This post is an introduction to a series of herbal oil formulas for external application, so that you can begin to build up your own natural remedy cabinet.

Hello, my name is Anny O’Neill, and I’d love to share with you all how I take care of my family’s skin.

Herbal Medicine Blog: Lily enjoy foraging with her mum.

Some of the herbal oils mentioned below will feature in a subsequent blog about turning herbal oils into ointments, balms & mixed oils. By the end of the whole series you will know how to make:

Cayenne and Ginger Herbal Deep Heat, for your chronic joint and deep muscle pain.
Calendula, Rose and Dandelion Face and Body Oils and Ointments.
Mint Foot and Lip Balms.
Plantain Herbal Chest Rub, to ease congestion in the lungs.
Chickweed, for eczema relief.
Mullein Ear Oil, a wonderful remedy to cure ear pain - one that has deterred many trips to doctor for antibiotics.

At the core of the Art of Health philosophy is the desire to preserve our ancient Irish tradition of making simple home herbal remedies. Planning is key. Herbal oils can take up to 6 weeks to infuse, depending on the method used. Summer is a great time to harvest and dry your local, homegrown or foraged herbs. During winter and the other seasons we reap their benefits and savour the lovely memory of when we made them.

All of these wonderful herbal oils require good quality procurement. As a herbalist I often simply buy dried cut herbs for my apothecary, but one of the wonderful gifts of Covid19 is that I have time to indulge my passion for foraging.

No matter where you are in the world, nature has ensured that (with correct knowledge) you can find a herb for all ailments very close to where you live (as long as you have some kind of natural environment nearby).

The herbs, plantain, marigold (calendula), chickweed, mint, rose, dandelion are easily found around you if you are living in Europe. I am writing this blog from Ireland. It’s the June Bank Holiday weekend, and our ditches and meadows are bountiful with botanical medicinal healing herbs.

Making your own self-care remedies aligns with the Art of Health philosophy: simple, non-toxic, safe, effective, mood-enhancing, deeply fulfilling and cost effective.

This blog is a step-by-step guide on how to achieve this. Once your herbal oils are made the sky’s the limit.

So let’s get going – and have some fun! Start by choosing a herb. Reflect upon the reason you chose it.

Sometimes it’s because it’s just there - it’s what you need, or you have been intuitively drawn to it. Either way, herbs (like our health) are multifaceted. Think about the influences that shape your life: why you choose what you do, when you do, what blog you read, how your body is feeling, the age you are, the timing. There are so many considerations - it’s all soooo interesting!

My absolute passion is intuited knowledge. One of the things I hope to impart in these blogs is the value of your intuition.

Learn to trust it! Our forefathers discovered these wonderful herbs and their healing qualities long before laboratory testing and conventional pharmacy.

Some Considerations:

Dandelion flowers provide a gorgeous clear yellow oil, which is great for chapped or cracked dry skin.
Plantain is soothing and healing. Good for all skin types.
Rose petals are anti-inflammatory. It is soothing & cools redness on the skin, especially the face.
Comfrey is great for skin healing. It is nourishing and repairs the skin and is fantastic for itchy skin and eczema (see a whole blog dedicated to comfrey here).
Chickweed is anti-inflammatory and is used for itchy skin also (it can even be used on piles).
Chamomile flower tops are anti-fungal, reparative & calms itchy or uneven blotchy skin.
Cayenne pepper is warming and blocks pain receptors. It is good for rheumatic or arthritic pain.
Ginger root is warming and improves circulation, blood supply and healing to an area. It’s great for coldness in the joints or muscles.
Calendula (marigold) is antimicrobial, repairs dry, damaged or broken skin. It is commonly used in nappy rash remedies.

So, after considering the above information, choose a herb to get started with.

If you are foraging, ensure the herb is organic and has never been sprayed, or peed on by our canine friends!

It’s nice to keep the instructions a little loose here - as you may have very little (or large amounts) of a particular herb. As a guide, if you are using dandelion flower tops - or calendula (marigold), pick about 100 flower tops. If choosing the leaves of plantain, chickweed, or comfrey, begin with about 100 leaves. For a rose infusion, use the petals of about 30 large rose heads.

If you have a dehydrator, dehydrate the herbs until dry. They should feel crisp to touch. Other options are to lay the herbs out flat and leave in the bottom of a low temp proving oven, or - if the weather permits - dry on a flat clean surface in direct sunlight. The reason you dehydrate - or remove water - is to significantly reduce the chance of bacteria and mould growth in your infused oil. Dehydration also concentrates the active fat soluble constituents and essential oils from the herb into the carrier oil.

So, now we have a herb - it’s time to choose our carrier oil!

Carrier oil options depend on your preference:

Olive Oil is a wonderful starting point, as it can be paired with all the above herbs and most people have it at home. Olive oil is slow to absorb & rich in squalene. Extra virgin olive oil is high in natural antioxidants, and is useful for normal or weathered skin types. Squalenes are used in skincare products as a highly-effective emollient and natural antioxidant. Over time, using squalane in skincare can reduce wrinkles, eliminate scars, reverse UV damage, lightens freckles and erases skin pigmentation, all while fighting free radicals.
Sunflower Oil. Organic and inexpensive. This little gem has little odour and is a vibrant yellow. It’s lovely with calendula, chamomile and dandelion flower-tops. Sunflower oil is slower to absorb than other oils.
Sweet Almond Oil is wonderful for normal to dry skin types. It protects damaged skin and can help relieve itching. High in vitamin E, this oil pairs really well with calendula, plantain, chamomile, chickweed, rose and dandelion. It is absorbed at a medium rate.
Avocado Oil has properties that are rich and moisturising, and it is high in vitamins and carotenoids. It is slow to absorb, and helpful for eczema and dry skin - great to repair damaged skin. This oil makes a good body moisturiser or ointment. It pairs really well with dandelion and plantain.
Jojoba Oil. This is a liquid wax that is similar to our own skin’s sebum (oils). It balances all skin types, has a long shelf life and is regenerative. It’s a superb oil, which works with all the above herbs, especially chickweed, plantain & rose. One of the great things is that it doesn’t feel greasy on the skin.
Coconut Oil works with all of the above herbs. It is high in caprylic acid, which makes it good for fungal skin issues. It absorbs quickly and makes some ointments less greasy. It works great with cayenne and ginger herbs for joints and sore deep muscles. Coconut helps the healing quality of the herbs penetrate. It pairs well with plantain (later in the series I use plantain oil for my chest rub - a herbal vicks!).
So - now we have our chosen DRIED herb with your oil of preference, let’s make our infused oil!
There are 2 ways to make infused oil: the slow or the fast way.
For both techniques:
Choose dried herb of choice & oil. Use a large pint sized jam jar or kilner jar (or larger - depending on your proportions). Place the dried herb or flowers into the kilner jar. Fill jar 1/4-1/2 way up. Pour oil of choice to cover 2 inches above your dried herbs. Stir.

INFUSING OILS THE SLOW WAY

Cover the jar filled with dried herbs and the carrier oil with its lid. Leave away from direct sunlight, and every day give it a quick swirl to mix the herbs through the oil. After 4-6 weeks, strain the oil from the herb. Discard the plant material and put your oil into a clean dry jar with lid. Label with “herb, carrier oil and date”. If stored in cool dark place it will keep for 1-year

INFUSING OILS THE FAST WAY

Place the herb and oils into a bowel over a double boiler (see video demo). Ensure that there is approximately 2-inches of oil above the dried herb. Place on a low-medium heat for 2-3 hours. Ensure the oil temperature does not get too hot (ideally not above 55-60 degrees C). This gentle heating process speeds up the infusion process. Ensure the water in the base of the double boiler does not simmer off, as direct heat can damage the healing constituents of the herb and carrier oil. Once infused, remove from the heat, strain the infused oil into a clean dry kilner jar. Label and store in a cool dry place for up to 1-year.

So, there you have it!

That’s your herb infused oil. I look forward to building our natural remedy cabinet together over the summer!

PS: Important information. The contents of the herbal oil infusions blogs are guidelines only. The purpose is to invite you to learn about herbal self-care with ingredients that you can find in your environment. The author claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss or damage caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly as a result of use, application or interpretation of the material contained herein.

As with all skin and body care products, do not use a recipe if you are allergic or sensitive to any of the ingredients.

The Art of Health is a professional body who prescribes herbs for individuals following a comprehensive in-depth professional consultation by a qualified Master Herbalist. Please seek permission to copy or use content from this post from Anny O’Neill at the Art of Health.

Thank you for respecting the content.

When you have a large family, necessity is the master of creation. And from this, my pea soup was born. It’s so simple that I’m almost shy to share it!

The Art of Simple Cooking.

The philosophy of simplicity is an intrinsic aspect of my work, especially when embarking upon unravelling a clients digestive unease, or beginning the process of reversing chronic degenerative issues.

Western living is synonymous with too much of everything. Too much food & processing & too many ingredients.

Digestion

Focusing on which foods we should or shouldn’t eat, is somewhat misleading. More often than not, a person does not have an issue with specific foods, rather - the challenge is that their system is not able to deal with the complexities of the meal, or the processing. For example, some foods need “acid” to be digested, others “alkaline”. If you combine food groups that require a different pH for optimum digestion (such as meat and potatoes in equal amounts), there will usually be some kind of digestive discomfort. It’s all about getting the right combinations & balance.

Processing

It may be that the foods you are eating are just too overly processed. Freezing is my favourite process / storage - because it does not affect the enzymatic reactions in food (I’ll post more on this at a later date), and it does a great job at preserving the nutrient content.

So, at the Art of Health, we simplify, simplify, simplify…

PEA SOUP

This soup, made by James aged 7-years, is super easy, really tasty & highly nutritious. Of course you can make much fancier versions, but this is made as quick as a cup of well made tea.

Ideal for hungry children!

Ingredients

900g-1KG fresh frozen petite pois.
1L veg stock (I use veg bullion stock by marigold).
Seasoning: black pepper.
Fistful of fresh mint leaves.

Boil up peas in stock. After 5-10 mins simmering, turn off heat. Add in mint and blitz with stick blender.

And that’s it!

It’s a favourite fast food with hunks of nice bread on a cold wet Saturday lunch time after a morning of sport. Drizzle a little olive oil in Zorro type style of “Z”. Place a little mint leaf on top and voilà.

Have a peasful lunch.... have a ha-pea day.

Chef James making Anny’s Pea Soup for his family’s evening meal.

Once this base soup suits your system (i.e., you don’t feel bloated, tired or gassy / belching), then you can add in and layer up on the flavour profile. I have lots of ideas on variations of this beautiful soup, including asparagus & spinach (thank you Anna for inspiring these flavours).

In the summer we grow our own peas. The reason this simple soup has a well deserved place in this summer series of recipes is due to it’s nutritious punch, especially when home-grown:

Peas are full of plant-based protein. Protein is essential in building strong bones, muscles and healthy tissue. It is also a building block for a multitude of enzymes the body uses to produce energy, transport nutrients, carry oxygen and complete thousands of other tasks. Peas also contain all essential amino acids.
Peas are easy to digest and full of fibre (which your bowel likes in order to form healthy stools), while helping create the right environment for good bacteria growth, AKA the microbiome.
Low allergen food. Very few people react to peas, especially with the addition of fresh mint, which has natural digestive properties (reducing wind and bloating).
Muscle-building and repairs damaged muscles.
A high plant-based protein diet keeps you fuller for longer & promotes appetite control and weight-loss.
Low to no processing of foods means higher nutrient retention.