In Grow It, Heal It(Rodale, 2013), Christopher Hobbs and Leslie Gardner show how fun, easy, convenient and cost-efficient growing herbs for DIY herbal remedies can be. The following excerpt is a recipe for a pain-relieving cream with cayenne pepper that you apply directly on the skin to alleviate muscle aches and pains. Find more information about cayenne pepper in The Health Benefits of Cayenne Pepper.
Buy this book from the Mother Earth Living store: Grow It, Heal It.
Ginger-Cayenne Heat-Treatment Cream
Here’s help for muscle aches and pains. You can make the infused oil yourself, using the Cayenne- and Ginger-Infused Oil recipe, with 1/2 cup ground or powdered dried ginger and 1/2 cup ground or powdered dried cayenne.
Oil Phase
• 1/2 ounce (2 to 3 teaspoons) beeswax
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 4 tablespoons cayenne- and ginger-infused oil
• 10 to 15 drops wintergreen essential oil (optional, for fragrance and pain-relieving activity)
Water Phase
• 4 tablespoons ginger tea concentrate (as you’d make for a dried tea)
• 2 tablespoons aloe gel
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon washing soda
• 1 teaspoon vitamin C powder
1. Heat the beeswax, coconut oil, and cayenne and ginger-infused oil in a saucepan over medium heat until warm to the touch, but not hot. Add the optional wintergreen essential oil.
2. In another pan, heat the tea concentrate, aloe gel, washing soda, and vitamin C over medium heat until warm to the touch, but not hot. (Both phases should be heated to 160 to 175 degrees.)
3. Place the water phase ingredients in a blender and set it on high. Through the opening in the blender-jar cap, dribble in the oil phase ingredients.
4. When the cream is thoroughly mixed, pour it into jars. Let it cool, cap the jars, label and refrigerate.
Reprinted from Grow It, Heal It: Natural and Effective Herbal Remedies from Your Garden or Windowsill by Christopher Hobbs and Leslie Gardner. Copyright © 2013 by Christopher Hobbs and Leslie Gardner. By permission of Rodale Books. Available wherever books are sold. Buy this book from our store: Grow It, Heal It.