The Incredible Healing Power of Plants

Recently, I had a serious accident - a big pot of boiling oil spilled and gushed over my hand. I received deep 2nd degree burns over the top and inside surface of my right hand. Thanks to working intimately with herbs since the early 80's, I've seen some pretty wonderful and compelling things - magical healing and miraculous recoveries. So by the time I had returned from the emergency room, I had already decided to rely on plant medicines to treat my burn.

This article is basically a super-quick account of the healing process. It also details the plant medicines I relied on for treatment. Most of these herbs are the same ones that we use to make Grateful Body Skin Care products. I have only one reason for recounting this incident for you . . . to vividly demonstrate the capacity of whole plants to keep your skin healthy, protected and thriving.

This burn experience has been an uncomfortable yet validating journey, because Grateful Body has been preaching the advantage of using whole, vital plants to take care of your skin for over a decade. We are always saying that real skin care is about one thing - infusing the skin with an abundance of authentic, vital nourishment. My badly burned skin has healed well, with almost zero scarring, thanks to that philosophy and a generous community of friends in the plant kingdom.
                                      ~ Shannon, Grateful Body Product Formulator

→ WARNING!   Graphic pictures of burned skin at the bottom of this article!

		With my burned hand, I've got what looks like a giant, charred marshmallow on the end of my arm - it smells like a deep-fried ashtray. (It's my sword hand, so I must be extra aware of ninjas.) In the emergency room they gave me morphine and that was swell but I've already decided that I will treat this burn myself. My main concern now is to prevent infection and to see if I can reduce the inflammation. Several times a day I'm putting big juicy slabs of fresh aloe vera1 on the wound - it's very comforting. I am also using a poultice of the fresh leaves of comfrey2 and plantain3. I mix it in with the aloe, it feels like it's drawing the heat out. Soon, I make a paste with sangre de grado4 - a blood red sap from the Amazon tree - and mix in goldenseal5 and freshly ground turmeric root6 to prevent infection. It doesn't hurt that much now - but that will change. 1 Found in most Grateful Body products    2 In Aphrodite's Feast and most Moisturizers    3 In Hydrating Cleanser and Moisturizer for Normal Skin    4 In Ciao Rosacea & Fungal/Rx    5 In ClearSkin/Rx    6 We use turmeric as a preservative - it's found in most Grateful Body products.

I'm happy to see the bright crimson color fading and the skin is beginning to firm up a little - but it still looks like jabba the hut. I'm still concerned about infection, so I add echinacea5 and tulsi6 (holy basil) to my herbal paste. It's clear that I must work to ease tissue trauma; for this I make a salve of figwort7, burdock8, red clover9, yellow dock10 and plantain11 using borage extract12 as the base. This smells and feels very good and is also helping to stop the very annoying cycle of blisters abruptly appearing, bursting and then discharging various weird fluids. It's a bummer but I'm really grateful for this 'front-seat' view for watching the amazing healing capacity of the skin when appropriately supported. 5 Found in ClearSkin/Rx    6 In Skin Revival    7 In Extra Gentle Cleanser, Aphrodite's Feast & Ciao Rosacea    8 In Hydrating Cleanse & Moisturizer for Dry Skin    9 Hydrating Cleanse, Moisturizers for Normal and Dry Skin & CleanSkin/Rx    10 In Aphrodite's Feast & Moisturizer for Dry Skin    11 In Hydrating Cleanse & Moisturizers    12 In Extra Gentle Moisturizer & Moisturizer for Normal Skin

		There's still some heat radiating from the burn area. I can't even imagine all the different healing processes that must be going on, but if I put my emotional reactions to the side for a little bit, I can get a sense of the vast, instinctual intelligence of the body. But this insight is brief, for it really hurts now - there's a lot of nerve damage to repair. And there's a fair amount of swelling. So swelling and pain are my guides. Before I go to bed I cover it with a new ointment of calendula13 (marigold), white willow bark14 and st. john's wort15 and tightly wrap it. The firmer I wrap my hand the better it feels - just holding it tight is very comforting. I keep daydreaming about lavender, so I add to my schedule a regular application of lavender16, rosemary17 and helichrysum18 essential oils. Just the wafting aroma is enough to heal. 13 Found in Hydrating Cleanse    14 In Supernatural Antioxidant    15 In ClearSkin/Rx    16 In most Grateful Body products    17 In most Grateful Body products    18 Found in the Moisturizers, Ciao Rosacea & Aphrodite's Feast

It's been a challenge, but it's clear the crisis state is over and the pain is almost gone. Now I'm using a concentrated lotion of rosehip seed oil19, meadowsweet oil20 and witch hazel21 with millet seed22, horsetail23, gotu kola24 and marshmallow root25. I carry it around in a little bottle and it really helps to soothe, smooth and lubricate the rapidly healing skin. The skin is very, very thirsty now and absorbs this lotion quickly. I've also made a salve from reishi26 and chaga mushrooms27 to stimulate the skin's immune strength. I feel very lucky to be with Grateful Body, surrounded by all these super-fine plants and oils. And I've had a genuine personal experience - a potent validation - of how effective and healing 'biologically appropriate' and 'whole-plant based' skin care can be. 19 Found in Essential Eye Creme, Sea Cell Serum & Aphrodite's Feast    20 Ciao Rosacea    21 Found in the Cleansers    22 In Skin Revival & Moisturizer for Dry Skin    23 In Deep Cleanse and Enzyme Cleanse    24 In Aphrodite's Feast & Moisturizer for Dry Skin    25 In Hydrating Cleanse & Moisturizer for Normal Skin    26 In Supernatural Antioxidant & Aquative Liquid Moisturizer    27 In Supernatural Antioxidant & Aquative Liquid Moisturizer
Use this code: HEALING20  To get 20% off your complete order.  Visit Grateful Body >>> WARNING: Graphic photos of burned skin shown below <<<