Many years ago, I saw a mother with a small child, he was so poorly, full of snot, violently coughing until he was sick, barely eating, he was wretched. By the time he got to me he’d had several rounds of antibiotics but not got better. Both mother and child were so distressed. I treated him with Thyme baths to strengthen his lungs and help with the coughing. Thymol is a powerfully effective support for the lungs and using the fresh herb in a bath releases the volatile oils really effectively in the steam. I gave him a combination of Homeopathic Kali bich for the stringy, thick gunk he was coughing up, Pulsatilla for the endless thick green snot and Hydrastis for the catarrh. Then I made up a little essential oil blend of Cedar which is a great oil for encouraging expectoration and Orange because it reduces congestion and soothes the airways to be used in an oil diffuser in his room at night. It worked really quickly so over the years I used the same protocol again and again to really good effect.
Then one day, when I’d already made the Calm & Tranquil Balm and was starting to realise how therapeutically effective I could make a balm and how easily it could be applied, I took all those parts of the treatment and rolled them into one amazing, snot busting, cough relieving wonder balm - the Breathe & Clear Balm.
It is a riff on Vicks Vapour Rub which if you’re ancient like me, you’ll remember from childhood chest infections where it was rubbed liberally on the chest or used as a steam. I still remember the slightly opaque ointment and how it made my eyes run as well as my nose and then my skin itch. It is of course made with petrolatum which is a mineral oil petrol derivative and it contains nutmeg which can be quite the allergen. My mission in contrast, was to make a balm that was entirely lovely for the respiratory system, the skin and the planet and I did. It is another of the balms that I’d never be without. It lasts for 2 years so I make it and keep it on the shelf in my bedroom to use at the first hint of an infection.
Breathe & Clear has been used by hundreds of people in different ways, some for its snot busting potential but other use it when they want deep, clear breathing – for example in yoga practice or meditation. It is wonderful if you want to centre your breathing and feel grounded.
The other complaint I see more than any other is eczema and very dry skin. Eczema isn’t simple, there are different kinds some is wet with a sticky exudate, others are really dry. All are distressing. I made Parched & Dry to help.
When I lived in Cyprus I was introduced to a Sufi who made the most amazing Bay oil and wax, she had a big wide pan that sat on an old gas ring. She picked some of the leaves but mostly the fruit and put it into the pan along with water and simmered it for hours and hours. Over time it produces a wax, almost like beeswax but softer. The smell was intoxicating and the colour was the most sumptuous sage green, I loved visiting her up high in the mountains. She used Bay for respiratory issues, it worked beautifully.
So when I came to make the Parched & Dry I included Bay oil, I would have loved to make the Bay Berry wax but we don’t have the trees here in Harris and we didn’t have the fruit in sufficient amounts in Sussex when we lived there.
I also use three skin staple ingredients that grow in profusion and are so often pulled up in gardens, but they are amazing for the skin – Stellaria with its little star flowers and Plantago with it’s ovate leaves and fluffy little flower and Cleavers, the bringer of spring cleansing – this trio is magic.
And then there's Lavender which runs through the entire collection because it is an exceptionally good plant for any kind of inflammation and it acts so well to calm the mind and Chamomile for its skin soothing properties.
The remedies I use in this one are Graphites which is a specific for eczema especially where there is that sticky exudate and Urtica urens to calm the skin and ease the itch.
For very dry skin it is wonderful and as a first treatment option for eczema its excellent. I now often use it as a base, so if someone contacts me and I think they need something extra to solve the problem, I keep a big pot which I can decant and tinker with.
The final Balm is the Bump & Bash which I introduced to the set earlier this year. Whether it’s because I’m more prone to falling over these days in wild wind and uneven ground or more clumsy as I negotiate life, I decided I really needed a balm for the shock of trauma like falling and something to deal with pain and bruising. So I made the Bump & Bash Balm.
It is a powerhouse of a balm containing Turmeric (it doesn’t stain your skin) for its brilliant treatment of inflammation, Bellis perennis, the common Daisy, which has been used for centuries for deep bruising, muscle pain and wounds. I love Daisies, they are always so abundant and cheerful but within they are full of trauma reducing properties. We pick them through the season to be sure of having plenty available for the balm. I also added Calendula because it is the champion of wound healing, bruise reducing and scar preventing.
An unpopular plant that we encourage all over the croft are Dandelions, this plant supports the digestive system, reduces fluid retention, supports liver function and for the purposes of this balm, it acts as a potent anti-inflammatory. It also offers early foraging food for bees which is so important.
I think it’s so important to champion these native plants that are so useful on so many levels both for our own health but also for the insects that we need to survive. It’s a shame that so many of our native plants are ruthlessly eradicated from gardens in favour of exotics. These native herbs have learnt to thrive here and our insect population really depend on them because their open structure and pollen production favours pollination. So many plants in garden centres are F1 hybrids which are often made sterile by genetic modification or physical removal of the anthers which are the pollen-producing part of the flower. Many don’t produce pollen or if they do it is a small amount. Whilst that ensures that you can’t collect seed to grow more of the plant at home, it also deprives the bees of food. I digress!
When it came to Homeopathic remedies the choice was simple – Aconite for shock and Arnica for rapid wound healing, bruising, pain and Hypericum for nerve pain. This trio is my absolute go to after falling. I’ve used it for the immediate shock and distress of broken bones, falls, twisted ankles whilst far from help and other accidents. It is brilliant.
Finally the essential oils, our good friend Lavender and Frankincense which is the number one oil for cracked skin and rapid wound healing – the resins are wonderful for wounds because that is why the tree produces them, to cover and heal wounds it has suffered. Rose Geranium also is in the mix for reduction of inflammation.
Applied onto the skin immediately the Bump & Bash Balm works wonders and then reapplied regularly in the first few days it will make all the difference to speedy healing.
We offer the First Aid Balms as a whole set in a bundle and of course they are available individually as well. Every time I see them on the shelf in the shop they make me happy – 7 small pots of balm to cover almost every eventuality.