Applications for tea
They can be drunk, and directly applied to internal organs
Use them topically
Take a bath
- Great way to absorb herbal constituents through your skin
- Brew a strong blend with about cup of herbs to 64 oz of water. Strain the tea in to the water & enjoy
- Or, place herbs in muslin, or sock, & toss them in your bath. Use this muslin to scrub your body.
- Breathe in the herbal aromas as you bathe, and benefit from the aromatherapeutic properties
- Consider closing a curtain around to help trap in the beneficial steams
- Take a bath right before bedtime to help you relax. This is great with children!
- Take a refreshing bath in the middle of the day to reenergize your spirit
- Destress in a bath after a long tough day at work
- Soothe inflamed itchy skin
Eye washes
- Soothing for sore, tired, inflamed, or infected eyes.
- Great for eyes that spend too much time in front of a computer or reading
- Make a weaker blend than you would for ingestion. Use a small teaspoon per cup of water
- Simmer at a low boil for 10 minutes to ensure its sterile
- Use a very fine mesh strainer to ensure there are no plant particles floating around
- Get an eyecup, and make sure it’s been sterilized between each use
- Pour the strained tea blend into the eyecup
- Lean back and pour the mixture into one eye. Blink to ensure the eye is being thoroughly washed. Repeat with the other eye
- Make eyewashes daily to ensure you don’t introduce bacteria into the eye.
- Herbs to consider for eyewashes: fennel, plantain, red clover blossoms, thyme and rosemary
Facial steams
- Cleanses the skin, improves circulation, relaxes facial muscles, & gives your skin a gorgeous radiant glow
- Do facial steams once or twice a week
- Wash your face first, and tie your hair back
- Pour one quart of boiling water over a handful of herbs into a glass bowl.
- Lean over the bowl, and drape a towel over your head to trap in the steam
- Inhale the steam for about 5-7 minutes, lifting the towel for the steam to escape when necessary
Hair rinses
- Both therapeutically & cosmetically brilliant
- Use 2 heaping teaspoons of herb to 500ml quart of water. Stir, cover, and let sit for 1 hour. Strain it into a large squeeze bottle and add 2x tablespoon of ACV. Pour the strained tea over your hair. Don’t rinse it out, just let your hair dry naturally
- Consider this for dandruff, oily hair, dry hair, itchy scalp, balding & delightful pampering
Footbaths
- Footbaths can be incredibly therapeutic, due to the many nerve endings in the feet
- Helps with tired achy feet, stinky feet, leg cramps, calluses, swelling, & varicose veins
- When used at the first signs of cold, headache, congestion, or sore throat, the heat draws the congestion away from the respiratory tract, and can prevent onset of illness
- Use foot baths either hot or cold depending on needs
- Make about a gallon of herbal tea, strain it, and pour the tea into a wide basin
- Place your feet in the basin, and relax until the water cools down
- Afterward, pour cold water on the feet, dry them thoroughly, and put on clean cozy socks
Handbaths
- Like the feet, there are many nerve endings in the hands
- Soaking them in herbal infusions can be beneficial for colds, flu, arthritis, & poor circulation
- Make about gallon of tea, pour into a bowl, and soak for 5-10 minutes
- Can be used to help clear eczema, relieve hand pain, or increase circulation
Mouthwash or gargle
- Prepare an herbal infusion, let it cool, then swish it around the mouth, or gargle, then spit it out
- To be most effective with a gargle, it should be used for 10 minutes
- Try using, plantain, thyme, sage, lemon balm, licorice root, Pako Ata
- Steam inhalations
- Bring 1 quart of water to a boil, remove from heat, and add 4 heaping teaspoons to the water
- Lean over the pot, and drape a towel over your head