Naturopathic Remedies 101

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Over the years I have cured many health and skin problems with natural remedies. Here are a few of them, the beginning of a series I’ll be doing over time. For the proper mixing, use and storage of essential oils please see my article Cure For Cold Sores?

Menstrual Cramps

Mix two ounces almond oil with ten to twelve drops essential oil of lemon. Put three to five drops on a cotton ball an rub it clockwise over your stomach, lower abdomen and your lower back. This remedy will really take the edge off.

Beer! You may not know that beer is great for cramps. Actually, too much beer can make cramps worse, but one beer and your good.

Scars

If you have a minor scar lavender oil works wonders. I had a scar on my chin from eight stitches, four inside and four outside. I used lavender oil on it for three weeks and ninety percent of the scar went away. Now you can barely tell anything is there. Lavender oil is also really easy because it does not need to be mixed with a carrier oil. Just put a few drops on a cotton ball and apply to the scar.

If you a major scar rose oil is an excellent remedy. It’s expensive, but worth the investment. Make sure you buy rose oil from a good source such as Young Living. Cheap rose is usually geranium oil or part rose oil part geranium oil. I would suggest mixing rose oil with grapeseed oil due to its high antioxidant content. Apply to your scar two to three times a day. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t see a difference right away, hang in there and you will see a difference.

Burns

Lavender oil, lavender oil, lavender oil!! You may know that vitamin E is good for burns, what you may not know is that lavender oil is better. Just put it straight on your burn. If you want to you can mix it with grapeseed oil, which is also good for burns, but you don’t have to.

Muscle Aches

Arnica gel, a homeopathic gel that works wonders on tired and sore muscles. Buy it at your local health food store, GNC, and some Rite Aids are now carrying it.

Minor Cuts

Calendula gel, honey, or vitamin E. Calendula gel or cream is wonderful for cuts. Honey is a natural antibiotic, just put it on the cut and cover it with a band-aid. Vitamin E is both soothing and healing on cuts.

Acne

Acne could be the result of a hormonal imbalance in your body. This can show up with more than just the onset of adolescence, it can be the side effect of some birth control pills and some women experience it during menopause. Evening Primrose can actually balance that hormone in your system and rid you of your acne. Source Naturals puts out an amazing Evening Primrose, I noticed more results in a shorter span of time with this brand. Take three pills one to three times a day.

Tea tree oil is a good topical remedy for acne. Make sure you mix it with a carrier oil, tea tree oil and burn your skin if it’s put on alone.

Cure for Cold Sores

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Whole Life Times magazine ran an article in the December 2006 issue about chamomile oil and its effects on cold sores. Being an advocate and lover of Naturopathic medicine I was very excited to see read this article as I did not yet know the benefits of chamomile oil. According to the magazine, Germany’s University of Heidelburg did a test on several essential oils and chamomile oil tested to be effective on the Herpes virus, of which cold sores are a strain. It was also found that chamomile oil was effective on stains of the Herpes virus that do not respond to traditional medicine.

To put this remedy to use you need to mix the chamomile oil with carrier oil. In aromatherapy, essential oils are mixed with carrier oils so that the essential oil does not burn your skin. There are some essential oils that do not have to be mixed with carrier oil, such as lavender, but if you are not sure it is best to use carrier oil.

You can buy carrier oils in your local health food store. Good carrier oils are almond oil, grapeseed oil, and jojoba oil. Almond oil is a good all-purpose carrier oil, grapeseed is good for the skin due to its antioxidants, and jojoba oil is also good for the skin. As a side note jojoba oil has a property in it that will dissolve clogged pores and ingrown hairs.

To mix the oils use two ounces of carrier oil and add ten to twelve drops of essential oil, in this case chamomile oil. If you are going to store the oil for later use it is important to put the oil in a dark glass bottle, such as brown or cobalt blue. You can buy these bottles at you local health food store, as well.

Now you can apply the chamomile oil to your cold sore. The best way would be to put a few drops of the mixture on the end of a Q-tip and apply it directly to the sore. I would do this twice a day until its gone. If the results from this study prove to work, using the chamomile oil may help curb future breakouts as well as quelling the current one.

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