Sunshine Moisturizer ☀

Find out why I’m shifting my focus away from sunscreens and SPF products in favor of a more holistic UV management approach using botanicals and cosmeceuticals shown to support the skin’s ability to withstand UV exposure. What I learned changed my mind about the wisdom of wearing (any kind of) sunscreen — even the “natural” and “safe” mineral ones.

To Sunscreen or Not to Sunscreen?

As a child of the 70s and 80s, I have never lived in a world that wasn’t obsessed with sunscreen. I grew up wearing it whenever I went outside. As an adult, I was taught to be diligent about protecting my face and décolleté at all times or risk premature sun damage and wrinkles. We […]

Giant Garden Zucchini Personal Pizzas

It’s *that* time of year when my garden is going gangbusters producing zucchini and summer squash and we spend two months eating it like it’s going out of style.

In order to keep things interesting and avoid “squash burnout” (it’s a thing), I’ve accumulated a number of recipes over the years incorporating squash in unexpected ways so we don’t get sick of it.

A Simple Way to Supercharge Your Tinctures & Oil Infusions

At a recent herbal apprenticeship class, I learned a very simple tweak to my usual maceration process that creates much more potent alcohol tinctures and alcohol intermediary infused oils. It’s not just about speeding things up… the vibrant colors achieved by blending herbs as part of the infusion process are mind blowing! ♥

Herbal Titos & Tonic Mixer with Cinchona Bark

jump to the recipes Everything old is new again, and cocktails are no exception. Gin & Tonic was originally created as a more palatable way for 19th-century British soldiers to take their medicinal quinine — a bitter tasting antimalarial extract from the bark of the cinchona tree (Cinchona officinalis). Turns out, it tasted pretty darn good! […]

Making a CBD Salve with St. John’s Wort

A good CBD salve can be an indispensable tool in your pain-management arsenal. The trouble is, CBD products can be so darn expensive — particularly if you’re a salve snob like yours truly and want an organic, clean, high-quality salve infused with botanicals.

Fortunately, high-quality salves are easy to make, and investing in a jar of CBD concentrate makes it FAR more affordable to keep CBD salve in the budget!

Working with St. John’s Wort

St. John’s wort is one of the best known and most used herbal medicines in the world. And like so many of our medicinal wild plants, it’s considered a noxious weed in much of the western US.  In my county, we’re actually required to eradicate all trace of the plants on our property within 10 […]

Making a Healing Scar Salve w/ Gotu Kola & Comfrey

It’s not such a coincidence that many of the same herbs that are beneficial to keeping aging skin healthy and happy are also useful for healing wounds and minimizing scarring — it’s all about skin repair!

Infusing & Using Herbal Vinegars

Once upon a time, before the advent of distilled alcohol, liquid herbal extracts were made one of three ways: with water, wine or vinegar.

As a menstruum, vinegar is nowhere near as effective as alcohol at drawing out an herb’s medicinal properties; however, it can assist alcohol in extracting certain plant constituents.

Tincture Dilution Calculator

Calculate the volumes of any two alcohol proofs to create a tincture of a particular strength.

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