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Growing Herbs for your Home Spa

June 27, 2005 — Herb gardening is traditionally thought of as something to be used in the culinary arts, but small gardens can be a resource for beauty treatments as well. Herbal treatments are standard in most luxury spas, so interest is growing in using herbs at home. You also can enjoy beauty treatments made from plants grown from your garden. And while herbs can be grown year 'round, summertime is an especially good time to use some plants you may already have in your yard.

Kim Kozimor, a Garden Designer and Container Gardener Specialist has some tips on how to assemble an Herb Container, including advice on specific herbs to select for home treatments. Gretchen Halpin of Chicago-based Soothe Your Senses Aromatherapy has some spa treatment recipes to create at home. using these herbs after the season.

Soothe Your Senses turns herb gardening into a spa event. Herb gardening is traditionally thought of as something to be used in the culinary arts. But as Day Spas are becoming increasingly popular, people are trying to find ways to continue those spa experiences at home. Kim Kozimor says a sunny location is best for an herb garden. South facing is best. Herbs like humidity. This can be provided by placing the herbs on a tray filled with pebbles and water so that the water evaporates around the herbs but the pots never sit in the water. When the soil is dry an inch or two below the surface, it's time to water the pots thoroughly. The best time to harvest herbs is in the morning. Sunlight and heat deteriorate the herb's essential oils, so avoid harvesting at midday. Select only healthy undamaged shoots for harvesting. Find a warm, dry place to hang the herbs. Tie the stalks together and hang the bundles upside down to dry.

Let's start with the Rose Geranium. Rose Geranium has been long used for its balancing and uplifting properties. Not only is it calming and relaxing making it a wonderful addition to many skin care products but its anti-inflammatory and mildly anti-bacterial properties make it effective and beneficial for a range of skin conditions and complexions. I highly recommend Rose Geranium as a facial steam for someone who may have problem skin. It will naturally reduce redness and puffiness of blemishes and pull out impurities from your skin. Simply boil a pouch of Rose Geranium in a pot of water, discard the herbs, and covering your head with a towel over a bowl of hot water - enjoy the steam and the results. You can use any of these herbs fresh cut or dry them out for winter use.

Next - Rosemary. In folklore it was said "Where rosemary thrive - woman rule". So, ladies this one is for you. Rosemary has great healing properties in helping reduce headaches. You can just put some rosemary in a pouch beneath your pillow to help relieve a headache. As a spa treatment, rosemary is best known as a hair? treatment. It helps eliminate dandruff and dry scalp by increasing blood circulation to the skin. As a hair treatment for dried scalp. Put about 1/4 cup of rosemary in the bottom of a bottle and pour olive oil on top. Let it sit for 24 hours so the rosemary infuses the oil. Then massage a small amount into the scalp after shampooing.

Okay now Sage - Sage is wonderful for pulling toxins out of the body and helps reduce swelling. We've combined sage with coarse natural sugar and olive oil to create a wonderful foot scrub. The sage will help calm the feet and reduce swelling. The sugar will aide in exfoliation and the olive oil with moisturize. Scrub your feet with this potion and you'll feel like you've just had a pedicure.

Lavender is a very common calming herb and is wonderful to help reduce stress and anxiety. Here we simply wrapped our lavender in cheesecloth. Steeped it just as you would a tea bag. Let it cool to tepid and you can place it on your eyes for a quick spa treatment. Your eyes will be relaxed and renewed and so will your senses. If you like the idea of Healing Herbs in your spa treatments, Sooth Your Senses offers a complete line of aromatherapy products already packaged. You may purchase Soothe Your Senses Aromatherapy Products in boutiques across Chicago in addition to on-line retailers. Or if you have specific questions, you can meet Gretchen at the Veg Out Event on July 9 at Unique So Chique 4600 North Magnolia, Chicago. Container Gardening Classes by Kim are held at Botanicals Inc.

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