Chamomile and witch hazel are to herbal skin remedies most of us have heard of, but what about comfrey? Comfrey has been has been used as a healing herb, stopping heavy bleeding, healing wounds and bones, and aiding internal ailments, since the times of ancient Greece and Rome.
Info: The comfrey plant, especially the root, contains allantoin, which is also found in the milk of nursing mothers, and helps calm inflammation and speeds up new cell growth. Comfrey also contains Vitamins C and E and Beta-Carotene, which the body converts into Vitamin A, making it a good addition to lotions to keep your skin soft and youthful.
Note: Comfrey was originally used internally to treat internal ailments, coughing, diarrhea, etc., but more recent studies have shown that it should no longer be used in this manner. Comfrey contains hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which can cause severe liver damage. At least one death was the result of ingesting comfrey in extreme amounts.
Comfrey Bonus!: It can be made into a liquid fertilizer for organic gardening.
6 Responses
1
winona
August 14th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
hi there greeting. this is such a nice info you've shared. I love this blog, the template is beautiful
.
2
Becca
August 15th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
That's very interesting. Do you know where one could get this? Sounds like something that would very useful to have around.
I love your layout by the way! and your site in general. I was wondering if you do link exchanges? If not that's fine, I thought I would check though.
3
Stefanie
August 15th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Thank you, winona, I'm glad you like it. I designed the template myself so it's always nice to hear compliments on it!
Becca, Kalyx has comfrey leaf extract
and a comfrey skin poultice
, as well as comfrey in powdered and leaf forms. Skinstore.com has a Sundari comfrey cleanser for Dry Skin
, and MotherNature.com has Country Comfort Salve with comfrey and aloe
.
I actually do link exchanges, but I'm really trying to keep them with sites in the same niche (eco-friendly topics, etc.).
4
Herb Bert
February 17th, 2009 at 10:12 am
I never knew that comfrey can be used as a healing herb.
Aloe Vera also seems to be good for the skin too.
Thank you for this piece of information.
5
Stefanie
March 11th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Herb, aloe is wonderful for the skin!
6
Herbal
August 12th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
The comment about that Comfrey can cause severe liver damage, is only one of the side effects with herbs. The problem is that we don't have in USA or Europe a real medical practice based 100% on nature, and many times people are at risk buying online.