Soothe and Heal Sunburn Naturally with Herbs

Boating, hiking, beach going... it's awesome fun in the summer, until you get a nasty sunburn. While you may try to stave off the worst of it with sunscreen, too many hours and too much water can even render a high SPF sunblock useless. So what can you do to ease the sting of your sunburned skin? Reach for some good old fashioned natural home remedies, of course!

Aloe Vera - Perhaps one of the best known and most useful plants for sunburn. Just break off a frond, split it open at the seams, expose the clear inner gel of the plant, and gently smear the cool soothing gel onto the sunburned area. Scratch the inner meat to secrete more gel from the plant until it is gone. If you have any left over, put it in an airtight container, or wrap it in plastic wrap or a sandwich bag, and place it in the refrigerator to keep it fresh. 


Witch Hazel - You can buy a commercially prepared extract from most pharmacies and grocery stores (in the first aid section). Using a cotton ball or soft cloth, apply witch hazel several times per day to the burn. Witch hazel is cool and soothing, and useful for minor scrapes, cuts or burns. 


Echinacea - This herb can be used for sunburns both internally and externally, as a topical application or compress. Make a tea using 1 teaspoon per cup of water, using 1 cup for drinking, and another one for a compress. Soak a cloth in the cooled tea, and place the cloth over the affected area. This will help to kill and repel bacteria on the skin, but also stimulates skin cell repair. 


Ginger - Using the fresh root, grind a small portion into a pulp, drain liquid into another container. Using the juice from the ginger root, wipe or pour it over the burned area, and place the pulp onto the skin. This will help to sooth the sting, and help lessen the pain of the sunburn. 


Chamomile - This is a wonderful herb for skin repair, stimulating the healing process, soothing irritated nerves, and preventing infection. Use Chamomile topically as you would echinacea, by soaking a cloth in cooled tea, placing it directly onto the sunburn as a compress. 

Aloe Vera to Cleanse the Colon and Detoxify the Digestive System

Using aloe vera for skin care and sunburns is well known, but did you know that you can also drink the juice of the aloe vera plant? Aloes are some of the most healing plants found in nature, made up of a large variety of amino acids, enzymes, vitamins and minerals. Aloe vera juice can be it is also beneficial when taken internally, drinking it either an hour or two before breakfast, or just before going to bed.

Aloe is considered a bitter herb, and a cathartic – which means it is an excellent laxative. Aloe vera helps to ease constipation and prevent ongoing diarrhea, and promotes healthy regularity in the bowels – without drugs or chemical additives. This makes it an excellent choice, over and above some of the synthetic laxatives on the market, which can often send you running for the bathroom!

Aloe has natural healing and detoxifying properties, working gently within the intestinal tract to help break down impacted food residues and morbid matter from stomach, liver, kidneys, spleen, bladder and colon, thoroughly cleansing the bowels. Since it has such a positive effect on the digestive system, aloe is an excellent remedy for irritable bowel syndrome, better known as IBS. Since this process helps to reduce intestinal bloating, as the symptoms begin to ease – so do the stress and discomfort. A toxic colon is the cause of a wide variety of illnesses, and aloe vera is one of the best single herbs to clean out the colon.

The Beneficial Healing Effects of Sea Salt Soaks and Baths

Containing over 80 minerals, sea salt soaks are very nourishing and soothing to both the skin and the elimination system. Sea salt soaks help remove lactic acid from the muscles, which is one of the reasons that sea salt baths are so relaxing. Lactic acid can cause stiff, weak and tired muscles.

Salt soaks can be taken as an entire body soak, using about a cup of sea salt to a hot bath (as hot as your body can take it comfortably), or use a localized salt soak - using a cotton ball and two tablespoons of sea salt to a cup of hot water, wet the cotton with the hot water and soak the affected area. Localized sea salt soaks are used to disinfect small cuts and bruises, as well as to keep piercings from becoming infected.

Herbal ingredients added to the sea salt bath can promote the soothing effects, or the invigorating effects, depending on your needs - or mood. For example, adding lavender will add relaxation and promote healing. Sea salts are often pre-packaged with floral, citrus, or herbs for added benefits.

Sea salt soaks increase blood circulation and stimulate the natural release of toxins through the body's largest organ - the skin. The salts kill bacteria and germs from the surface of the skin, leaving it soft and clean.