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Chamomile

Comfrey

Witch hazel

You probably know that chamomile tea helps calm the nervous system. But did you know these delicate, daisylike flowers are just as soothing for the skin? Many skin care products rely on chamomile extract to cool sunburn, heal skin afflictions such as eczema, and rejuvenate aging skin.

This herb has been a premier skin healer since the time of ancient Greece, when comfrey root poultices were the treatment of choice for wounds.

This traditional, inexpensive home remedy helps with dry skin, sunburn, hemorrhoids, and more. The pungent, clear liquid sold in pharmacies is the steam-distilled product of the witch hazel shrub’s leaves and bark.

Details: Chamomile flowers contain high concentrations of an essential oil with bisabolol, a compound that heals and protects the skin in several ways: It relieves inflammation, calms irritation, and fights bacteria. The flowers are also rich in apigenin, a potent antioxidant that reduces inflammation, protects skin from free radical damage, and helps repair injured skin cells.

Details: This garden plant contains allantoin, a compound that calms inflammation and stimulates new skin-cell growth. You’ll find allantoin in skin soothers meant for dry skin, diaper rash, blemishes, and sunburn. Midwives often recommend an herbal sitz bath made from comfrey to help heal vaginal tissue following childbirth.

Details: Tannins and volatile oils in witch hazel calm inflammation and reduce swelling. The FDA has approved witch hazel as an over-the-counter drug—rare for an herbal remedy. Dozens of skin care products, first-aid salves, and hemorrhoid preparations rely on witch hazel’s healing astringency.

Notes: Comfrey traditionally was used internally. More recently, scientists discovered that chemicals in comfrey called pyrrolizidine alkaloids can cause severe liver damage. For this reason, comfrey should not be used internally. Don’t worry about using comfrey externally because minimal absorption (if any) occurs via the skin.