Beauty Benefits of Peppers

Beauty Benefits of Peppers

Peppers come in all sizes, shapes and colors and we love them all. This time of year many of them are ripe and you can find a wide variety at farmers markets. Peppers even come in different flavors from sweet to hot. But you’ve been wondering, haven’t you; what are the beauty benefits of peppers?

Nutrients found in Peppers:

Peppers are high in:

Vitamin A, a nutrient that is important in cellular turnover in the skin.

Vitamin C which is important for production of collagen. In fact, one bell pepper provides more than your daily minimum requirement for vitamin C.

Antioxidants such as flavonoids that help repair cellular damage in the skin.

Vitamin B6 or pyridoxine which is important in neurological health. Deficiencies in vitamin B6 are linked to dermatitis and some types of cancer.

Any of these properties not only make peppers a good food to eat for healthy skin but you can also use peppers mashed on the face for a food facial, a good farm to skin treat! To see more about how to use food in a facial see Farmers Market Peach Facial. I wouldn't use a hot pepper for a facial though.

Hot peppers contain capsaicin, and related compounds called capsacinoids.  This is the family of chemicals that cause the heat in a hot pepper. Capsaicin and the related capsacinoids are analgesic, meaning they have pain relieving qualities even though they are also an irritant. The capsacinoids appear to affect the nerves that signal pain. It has been used to relieve the pain of arthritis, psoriasis, diabetic neuropathy, shingles and more. You can find topical ointments that contain capsaicin, or you can make your own compress or poultice from hot peppers. However, do not use on broken skin, near the eyes or near mucus membranes.

To make a pepper poultice or compress for a sore back or joints follow these instructions:

Poultice

Grind one hot pepper (jalapeno or other) in a food processor. Add a teaspoon or so of oil (olive or other) to get a good consistency.

Wet a rag or cloth bandage in the hot pepper mixture and lay on skin or wrap around if it is a joint area. Leave on as long as necessary. You can also wrap this in plastic wrap to keep in place and keep off of furniture.

Compress

A compress is very similar but instead of applying the mashed pepper to the skin you are using more of a tea or extract soaked in the pepper extract. The most common way of doing this with hot pepper is to make a vinegar of cayenne.

Add 1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper to 8 oz of cider vinegar. For this you can use dried, powdered cayenne or a fresh hot pepper that has been mashed.

Boil, then simmer on low heat for 5-10 minutes.

Soak a rag or bandage in this vinegar and apply to skin. Again, you can cover this with plastic wrap to keep it from seeping out.

Remove if it becomes too hot or uncomfortable to the skin.

For more on the science of how hot peppers help with pain read this from Science Daily.  

 or

Capsaicin to Reduce Pain, Clinical Pain Advisor

Beneficial Ingredients for Skin Care

What to look for in skin care.

I get tired of all the negative press skin care products get and hearing about what should not be in there. Lets look at the beneficial ingredients of skin care and what you should be looking for on your label. Here are a few. 

Natural Vegetable oils. I think it’s better to have natural vegetable oils in a skin care product because they offer the skin a variety of necessary fatty acids that the skin needs to maintain its barrier function. Good vegetable oils include olive oil, meadowfoam oil, rice bran oil, avocado oil and more.

Water. Water is an important part of a moisturizer because only water can moisturize. An all oil product helps hold in water and softens the skin but it of course cannot add water or moisture to the skin.

Preservative. Preservative free is a big trend now but just like food, anything you keep for more than a day or so requires preserving.  You can make a nice bowl of soup using fresh ingredients from your garden and it tastes great when you make it. But you would never leave it on your dresser and take a bite each night for the next few months. A non-preserved skin care product that you might make at home such as a mask is great to use immediately, but it needs to be preserved if you are not planning to use it up within a few days. It is just not safe to use an unpreserved product and you are putting yourself at risk for an infection.

Something extra.  There are many extras for skin care products from humectants to herb extracts and higher end ingredients such as peptides. Depending on what you want from your product you might want to look for these.

Humectants. Does your product contain a humectant? Something that binds water? This could be glycerin, hyaluronic acid, honey or caprylyl glycol. 

Vitamins. Vitamins are popular in cosmetics and might include vitamin E, vitamin B, vitamin C and vitamin A. Vitamin C is unstable and so is often found as vitamin C ester. Vitamin A is often masked in another oil that is high in vitamin A such as parsley, pumpkin or calendula flower extracts. These vegetable sources of vitamin A are actually a provitamin A called carotenoids. Vitamin B has several family members seen in skin care products including Vitamin B3 (niacin) often seen as niacinamide and Vitamin B5 or pantothenic acid. Vitamin B deficiency can result in redness, irritation, dermatitis and hyperpigmentation.

Peptides. Peptides are made in a lab but made by green chemistry meaning they it does not use or produce hazardous substances. 

Read your labels and look for something extra in your skin care. Natural skin care products can and should contain actives. And if you can't pronounce it, just ask - its not an indicator of toxicity.

Dandelion and Dock

Dandelion and Dock Roots

Getting areas ready to plant means taking out some things. both Dandelion and Dock are prolific on my farm and I try to control them by digging the roots and using them. 

Yellow dock (Rumex crispus)

Yellow Dock is a weed found in many pastures. It is also known as curly dock because the leaves have undulating egdes. It is edible and sometimes eaten as a potherb but it is the deep taproots that have medicinal properties. Its main use is as a laxative due to the anthraquinones found in it such as emodin and chrysophanol. But has also been used to improve the absorption of minerals and the help a headache.

Yellow dock is a purifying tonic and so can be used topically for a number of skin conditions. It has anti-inflammatory and anti-itch properties. Although it is most widely used for acne it has also been used for eczema, psoriasis, rash, boils, and abscesses and to calm irritated skin. It is said to improve blood flow (a good thing for most conditions). Because of tyrosinase inhibitors dock could potentially decrease age spots on the skin.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

The word Dandelion means ‘lions tooth’ referring to the jagged edges on the leaf. There are many similarities between dock and dandelion in that they are both detoxifiers and great for skin care including acne. Dandelion is also a pot herb (cooked) and the raw leaf can be used as a salad green. The flower is used to make wine and fritters and we’ve made coffee substitute from the roots before. The herb is very nutritious and a source of vitamins A, B, C, and D, as well as minerals such as iron, potassium, and zinc.

Dandelion is both a laxative and a diuretic (increasing urination to decrease water content of the body and thus decrease blood pressure). It has been used to detoxify the liver and gallbladder and to help decrease a headache.  In skin care it has been used to treat acne, eczema and psoriasis. It is antiinflammatory and an antioxidant. It has an effect on the cells of the dermis to strengthen that layer of skin. Many herbalists recommend it for breast health and medical science is looking at the possibility of dandelion to inhibit cancer cell growth.

Don’t plant dandelion or dock though; come to my place and dig them up if you need some; both spread wildly!

10 Skin Care Tips

Skin Care doesn't have to be complicated. Here are 10 tips to better skin.

1. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated

2. Eat foods rich in vitamin C, vitamin A and antioxidants – that means fruits and vegetables!

3. Apply lotion/cream or oil to the skin after getting out of the shower while the skin is still damp.

4. Don’t overwash. Excess soap/detergents and hot water can dry the skin. Handcrafted soaps are generally mild enough to use frequently. Focus on washing underarms and genitals since they contain apocrine glands which secrete a type of sweat that can lead to rancid odors.

5. Get occasional massages as they help move blood and lymph.

6. Exercise regularly.

7. Examine your skin regularly for abnormal moles as well as for scratches, scrapes or sores. If you have an abnormal mole, get it checked out right away by a dermatologist. If you have persistent sore that doesn’t heal, get it checked out by a dermatologist.

8.  Treat very dry itchy skin with a salt scrub in the shower or add a tablespoon of bath oil to your bath.

9. Be sure to use a product with an oil containing linoleic acid; these include evening primrose oil,  pumpkin seed, grapeseed, hemp, raspberry seed, rice bran oil, rosehip seed, safflower, sesame, soy, and sunflower.

10. Drink Green Tea. Studies show that antioxidants in green tea can help protect collagen, decrease the risk of skin cancer and help prevent UV damage.

Comfrey Uses

Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) is one of those herbs that if you have it, you’ll have alot of it; it is very easy to grow and reproduces rapidly.  It is one herb that is still going strong now after the frost. Studies have found that comfrey contains an alkaloid which is toxic to the liver. Most plants however contain both toxins and beneficial chemicals that balance each other out. I’d advice not taking comfrey orally on a daily basis, but occasionally when the need arises I’ve drank comfrey tea.

What can you do with comfrey?

Skin Care:

Make an oil infusion of the leaves or root. Comfrey stimulates cell growth and can help renew skin cells. Comfrey contains allantoin, a chemical that helps skin grow.  You might find this ingredient on the label of a high quality face cream. An infused oil of comfrey is nice in a bath/body oil too.

For Pain:

Comfrey works well for pain relief and an infused oil can be incorporated into a balm used for that purpose. We use it in our Joint Jam. Compresses of comfrey are also good for back pain.

Wounds:

Because it stimulates cell growth it is excellent for treating wounds on the skin as well as sprains and broken bones. Use comfrey on wounds as a poultice or an infusion. Comfrey also decreases inflammation. Use comfrey teas or infusions in the bath. Teas of comfrey are also drank to increase bone growth after a break.

In the Garden

The large leaves of comfrey are great for use as mulch, but comfrey’s most important role is in the compost heap. Its high mineral and nitrogen content will benefit compost. You can also make a tea from comfrey for the garden. If you have comfrey growing at this time of year, be sure to harvest and put it in the compost.

Animals

Comfrey is rich in both minerals and protein and makes a good livestock feed. Because of its abundance I’ve given it to my chickens, goats and horses. It’s recommended to at least let it wilt slightly before feeding it to animals so the prickly hairs do not bother them. If you have grazing animals it is great to cut your comfrey for them at this time of year when grass is not abundant for grazing.

This blog is part of a Blog Hop by Possum Creek Herb Farm in Tennessee. Stop by their blog to find other herb posts:
http://possumcreekherbfarm.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-love-of-herbsblog-hop.html