Natural Organic Skin Care – Herbs Not Just For Eating

Hi everyone, Hope your weekend was fabulous! I definitely enjoyed mine. So we’ve been talking about what you’ll need when making your own organic natural skin care products. We’ve discussed tools, jars, oils. In today’s article I’ll be going over herbs. I like this part. I think growing your own little herb garden is fun and a great way to add a little green somewhere in your life. Not only can you use them for cooking, you can use them for beauty products, too. You can control the environment and what goes into them. We know that herbs have been around forever and have been used for a ton of different things. They are medicinal, nutritional, full of flavor, definitely fragrant. Their cleansing and skin-pampering properties have been respected for many, many uses. So as we go along in making our own products and you come across a herb that you really like inform yourself about it and see what it requires, how you can get the most out of it, its current and historical uses, and what the books recommend for its uses. This is an excellent way to educate yourself and will help when making your own products. So all the herds, flowers, berries, seeds, barks, and roots we will be using will be easy to find and will be used in the dried form unless noted. If you’re growing your own herbs you may want to dry them yourself. If they are recently dried you’ll have maximum aroma, and nutrients, this will make your product incredible.

If you are drying herbs that you’ve grown there’s a few things you’ll need to know or remember.

*Always use a sharp knife or scissors when cutting your herbs. You’ll want to do this in the morning
*Harvest your roses, calendula, chamomile, or lavender when the bud is matured and the flower has recently opened
*Make sure you do not have any pests and disease on your herbs
*Avoid overdrying
*Dried herbs should be kept in a cool, dry place away fro sunlight. Glass jars, ziplock bags, plastic containers work well

When hanging your herbs to dry gather them together make a bundle and tie a string or use a rubber band to hold them together at the stems. You’ll need to hang them upside down in a well ventilated area, out of the sunlight. Ideally the temperature should be between 65-85 degrees. Don’t forget to label your bundles, and keep them separated. It may take anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks or more to completely dry your herbs. If your drying roots and seeds they may take much longer due to their moisture content. When your herbs are dried they’ll be a little brittle, buds will feel dry and a bit crisp, roots will be pliable, and berries, seeds, and bark will be hard and dry. You can also use a screen to dry herbs or tightly stretched out netting. This will allow it to dry quicker, and you’ll want to use some cheesecloth to make sure the herbs stay debris free. Wrap the herbs in cheesecloth, then place in the netting. If you’re doing this outside make sure you check your weather!

When growing your own herbs, make sure they get the right amount of sunlight, water, and you are using good soil. It is the best way to get organic natural ingredients for your organic natural skin care products. I enjoy my herb garden and so do my family and friends! Have a great day and till next time OrganicBeautyGirl…

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