Lifestyle Choices

ORANGES(Citrus species)

The familiar orange has many uses. Orange blossom is invigorating in vinegar used in bath bags, and the peel can be dried and added to bath vinegar and hair rinses. The leaves can be used in bath gloves and wash bags and have a stimulating effect. Add fresh flowers to creams and lotions as an enriching agent — especially good for ageing, dry skins. Try making your own orange flower water by filling a jar with orange blossom, one or two leaves and a twist of peel. Fill with cane spirit or vodka and leave for 3 weeks, shaking the jar every now and then. Pour off a little and dilute with water in a 1:10 ratio and use as an astringent or freshener.

ORIGANUM (Origanum vulgare)

This is a soothing herb to use in the bath to ease aching muscles. Make origanum oil by steeping sprigs of origanum in sweet oil or sunflower oil, and add it to the bathwater. This same oil can be rubbed into an itchy scalp for quick relief.

PANSY ( Viola tricolor)

The beautiful little pansy or heart’s ease, which brightens up winter gardens, is a very useful herb for skin and hair. It contains salicylic acid, which makes it a soothing, astringent herb. Use it in baths, lotions, vinegars, creams and ointments. It is an excellent wash for eczema and for cradle cap in babies — 250 ml (1 cup) flowers and leaves to 500 ml-1 litre (2-4 cups) boiling water. Fresh leaves can be rubbed onto pimples and they will soothe and cool the inflammation.

PAWPAW (Carica papaya)

This is another of nature’s wonder plants. Mash the flesh and apply it as a mask to cleanse greasy skin. The seeds can be mashed and mixed with oatmeal to make a deep cleansing treatment for blemished and oily complexions. The milk from the stems is an exfoliant but dilute and test it very well before using. The leaves, too, can be chopped and applied as an exfoliant. Mix them with borage or comfrey leaves and include them in the diet. Pawpaw keeps the bowels regular and the skin clear and bright.

PEA (Pisum sativum)

Fresh garden peas contain vitamin E. Cooked and mashed, they can be applied to varicose veins and haemorrhoids. They are soothing and contracting, and the water in which they are cooked makes an excellent wash for all skin types.

PEACH (Prunus persica)

Use peach leaves in the bath as an emollient. They can also be added to facial masks for normal or dry skins. A fresh, skinned peach makes an excellent mask for sunburned skins, and the peach kernels, boiled up in apple cider vinegar for 5 minutes and then left to cool, will stimulate hair growth if rubbed daily onto the scalp.

PARSLEY (Petroselinum crispum)

Eat parsley daily for fresh breath. Parsley cleanses the kidneys, thus keeping the skin clear and the eyes sparkling. Parsley tea is medicinal and cleansing — 250 ml (1 cup) herb to 750 ml (3 cups) boiling water. Dab this tea onto eczema, psoriasis and skin irritations and you will find it wonderfully helpful.

PEAR (Pyrus communis)

Ripe mashed pear is a cooling, soothing application for sunburn. A slice of pear laid over tired eyes is very relaxing and soothing, and mashed, ripe pear flesh makes an excellent face mask for normal skin. Smooth on and allow to dry slightly for 15-20 minutes. Wash off with tepid water.

PENNYROYAL (Mentha pulegium)

This is a wonderful bath herb as it is stimulating and invigorating and soothes dry, itchy skin. Make a strong tea — 250 ml (1 cup) herb to 250-500 ml (1-2 cups) boiling water — and rub onto the skin as a deodorant.

PERIWINKLE (Vinca major, V. minor)

Periwinkle is excellent when made into an astringent wash (250 ml (1 cup) herb to 750 ml (3 cups) boiling water) for skin irritations and blemishes. It is an old-fashioned beauty aid, well known for many years. I use the leaves in bath bags to soothe scratches and abrasions after a day in the veld. Fresh, boiled leaves make an excellent wash for cradle cap.

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