Healthy, Medical, Cure

Most people will have to deal with acne at some point or another, with many people having to deal with it to a significant degree for a significant period of time. What's worse, many of the over-the-counter remedies for pimples do more harm than good. However, you shouldn't let that discourage you from your search for good, natural home remedies for acne.

1. Some people recommend an apple cider vinegar facial application. You simply do a 50/50 mixture of filtered water and apple cider vinegar. Be careful not to apply too much to your face, as vinegar is a drying agent.

2. Some people use sour cream and strawberries on their faces. You simply mix them and you have a nice weekly facial paste.

3. Cucumbers are a classic for skin health. Cucumbers soothe irritated skin and help to keep it from drying out. You simply cut slices out of the cucumbers and apply them for about a half hour to any irritated skin.

4. Green tea bags are a popular natural home remedy for acne. You can drink your green tea and then rinse the tea bags in cold water for use as a half-minute acne application.

5. Honey masks are thought to be natural home remedies for acne and other infections of the skin. It's not known how it works exactly, but many people believe in it enough to put it all over their faces twice per week.

6. Garlic, as you might expect, is commonly used as a natural home remedy for acne. It's a natural antibiotic and has properties that repair and even reduce acne breakouts. Apply fresh garlic to areas where there is acne. Few things get more positive testimonials than garlic. Use this acne natural remedy at bedtime if you'd rather not be walking around during the day smelling like garlic.

7. Rosewater is among the more surprising natural remedies for acne. Two to three washes in rosewater daily is worth a try if you want healthier looking facial skin.

8. Tea tree oil may be directly applied to pimples. Unlike many of the other directly applied natural home remedies, tea tree oil will leave your skin with a nice moisture balance.

You don't have to be a victim of acne. However, if you have severe acne or any other skin conditions, you should consult with your doctor before beginning any topical acne treatment program. For those with mild, but embarrassing acne breakouts, these acne natural treatments may be worth the effort it takes to test each for yourself.

If you suffer from acne, there are acne natural treatments available. Visit Acne-Skin-How.com to find out about a clinically proven step-by-step holistic clear skin success system.

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Copyright © Sherry Ann Smith
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The herb garden is often a separate space in the garden, devoted to growing a specific group of plants known as herbs. These gardens may be informal patches of plants, or they may be carefully designed, even to the point of arranging and clipping the plants to form specific patterns, as in a knot garden.

Herb gardens may be purely functional, or they may include a blend of functional and ornamental plants. The herbs are usually used to flavour food in cooking, though they may also be used in other ways, such as discouraging pests, providing pleasant scents, or serving medicinal purposes (e.g., a physic garden), among others.

A kitchen garden can be created by planting different herbs in pots or containers, with the added benefit of mobility. Although not all herbs thrive in pots or containers, some herbs do better than others. Mint, is an example of herb that is advisable to keep in a container or it will take over the whole garden.

The culinary use of herbs may result in positive medical side-effects. In addition, plants grown within the garden are sometimes specifically targeted to cure common illnesses or maladies such as colds, headaches, or anxiety. During the medieval period, monks and nuns developed specialist medical knowledge and grew the necessary herbs in specialist gardens. Now, especially due to the increase in popularity of alternative medicine, this usage is heavily increasing. Making a medicinal garden however, requires a great number of plants, one for each malady.

Herbs grown in herb gardens are also sometimes used to make herbal teas.

Some popular culinary herbs in temperate climates are to a large extent still the same as in the medieval period.

Examples of herbs used for specific purposes (lists are examples only, and not intended to be complete):

* Annual culinary herbs: basil, dill, summer savory
* Perennial culinary herbs: mint, rosemary, thyme, tarragon
* Herbs used for potpourri: lavender, lemon verbena
* Herbs used for tea: mint, lemon verbena, chamomile, bergamot, Hibiscus sabdariffa (for making karkade).
* Herbs used for other purposes: stevia for sweetening, feverfew for pest control in the garden.

However, herbs often have multiple purposes. For example, mint may be used for cooking, tea, and pest control.

Chrysanthemum tea is a flower-based tisane made from chrysanthemum flowers of the species Chrysanthemum morifolium or Chrysanthemum indicum, which are most popular in East Asia. To prepare the tea, chrysanthemum flowers (usually dried) are steeped in hot water (usually 90 to 95 degrees Celsius after cooling from a boil) in either a teapot, cup, or glass; often rock sugar is also added, and occasionally also wolfberries. The resulting drink is transparent and ranges from pale to bright yellow in color, with a floral aroma. In Chinese tradition, once a pot of chrysanthemum tea has been drunk, hot water is typically added again to the flowers in the pot (producing a tea that is slightly less strong); this process is often repeated several times.
Varieties

Several varieties of chrysanthemum, ranging from white to pale or bright yellow in color, are used for tea. These include:

* Huángshān Gòngjú, literally "Yellow Mountain tribute chrysanthemum"); also called simply Gòngjú
* Hángbáijú, originating from Tongxiang, near Hangzhou; also called simply Hángjú
* Chújú, originating from the Chuzhou district of Anhui
* Bójú, originating in the Bozhou district of Anhui

The flower is called gek huay in Thai. In Tamil it is called saamandhi.

Of these, the first two are most popular. Some varieties feature a prominent yellow flower head while others do not.
Medicinal use

Chrysanthemum tea has many purported medicinal uses, including an aid in recovery from influenza, acne and as a "cooling" herb. According to traditional Chinese medicine the tisane can aid in the prevention of sore throat and promote the reduction of fever. In Korea, it is known well for its medicinal use for making people more alert and is often used to waken themselves. In western herbal medicine, Chrysanthemum tea is drunk and used as a compress to treat circulatory disorders such as varicose veins and atherosclerosis.

In traditional Chinese medicine, chrysanthemum tea is also used to treat the eyes, and is said to clear the liver and the eyes. It is believed to be effective in treating eye pain associated with stress or yin/fluid deficiency. It is also used to treat blurring, spots in front of the eyes, diminished vision, and dizziness. The liver is associated with the element Wood which rules the eyes and is associated with anger, stress, and related emotions.

Commercially available chrysanthemum tea

Although typically prepared at home, chrysanthemum tea is also available as a beverage in many Asian restaurants (particularly Chinese ones), and is also available from various drinks outlets in East Asia as well as Asian grocery stores outside Asia in canned or packed form. Due to its medicinal value, it may also be available at Traditional Chinese medicine outlets, often mixed with other ingredients.

If natural medicine still sounds too alternative for you, here are four things that may help mainstream the concept for you.

It’s not so “out there”

In addition to the 38 percent of all adults in the United States who have tried natural medicine, nearly 12 percent of children have used complementary and alternative (CAM) therapies. Veterinarians use it on pets, too. “It’s not just the fringe anymore,” says Donald B. Levy, MD, medical director of the Osher Clinical Center for Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

“It’s more widespread.” In fact, CAM is considered standard treatment in many European countries (including Germany, which regulates herbs, and France, where hospitals widely use acupuncture), so sometimes alternative treatments new to the States have already been researched and used for years abroad.

It’s a spa thing

Our strong desire to “heal” ourselves with natural medicine has made alternative therapies hot items at spas and resorts. Some treatments may sound like a wacky mix of the scientific and the spiritual—Crystal Bowl Sound Healing (at Rancho La Puerta Fitness Resort and Spa in Baja California) claims to activate alpha waves in the brain; Spirit Flight treatment (at Miraval in Tucson, Arizona) is touted as a blend of energy medicine, full-body massage, acupuncture, craniosacral therapy, and spinal alignment, along with indigenous ceremonial rituals.

But treatments like these are very popular, and an arm of the National Institutes of Health called the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is researching their validity. In fact, you may be able to take part in a clinical trial for an alt med therapy being studied at a university near you. For information, visit the NCCAM’s Web site.