The beautiful flowers in our summer gardens and fields uplift our spirits. Many also pro-vide nourishment and healing for the skin.
Calendula officinalis is the best skincare herb ever! It’s easy to grow and blooms prolifically from summer to frost in sunny yellows, oranges, even reds and maroons. Ca-lendula is anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory. It pro-motes skin regeneration and heals rashes, burns, skin problems associated with radiation therapy, sores and ulcers, minimizes scar tissue, and is an excellent skin moisturiz-er. It’s also wonderful as a massage oil, and gentle enough for healing and preventing diaper and heat rashes on baby’s tender skin.
Ah – roses! There are many varieties but I love rosa rugosa for medicine and skin care. Growing up I called them wild roses or, near the ocean, beach roses. Flowers range from pale pink to deep magenta, and are wonderfully fragrant. Rose infused oil is suitable for all skin types especially dry, sensitive, irritated, and mature skin. And over time rose’s astringent effect will greatly diminish those tiny red capillaries close to the skin’s surface. It takes a lot of rose petals to make rose infused oil, so if you’re not blessed with a large hedge nearby, you can use dried organic roses. Or you can add rose essential oil to a carrier oil like almond, coconut, olive, or jojoba. Pure rose essen-tial oil…
