Homemade, All Natural Poison Ivy Remedy

<Sigh>

I'm not really thrilled to be writing this post.

Why, you may ask?

Because for this particular remedy to be on my mind, it must mean someone has Poison Ivy

and this time, that someone is ME!!

I'm so allergic to it as well and if you've ever had a reaction to PI, you know it's the devil!

It must be one of those summers for me because I have NO CLUE where I even came in contact with the stuff.

I'm just that allergic that i can pass by a mile away and it finds me!

I won't complain TOO much because I am really healthy and my allergies are miniscule compared to most.

But, DANG, this itches!

Luckily, experience has taught me that this simple and all natural remedy soothes and heals poison ivy (or oak/sumac) rashes quick as a wink.

It feels divine, too!

I use French Green Clay powder (available in some beauty supply stores and health food stores, but always available online), witch hazel and peppermint essential oil.  I have a small, airtight container that I reserve for my clay paste each summer (it works great for stings or bug bites, too). Take a scoop of the clay powder and dump it into your container. Add 20-30 drops of the peppermint eo and then slowly add the witch hazel a little bit at a time. Mix as you go and when you have a nice creamy and smooth paste (consistency of a facial masque), you're ready to apply. After washing the affected area with warm water and soap, pat dry and apply your clay paste. AHHHH! It feels lovely, doesn't it?!

The green clay (any clay can be used but green is best!) has a higher absorption property and as it dries it pulls the poisonous oils out of the skin. The witch hazel soothes and heals the skin and itching while the peppermint cools the affected area to soothe it as well. This stuff blows calamine lotion out of the water! 

Hopefully, you won't ever have to use this remedy.

But if you do, you can rest assured that you have a safe, all natural and wonderfully effective treatment right at your fingertips!

Homemade Natural Insect Repellant

 All these April Showers will surely bring May Flowers, but in the Deep South, May and the approaching summer heat and humidity only means one thing...BUGS!

And lots of them!

Mosquitos are especially annoying. 

When I was pregnant with Tripp, in the middle of the summer living out in the country with a pond right behind our house, I was suddenly even more aware of the awful ingredients in mosquito sprays and lotions.
At the time, we owned a natural goods market, so it was no problem for me to easily access a retail product made with natural ingredients that effectively kept the bugs at bay.
But shortly afterwards, when we no longer had the store, the price of these organic items I had grown accustomed to using and buying at wholesale became real.
I simply could not afford to buy them.
I researched making my own personal care products from natural ingredients and just as soon as the temps warmed up again, bug spray was on the top of the list!

I've done a combination of things.
First of all, before moving to Starkville last year, we lived in the country where the ecosystem was much more in balance and we had chickens and guineas to help gobble up bugs. But they were still present and when we would go hang out anywhere else, the mosquitos were rampant.

There are many essential oils that can be used effectively to ward off these summertime pests:


Eucalyptus
 Lemon Eucalyptus
Rosemary
Citronella
Lemon Verbena
Lavender
Rose Geranium
Cedar
Peppermint
Lemongrass

I've been known to just carry a bottle of one of these essential oils in my diaper bag just in case.

In years past, I've used a recipe similar to this, a combo of eo's and vodka. I'm a big fan of eucalyptus, citronella and lavender. My friend, Laura, recently showed me a study that showed Lemon Eucalytpus to be just as effective as DEET without all the obvious harmful effects. This makes complete sense because I know using eucalyptus on us has worked and our summer mosquito spray for outside in our yard that we use prior to outdoor entertaining, is made using lemon dish soap (and a few others things). So, it will be added to the mix this year.

She also found this great tutorial of different insect repellant recipes from Mountain Rose Herbs, my favorite source for bulk organic herbs and oils. We both LOVED the witch hazel recipe and I decided to whip up a batch.

Natural Insect Repellant:
1/2 teaspoon citronella essential oil
1/2 teaspoon eucalyptus essential oil
1/2 teaspoon lavender essential oil
4 ounces distilled witch hazel
Mix in a 4 oz bottle and spray every 2 hours or as needed!
Voila!
Simple, easy and inexpensive.
Plus, why waste vodka on bug spray when it goes much better in a Bloody Mary ;)

Enjoy!