| My anecdotal experience |
It’s the very beginning of July as I sit to curate this blog onto my computer. Here in Northern California it is hot, dry and very sunny. The perfect time to find our favorite water haunts to cool not only our bodies, but our minds and souls as well.
As I water my plants each morning I glance at my Helichrysum plant I bought recently from my local herbal nursery. Content with the heat I still make sure her pot is watered well and take a whiff of her rich honey-like scent.
I didn’t always like the smell of Helichrysum; at first sniff I thought she was strong and a bit too overwhelming. I thought I’d never like her scent.
But I was interested in her because I had, at that particular time in my life, learned that she was helpful for healing scars.
I have many scars on my body from being a human, child and adult alike. Some I do not mind and some I tend to feel self-conscious about. I wanted to find natural remedies for healing the skin and reducing scars. It wasn’t from any research I had done though that brought me to this plant. It was a friend who mentioned her name in passing when we were discussing how to heal and reduce the appearance of scars.
Over the years I have always kept a bottle of the essential oil close by. It is expensive oil, but one worth having in your essential oils medicine chest. I love to use it in botanical perfume recipes and skin healing salves and oils.
If you don’t want to spend a lot of money on the essential oil or if you prefer to not use essential oils, no worries! One of the amazing things about the plant world is you can decide in what form to use plants that will serve you in the best possible way. Simply work with the whole blooms, preferably grown by you or someone in your community.
There is a question of sustainability when it comes to the massive scale in the harvesting and distilling of plant matter. There is much to be said on this subject but perhaps that will be a blog post of its own. I will leave you with the simple fact that using the whole plant gives you access to these essential oils without having to use distillation.
You can extract the aromatics and all the qualities of the blooms and leaves into teas herbal baths, facial steams, oil infusions and through tincturing.
| Helichrysum Herb |
Helichrysum is an herb of the Sun and is in the Asteraceae family, the Sunflower Family. The word Helichrysum comes from the Greek words Helios meaning Sun and Chryos meaning Gold. The flowers of this Sun Gold botanical do not wither but keep their shape, size and scent! This gives us many clues to its medicinal and beauty uses.
Immortelle is a native to central and southern Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, Poland, Turkey and the former U.S.S.R. but she also is grown widely in North America. She grows in full sun and loves sandy soil. She can be found growing from sea level to over 5,000ft! Wow! We haven’t even gotten to her medicinal uses but already we can see that she is tenacious, strong and everlasting!
The blooms have been infused into wine and oil for thousands of years for medicinal purposes. The leaves are used like rosemary in cooking.
Helichrysum essential oil can be steam distilled or solvent extracted creating an absolute. Absolutes extract aromatic molecules that do not come across in steam distillation so you get a slightly different aromatic profile with the two extracts. Keep that in mind if you are buying the essential oil.
Some of the main species used for distillation include, H. angustifolium, H. italitcum, H. stoechas, H. gymnocephalum, H. plicatum, H. arenarium, H. decumbens, and H. graveolens.
Let’s dive into how she helps us with her botanical goodness.
| Helichrysum Medicine |
Immortelle likes to grow in hot dry climates. This indicates that she is helpful in treating conditions of heat in the body and indeed she does. Internally Immortelle modulates inflammation making it a great ally for muscle and joint pain especially of the hips and back. She clears catarrh and aides in respiratory infections including the ears, nose and throat, with her anti-microbial, decongestant and expectorant properties. In this light she is great for allergies and also asthma.
She stimulates the liver and gallbladder helping to move heat and calm the mind and emotions. Stimulating the flow of bile, one is better able to digest the fats in the diet. This stimulation also helps the digestion overall as everything you ingest eventually goes to the liver. If the liver is in tiptop shape, the foods you eat are better digested, assimilated and dispersed around the body in the form that is needed.
Topically Helichrysum is used for staunching bleeding and for the cleaning and healing of wounds, especially from incisions from surgery or the like. She has cicatrizing, or scar forming properties and is a great remedy for scars, burns and age spots. A compress can be used where there is hematoma present to reduce inflammation and bruising. Her anti-inflammatory and skin healing properties make Helichrysum very effective and useful for skin rashes, psoriasis, eczema and rosacea. Use regularly for old scars and stretch marks and to reduce broken capillaries.
Immortelle is antioxidant and also has shown anti-carcinogenic, antibiotic and antimicrobial activity. She is surly a beautiful and useful plant to grow in your home garden!
| Helichrysum Spiritual + Emotional |
Immortelle shares some common active constituents with Frankincense and Cannabis which our ancient ritualistic ancestors used to induce trance states, a mind shift very much sought for ritual and prayer.
You can easily bring this ancient tool to the modern world by anointing the body before prayer or ritual with Immortelle or a blend of herbs to set the meditative mood for magickal/religious workings. Make notes on the difference of when you use this herb or blend and when you do not for this purpose. I’d love to hear your comments!
She has the capacity to heal emotional wounds and brings joy where it was before lacking. Using her in flower essence form may be a great way to help one move through old emotional trauma helping to heal emotional scars, low states of mental stability and overall lack of joy in life. She is a comforting hug, a constant companion when needed. Helichrysum is said to harmonize shen or spirit. In Traditional Chinese Medicine a healthy mental state is described as harmonized shen.
It cannot be over encouraged to strive towards a healthy and stable state of emotional and mental acuity. If you feel you have had trouble connecting into your spiritual self, Helichrysum is a great botanical to work with to facilitate a reconnection and deep healing.
| In Conclusion |
Helichrysum is a potent botanical with strong healing and beautifying capabilities. You’ll find Helichrysum growing in many places around the world and up to 5,000 ft. in elevation. Each environment produces slightly different constituent content. Her tenacity to thrive in harsh climates and dry soil conditions are signatures of her ability to keep us thriving after we’ve been exposed to less than perfect conditions.
She has been used by some cultures for altering ones mindset to such a degree that is conducive to meditation, prayer and ritual. Helichrysum shares these trance inducing plant constituents with Frankincense and Cannabis.
There are many ways one can use Helichrysum for health and beauty. From her fresh or dried blooms, to her essential oil and hydrosol, she covers much healing ground when used consistently for the purpose of healing. She is best known for her scar and age spot reducing qualities but Helichrysum does so much more!
She is a botanical well worth getting to know better. Grow her in your garden, wild harvest her if she grows around your area and it is ethical and healthy to do so. Spend time with her in prayer or ritual and see what other messages she will share with you. Allow her to revive your spirit, soothe past trauma and help you see the joy in the life that you live!
~
Botanical Bath Recipe
Use botanical baths to ease skin conditions, increase circulation and reduce inflammation. To make a potent bath gather the following:
+ ¼ cup of dried or ½ cup fresh blooms
+ Fresh water
+ A medium saucepan
To prepare your herbal bath fill your medium pot almost full with fresh water. Set on the stove to boil. When it has come to a boil turn off the heat and add the blooms. Cover and let steep for 5-7 minutes. Strain. Add this tea to your bath and enjoy. Feel free to add other botanicals if you wish to cater to your specific needs. You can also adjust the amount of botanicals you use if you want a stronger bath.
Botanical Body Oil
You can make infused oil with Helichrysum herb. Use this body oil to help reduce muscle, joint and neurological pain and to heal the skin of sunspots, scars and to heal wounds. You can add essential oils for added benefits or leave them out. To make a potent infused oil gather the following:
+ Oil of your choice, Olive or Jojoba work well
+ Enough dried Helichrysum herb to fill a quart jar with about an inch of room on the top
+ Helichrysum essential oil (if desired)
+ Vitamin E oil
+ Quart jar
+ Cheesecloth or other fine mesh strainer
Fill the jar with your herb or blend of herbs leaving about an inch of space at the top. Pour oil over to cover. You want the oil to cover the herbs so if the herbs start to float pour more oil in. Cover and let sit in a sunny window for 2-3 weeks shaking regularly.
Strain the herbal mixture with cheesecloth or other fine mesh strainer. At this point you may add your essential oils. To make a 3% dilution, add 18 drops per oz. of oil. Add 6 drops of Vitamin E for every ounce of oil to preserve the shelf life of your oil. Label well and store in a cool dry place. This oil should keep for up to one year.
Helichrysum Healing Body Oil by Moon Wise Herbals
Moon Wise Herbals’ Helichrysum Healing Body Oil was intentionally curated to bring you the best in healing body oils. Lovingly made with all organic oils and aromatics so you can rest assured you are building up and making your skin healthier. Ingredients include Helichrysum herb, Roses, Olive oil, Jojoba oil, Apricot oil and Helichrysum and Rose essential oils. Find this oil and others in the Apothecary shop!
Post questions and comments below. I’d love to hear from you and be of help if needed.
To your Health, Wellness + Joy,
Rachel
References
- Peterson, Dorene. Immortelle Essential oil and Extract: Are two preparations better than one. Journal of American Herbalist Guild, 2015.
- American Botanical Council online article, https://herbalgram.org/resources/herbalgram/issues/105/table-of-contents/hg105-feat-helichrysum/
- National Library of Medicine online article; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9957194/
- Battaglia, Salvatore, The Complete Guide to Aromatherapy, The International Centre of Holistic Aromatherapy, 2nd Ed., 2003.