Posts Tagged ‘herb’

As promised I will talk today about how we make a vital part of our healing salve – Universal Herbal Ointment at the Moon Haven cottage in Cowaramup,  Margaret River

For the Universal Herbal Ointment we use a potent combination of infused herb oil as one of the very vital components.  By infusing carrier oils with various herbs we are able to extract the fat soluble components of the herbs into the carrier oils…hence it becomes an ínfusion’. You can do the same with water, alcohol and glycerine…to name a few more solvents.

For our Universale Herbal Ointment herb infusion we take dried herbs such as Calendula, Plantain, Shepherds Purse, Yarrow, Chickweed, Gotu Kola and several others  and place them in a sterilised glass jar.  We then take our carrier oil of choice – often this is olive or sunflower oil – fill to the brim and cover.

What follows next is magical… we place the full herb jar in the garden in a lovely sunny place.  Over the days we watch the carrier oil gradually change colour as all the fat soluble components from the herbs are infused into the oils.  Each day we give the jars a stir and let the herbs settle again.

After two weeks or so we decant and filter  the now vibrant and enriched oil into clean jars -ready to make into a Moon Haven salve or lotion.

These infused oils are precious and potent and we treasure them for what they bring to our formulations.  Our Universal Herbal Ointment, Achy Breaky Rub and all our other formulations would not be as effective without the herbal oils.

Using herbs for health is a huge topic but I want to talk today about a particular skin healing herb and how we use it in our Universal Herbal Ointment.

Our Universal Herbal Ointment combines twelve herbs and 8 essential oils to produce a truly healing salve for broken and distressed skin.  We have clients use this ointment on everything from broken skin, cuts, grazes and ulcers to cold sores, scabies, shingles, chicken pox and even mosquito bites.

They have even had great success using it in conjunction with our Chickweed & Plantain Salve on eczema, psoriaris and dermatitis.

So why is this so?

Well a lot has to do with the herbs we use.

One of the main herbs in this ointment is Calendula.

Calendula is a known anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and wound healer.  One of the main attributes of Calendula that we harness in  our Universal Herbal Ointment is the  fact that Calendula promotes wound healing through granulation of the wound.  Now to heal a wound the body first needs to make islands or outposts of new skin in the middle of the wound so that these can be connected together to make a covering of new skin.

This process is called granulation and Calendula is one of the best herbs to promote granulation around.  In fact it beats current wound care management techniques by a large margin.   This is not hearsay but established scientific fact.

Calendual - a healing herb great for eczema, psoriasis and wound healing

Scientific Research & Clinical Trials

the grnaulation effect for healing wounds through the use of calendula was exp;ored in a 2005 journal article which explained that applying a Calendula based ointment reduced the total surface area of venous leg ulcers in their subjects by 41.71% over a 3 week period.  This was compared with the control group who were treated with the accepted saline dressing regime.  This group experience a reduction in wound surface area of 14.52% over the same period.(see reference below).

This is a fantastic result for the humble Calendula… but not one we are surprised by.  In fact Calendula has so many more applications than wound healing… that is why we use it in many of our products… from skin care to muscle rubs this herb is truly universal. ..and of course it is why it is a fundamental part of our Universal Herbal Ointment.

[reference Duran V, Matic M, Jovanov? M, Mimica N, Gajinov Z, Poljacki M, Boza P.Results of the clinical examination of an ointment with marigold (Calendula officinalis) extract in the treatment of venous leg ulcers.  Int J Tissue React. 2005;27(3):101-6.]

Moon Haven's NEW Cupboard Keepers

Moon Haven’s NEW Cupboard Keepers were a hit at last weeks  Sydney Home and Giving Fair.
We are delighted with how they turned out.  The  four varieties

• Citrus
• Rose
• Spice
• Eucalyptus

are each filled with yummy petals, leaves and spices as well as the essential oils to match.

To our surprise the most popular has turned out to be the Citrus cupboard keeper with the Rose in a close second place.

Admittedly my favourite is the Spice cupboard keeper and the Eucalyptus is a favourite of our many overseas visitors.  So it seems that these are here to stay!

While completing some recent study I was intrigued to come across some startling information about St John’s Wort. While this is a prescribed weed in Western Australia and we are unable to grow it locally it is revered at Moon Haven as a very special herb that assists with nerve and muscle pain. The study I came across found that a topical application of St John’s Wort as an infused oil was similar in effect to the use of topical anti-inflammatory type gels which include indomethacin and the like[1] While we always knew that St Johns Wort was great for injured and strained muscles it is fantastic to see the scientific community is finally investigating the why’s and wherefore’s. We use St John’s Wort in several of our products but most notably in our infamous Achy Breaky Rub.