Herbal Stretch Mark Removal

What exactly are stretch marks? These lovely skin stripes, earned in this experience we call life, are generally wavy or curved, and often slightly shimmery; they may be reddish or pale reddish-purple when new, becoming white or pale silver as they mature. The striations appear on the breasts, buttocks, abdomen, thighs, and occasionally lower back and backs of upper arms as a result of rapid weight gain, usually in excess of 20 to 30 pounds, as experienced in pregnancy. Repeated weight gain and loss from yoyo dieting typically leaves skin flabby and scarred by stretch marks. Avid sun worshippers are prone to stretch marks due to the cumulative environmental subsurface skin damage.

The marks appear when the skin’s under lying supportive matrix of fibers has broken down, overstretched, dried out, and torn. They’re generally permanent once they appear, but as a rule they become less noticeable over time. The key to minimizing the potential for stretch marks is to keep skin healthy, hydrated, and elastic by adhering to good dietary and lifestyle habits and observing proper skin care.

If and when you do find yourself gaining weight, for whatever reason, be especially consistent about applying nurturing, skin-compatible herbal oils, salves, or balms to your entire body on a daily basis so that your skin remains supple and moist. Skin that is dry and dehydrated while being constantly stretched and strained is an open invitation for stretch mark formation.

ESSENTIAL SKIN CONDITIONER

Rich, luxurious, and emollient, this oil blend derived from a fruit, a nut, and a seed is highly compatible with human skin. It penetrates readily, nourishing skin from the outside in. Chock-full of essential fatty acids, monounsaturated fats, vitamins (especially vitamin E), minerals, and proteins, this protective formula, applied daily, smoothes and conditions normal to dry skin, promoting elasticity and protecting your skin as it stretches during weight gain. I like to use it as a full-body massage and bath oil during the winter when my skin has a tendency to get super-dry; it leaves me feeling velvety soft.

⅓ cup avocado base oil
⅓ cup jojoba base oil
⅓ cup macadamia nut base oil
1,000 IU vitamin E oil

EQUIPMENT: Glass or plastic storage bottle
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
YIELD: Approximately 1 cup
STORAGE: Store at room temperature, away from heat and light; use within 6 months
APPLICATION: 1 or 2 times per day, or as desired Combine the avocado, macadamia nut, and jojoba oils with the vitamin E oil in a storage bottle. Tightly cap the bottle and shake vigorously. Label and store in a dark cabinet.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
Shake well before using. Once or twice a day, preferably after bathing or showering, massage this oil blend into your skin, from head to toe if you wish, while your skin is still slightly damp (though it can be applied directly to dry skin as well, as it is highly absorptive). Let the oil soak in for at least 5 minutes before getting dressed. The oil should sink right in with no oily residue; if your skin remains oily after 5 minutes, blot off the excess and use less next time. Exfoliate at least twice per week to keep your skin free of the pore-clogging skin-cell buildup that inhibits moisture and oil penetration.

Bonus
This formula is the ultimate conditioning oil for dry, brittle, slowto- grow nails and ragged cuticles. Massage a drop into each nail once or twice daily.

BEE FLEXIBLE SALVE

Rich in emollient, ultra-healing, antiinflammatory, vulnerary, skin-cellregenerating, and slightly astringent extracts of comfrey root, Solomon’s seal root, and myrrh resin, this salve was developed specifically for the prevention of stretch marks accompanied by dry skin irritation. It’s designed to seal in moisture, maintain elasticity, and soothe when slathered onto skin that is stretching due to weight gain. With these properties, it can also be used to soften dry hands and nails, chapped lips, cracked feet, and scaly knees, elbows, and shins. It also helps heal blisters, dry eczema, and dermatitis, and reduces scarring. It makes an excellent protective diaper rash barrier for baby’s bottom.

Note: I prefer to use the stovetop method of extraction for this formula, as I feel that these particular herbs release their best medicinal properties when processed in this manner.

½ cup dried or 1 cup freshly wilted comfrey root
½ cup dried Solomon’s seal root
¼ cup myrrh gum powder
3 cups extra-virgin olive base oil
2,000 IU vitamin E oil
3–4 tablespoons beeswax (depending on how firm you want the salve to be)

EQUIPMENT: 2-quart saucepan or double boiler, stirring utensil, candy or yogurt thermometer, strainer, fine filter, funnel, glass or plastic storage container (for the infused oil), glass or plastic jars or tins (for the salve)
PREP TIME: 6 hours to infuse the oil; 20 minutes to make the salve; 30 minutes for it to thicken
YIELD: Approximately 2½ cups of infused oil and 1¼ cups of salve
STORAGE: Store at room temperature, away from heat and light; use within 1 year
APPLICATION: 1 or 2 times daily, or as desired

PREPARING THE INFUSED OIL:
If using you’re freshly wilted comfrey root, grate or finely chop it to expose more surface area to the oil. Combine the comfrey root, Solomon’s seal root, and myrrh gum powder with the olive base oil in a 2-quart saucepan or double boiler, and stir thoroughly to blend. The mixture should look like a thick, chunky herbal soup. Bring the mixture to just shy of a simmer, between 125° and 135°F. Do not let the oil actually simmer — it will degrade the quality of your infused oil. Do not put the lid on the pot. Allow the herbs to macerate in the oil over low heat for 6 hours. Check the temperature every 30 minutes or so with a thermometer, and adjust the heat accordingly. If you’re using a double boiler, add more water to the bottom pot as necessary, so it doesn’t dry out. Stir the infusing mixture at least every 30 minutes or so, as the herb bits tend to settle to the bottom. After 6 hours, remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes. While the oil is still warm, carefully strain it through a fine-mesh strainer lined with a fine filter such as muslin or, preferably, a paper coffee filter, then strain again if necessary to remove all debris. Squeeze the herbs to extract as much of the precious oil as possible. Discard the marc. Add the vitamin E oil and stir to blend. The resulting infused oil blend will be brownish golden green in color. Pour the finished oil into a storage containers, then cap, label, and store in a dark cabinet.

PREPARING THE SALVE:
Combine 1 cup of the infused oil with the beeswax in a small saucepan or double boiler, and warm over low heat until the beeswax is just melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes, stirring a few times to blend. Pour into glass or plastic jars or tins, cap, label, and set aside for 30 minutes to thicken.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
Once or twice a day, preferably after bathing or showering, massage a judicious amount of this salve into your skin, from head to toe if you wish, while your skin is still slightly damp (though it can be applied directly to dry skin as well, as it is highly absorptive). Let the salve soak in for at least 5 minutes before getting dressed. The salve should sink right in with no greasy residue; if your skin remains oily after 5 minutes, blot off the excess and use less next time. Exfoliate at least twice per week to keep your skin free of the pore-clogging skin-cell buildup that inhibits moisture and oil penetration.

Bonus
In the winter, I’ve been known to use this formula as a nightly eye cream to keep the delicate skin around my eyes soft and lubricated. Plus, this salve can be used as a topical massage agent to aid in mending torn ligaments, severely strained muscles, and bruises.