St. John's wort, hypericon or St. John's wort is one of the best known and most used medicinal plants since ancient times.
Identifying it is easy. You just have to put its leaves in the light. If they have small holes, it is hypericum.
To encourage you to make it, these are some of the uses you can give your balm:
- For cutaneous use. It is wonderful to treat all kinds of burns, chilblains, or eczema. It also helps calm the acne, the bumps and bruises, the herpes and sores and any irritation. Including those of babies.
- If you apply it by giving a massage, it will relieve you the contractures and relax the muscles.
Eye! You only have to be careful with one thing. As it is photosensitive, it is better if you avoid putting yourself in the sun a lot after using it.
On the other hand, if you take it as an infusion or pills, St. John's wort relieves the depression, it will help calm anxiety and other types of nervous disorders related to hormonal changes.
Let's get to the point. Here you have the St. John's wort balsam recipe:
After collecting and drying the plant, you have to prepare a macerated.
How do you do this? It is very simple. You only have to fill ¾ parts of a jar with the flowers and leaves of St. John's wort that you will have left to dry 3 days after collecting it.
Add olive oil little by little until the pot is full. Let the St. John's wort marinate for 40 days and strain it with a mesh or gauze. And you already have your mash. You can use this oleate or you can continue with the process.
For the preparation of the balm you will need:
250 ml of St. John's wort oil macerate
30gr of candelilla or carnauba wax
2 drops of vitamin E
Elaboration
- Heat the wax with the St. John's wort oil over a very low heat for 2 hours.
- You can add other plants such as chamomile, donkey mint or rosemary.
- Stir to mix well.
- Add vitamin E for better preservation.
- Pack quickly in a jar so the wax doesn't solidify.
Let it sit for 24 hours. Ready! You can now take advantage of all the properties of St. John's wort with this ointment whenever you need it.
By the way, all the photos you see are from the summer solstice workshop that we held at the Flores del Norte workshop. Because there is nothing we like more at Nasei than enjoying nature, sharing our knowledge and enjoying good company.
And a delicious vermouth and the cheeses of La Manducateca, too. What are we going to deny?
We are already thinking about the next meeting. So if you want to participate, pay attention to our newsletter and social networks. We will continue to inform. By the way, suggestions are welcome;)
Text Verónica Martín / Photography Lorena Aviñon