Natural Pain Relief!

Hi Folks - I had a terrible experience at the dentist last week that I'm still suffering from. I ended up in a lot of pain and since I am in the process of flushing my liver, I didn't want to take any pain medication that my liver would have to process.  So I was advised to do two things: 1) take white willow bark tea and tincture and 2) place cloves and clove oil on the affected area. 

I was seriously on the verge of popping some pills, but I took a leap of faith and tried  the natural home remedies that were suggested.  Needless to say both applications worked extremely well and I now have two more natural remedies in my treasure chest. 

Let's talk about why these two plants sources (white willow bark and cloves) helped relieve my excruciating pain. 

White Willow Bark: 

1.  The bark from the willow tree  is actually  used to make medicine. The active ingredient in aspirin (acetyl salicylic acid), is derived from white willow bark.   The bark  is used to relieve pain from headaches, muscle aches, menstrual cramps, arthritis, and gout. 
2. Historically, willow bark was commonly used during the time of Hippocrates and people chewed on the bark to reduce fever and pain

White willow bark

How I used White Willow Bark: 

• I steeped the bark in hot water and drank as a tea (no sweetener) for three days.  The tea was devoid of any taste (which I prefer over extremely bitter teas). It was like drinking warm water. 
• After the third day, I added the white willow bark tincture in my herbal tea

White willow bark tea

Cloves: 

1. Cloves are the flower bud of a tree and are native to Indonesia
2. Cloves are used in various types of healing practices such as: Indian Ayruvedic medicine, Chinese medicine, and herbalism and dentistry where the essential oil is used as a painkiller for dental emergencies. 
3. It's an aromatic spice that is used in many types of cuisines.

Clove buds

                                  

How I used Cloves: 

• The first day I actually put 5 clove buds in my mouth where the pain was coming from. I kept them in ALL NIGH LONG.  Within 30 minutes the pain was gone. No joke!
• The next day along with taking the white willow bark tea, I applied the clove oil to the affected area using a cotton swab.  Initially, the oil burned but in about 15 seconds the burning sensation dissipated and I was left pain free. 

Clove oil

Cotton swabs used to apply clove oil

I am a true believer and witness to the healing power of willow bark and cloves.  If you have a dental emergency and are in pain don't hesitate to go back to the dentist to get retreated as necessary. I am not suggesting that you should not get rechecked if your soul leads you to that conclusion. 

 Honestly, I was a bit perturbed at the pain I should not have been in based on the procedure that was done. So I WAS NOT willing to go back to the dentist for ANY treatment. I still have pain, but my natural remedies are working.  If you have even minor aches and pains, try white willow bark.  You can contact Herbal Bush House for the tincture or go online for the tea or powdered versions.  If you are suffering from dental pain, try the cloves. You can find clove buds in any nearby grocery store and the essential oil in most health food stores. 

I'm more and more convinced everyday that nature can meet all of our needs! 

Please let me know what your experience is if you're brave enough to suck on some cloves!!!

Peace and love!

The Hair Journey: Finally! Dry Scalp and Fungus Free!!

Hi Folks -

I've never been worried about hair growth..it's always grown quite well...but what has worried/concerned  me is the dry scalp/fungal issues I've been experiencing for YEARS!

I am happy to report that since I've been on the Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)/aloe vera gel regimen I have been free of the fungus!!

I am in a really down mood this evening...have you ever had a headache that just WILL NOT quit? Well that's me tonight. I'm in pain...but I have to share this  success story about my hair!

The process:
1. I sprayed ACV (diluted with water) on my hair for 1 week.  Kept it in overnight covered with a shower cap. 

2. Most of the time I DID NOT rinse my hair in the morning.  I just sprayed the aloe vera mixture on my hair, applied tea tree oil (diluted with jojoba oil) on my scalp and locked in the moisture with plain shea butter.

ACV

Shea butter

Aloe vera gel

The result:
1.  As I stated in the beginning of this post, I am fungus free (based on what I can see with my naked eye meaning no visible scaling).  

2.  I have not had any extreme itchy episodes (including when I was rocking the Mohawk). No major flakes falling and no burning. Plus the white spots that were starting to form on my forehead are gone!

3.  My hair felt nice and moist until about noon...then it felt dry.  But when I ran my fingers through it, it wasn't as dry as I thought.  So some moisture was being retained.

4.  I am a happy camper! Loving the fungus free experience! And loving the fact that I'm finding a good process to keep my hair clean and moisturized.

I will continue to use this process for my hair.  And I LOVE the fact that I did not have to spend a heap of money on products!

What natural elements are you putting in your hair?

Peace and blessings!

The Hair Journey: Dry Scalp Woes!

I've stated before that I have had issues with my scalp being flaky, dry and irritated.  I have pictures that show light spots on my forehead.  I've also used countless shampoos and conditioners or just ignored it and increased the amount of times I washed it in a week.  But I had a lot of hair and frequent washings were not practical or timely based on how I needed to style my hair to be presentable.  The funny thing is, some of it got better with out me really targeting the issue.  Maybe it was a change in body chemistry.........Sadly I ended up getting used to it.

Check out the light spots on my forehead

Well most recently I was enlightened to the fact that my scalp flakiness and light patches were not because I couldn't make up my mind on which pair of shoes to wear or what restaurant to go to for lunch.  I had scalp friends.....called Malassezia  a.k.a FUNGUS! Yuck!!! I feel like a big fungus after all my research on this topic. 

There is a particular type of fungus that most of us have on our skin (malassezia) and when the opportunity arises (body chemistry changes, etc.) it can begin to grow...and grow......and multiply...and just start having nightly parties.  Depending on what products you use or what you eat, you can promote or inhibit growth.  For years, I was promoting growth by feeding the fungus with the wrong hair care products (and maybe my diet too).

Now I know better...and thought I was doing better until the parties started again.  So now, I'm on a quest to kill the fungus on my scalp for good.  I want to clear this problem up for good especially with my hair being much shorter now.  It should be easier for me to increase the wash frequency and address the issue with out so much hair to deal with!

So far I've come across some natural remedies that I'm going to try, but I'm not sure what regime I need to employ for optimal benefits (i.e. calling the cops on the parties and stopping them for good).  

1. Apple cider vinegar
2. Tea tree oil
3. Coconut oil
4. Anti dandruff shampoos and conditioners
5. Black walnut and aloe vera

Today I  used a tea tree shampoo and conditioner, sprayed my scalp with black walnut/aloe vera mixture and applied tea tree oil to my scalp after the black walnut solution dried.

Dandruff....the result of fungal parties

I'm still on the prowl for a good fungus killing program.  If anybody out there has any suggestions please let me know.  Does anybody else have a scalp that looks like the pictures above?

I will not let this fungus define me....I am not FUNGUS! I just have it on my scalp! Ewwwww!

Peace and blessings!