5 Skin Benefits of St. John's Wort
What’s the sunniest flower out there? Did a sunflower come to mind? I can see why. But no, it’s not that. Remember how I said "Flowers emerge out of the darkness of the soil and grow on the light of the sun"? Remember what I shared about the loving, mood lifting role flowers play in your life? Well in that case, St. Johns Wort is surely the sunniest flower of them all!
This sunny little flower has a lot of charms. In a study perimenopausal women experiencing crazy-making shifts of hormones in the UK, with depression, anxiety and just plain weird emotional outbursts, the non-pharmacological treatment that worked better, with a longer lasting impact, was , of course, St. John’s Wort! I’m not surprised. I tried it myself. Amazing! I felt its effects immediately. A little miracle.
But sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. Like the sun. I got cold feet. I’d always heard that sheep become more sensitive to the sun after grazing on St. John’s Wort (an aside: sheep seem to be sensitive to EVERYTHING. Ever heard of the 3 Ss? "Sheep seldom survive". Poor dears). For a long time no one knew if this happens to us people as well. I wanted to doubt it. For years I did. Alas, recent research has proved it true.
So yeah, taking St. John’s Wort tincture or drinking tea, and then taking in real sun, does magnify the worst effects of the sun: causing damage to the membranes of skin cells and eventual death of the connective tissue in the skin when skin is expose to sunrays. Taking St. John's Wort on sunny days also increases the chance of cataracts. Good thing most us northern folks only get the blues in the winter!
But what about using St. John’s Wort cream straight on our skin? Flowers and plants are amazing little beings! The harm done by St. Johns Wort when taken inside is the same kind of damage healed by St. John’s Wort when put on the outside. St. John’s Wort is fantastic for your skin. Used topically, there are at least 5 healing ways of St. John's Wort!
5 Healing Ways of St. John's Wort:
-antimicrobial
-anti-inflammatory
-stimulates fibroblast mobility. Plainly, this means tightening of the skin. -stimulates collagen production. My own aging skin is cheering because this means better skin elasticity. In a nut shell, less wrinkles.
-stimulates keratinocyte differentiation. Simply put, this means the entire process of wound healing happens quicker and more efficiently. As we age, this healing process slows down so here’s another great anti-aging gift of St. John’s Wort.
Don’t you think St. John’s Wort is a perfect flower to put in a skin cream that helps heal cuts, bruises, burns and diabetic wounds? Me, too! And then, of course, it’s ah-mazing for aging skin! Like yours and mine. And, yes, the sunniest flower is here to help you out when you get too much of a good thing and you end up with a sunburn!
But it’s only the flowers that have this power. Not the leaves. Not the stem. Not the cute little flower buds that look like lemon-yellow cones. Just the wide open, gloriously blazing, yellow flowers. This is why I go daily during St. John’s Wort season, day after day combing through plant after plant, selecting and picking only flowers fully open in peak bloom. I leave the rest of the blooms, either too far gone or not ready yet. It is these perfect sunny flowers that I blend into Slow Botanicals Regenerating Night Cream (with a starring role in this night cream). Yes, it’s a lot of work this way. But it’s worth it for you. I make Wild St. John’s Wort Moisturizing Soap, too. And a Shave Soap.
I find it such relief that as I age, there are botanicals out there to help me out. I love having nice skin. I know you do, too! Bring on the 5 healing ways of St. John's Wort.
Have a wonderful week! All my best, Chwynyn Sign up for my newsletter!
PS In case you're just skimming, St. John’s Wort is a powerful healer. Look for how in the bold bullet points. I harvest the most perfect St. John’s Wort flowers to blend into Regenerating Night Cream. Wild St. John’s Wort Moisturizing Soap and Clean Shave Soap, too. Visit the Slow Botanicals Shop to learn more and purchase. (And in case you’re ever interested in trying out a tincture (perhaps in the gray season), shoot me a message. While my web host doesn’t support the sale of” nutraceuticals”, I do make a beautiful (naturally bright red!) tincture out of these same perfect flowers each year. I will happily write St. John’s Wort a testimonial for perimenopausal help. However, I'm going to test out another perimenopausal flower this summer and blend up a tincture. I’ll let you know how that goes).
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