites, stings, and blisters.
Yarrow is a good choice if you have a wound as it can help stop bleeding when needed but will also get blood flowing when it is stagnant. Yarrow is also antimicrobial and antiseptic.
Lavender is well well-known aromatic herb that is commonly used to help with anxiety. It is also helpful in reducing pain, inflammation, and healing wounds.
Mint peppermint may be one of the most ideal, but spearmint, catnip, purple dead nettle, self-heal or lemon balm are all fine substitutes. Mints can bring a cooling and astringent effect, decrease inflammation, promote relaxation, and often have antimicrobial properties.
Calendula is well known for its wound-healing abilities for cuts, scrapes, stings, bites, and the like.
Rose petals are another well-known aromatic herb that is commonly used. Rose petals are astringent and cooling and a great option for wound healing, especially wet wounds.
St John's Wort is known for its antidepressant properties, but it is also great for topical application for puncture wounds (bites, stings, and splinters) as well as sprains, swellings, bruises, and nerve pain.
Mallows such as Malva syvestris and Malva neglecta as well as marshmallow, hibiscus, and hollyhocks all can be cooling and moistening so that they bring relief to hot, dry, irritated skin.
Herbal soaking salts recipe:
3/4 cups of your preferred salt(s), I love using a blend of Dead Sea salt and Epsom salt
1/4 cup of your preferred herb(s), such as lavender, spearmint and plantain
Blend salt and herbs together in a blender or grinder to make a powder
Spread of the powder on parchment paper and allow to dry for 1-2 days. You can put it in the oven on the lowest heat setting for 10-15 minutes, but if you are using an aromatic plant, you will lose some of the therapeutic properties from using heat
Once dry, scoop the powder into a jar, cover with a lid, and label it.
To use your herbal soaking salts:
Pour 1/2-1 cup into your bathtub, or 1-2 Tbsp into a foot soaking tub.
If you are post poison ivy/oak exposure, it is best to use cold water for the soak, otherwise, use hot water and soak for 15-30 minutes
Shelf life is at least 6 months (it will be used up long before this)
Anti-Itch Skin Paste - inspired by a recipe from Heidi Villegas from Healing Harvest Homestead, who adapted herbalist Rosemary Gladstar's poison oak/ivy recipe. There's a good chance that when you were a kid, you got a gnarly mosquito bite, and a loving adult in your life took you into the kitchen to make a super simple paste of baking soda and water to decrease the intensity of the bite. It's a great option, for sure, but if you want to kick it up a notch, then this recipe is for you.
1 cup bentonite clay or baking soda
2 Tbsp of the herbal salt from above
2-4 drops of peppermint essential oil (optional)
Mix the clay and salt powder together (blend well) and add the essential oil (if using) and blend well
If making for later use, store in an air-tight lidded jar, be sure to label
water or witch hazel
I love using bentonite clay as it is good at pulling out impurities and toxins from the skin while soothing inflamed and irritated skin, as well as promoting wound healing. If possible, avoid using metal utensils when working with bentonite clay because they can react and reduce the healing properties of the clay.
If you do not have bentonite clay, baking soda is a great substitute. Baking soda helps to reduce pain, redness, and swelling that comes with bug bites, stings, and poison oak/ivy rash. I would choose witch hazel over water if there is wetness/weepiness involved, such as the weeping of poison ivy/oak rash as witch hazel is an astringent. If the skin is itchy from excess dryness, I would pick water rather than witch hazel to avoid drying the skin further.
When ready to use, add enough water or witch hazel to form a nice creamy paste, often I find a ratio of 2 parts powder to 1 part liquid works well, but I have gone up to a 1:1 as well. Spread the paste over the offending itchy area and allow it to dry (10-20 minutes), much like a face mask. When you are ready to wash it off, gently wipe it off with a washcloth soaked in cool water. Dab dry to avoid re-irritating the area.
I hope that you are now ready to bid farewell to summer itchiness with these simple DIY herbal remedies.
Comments