In the witch's kitchen: St. John's wort herbal oil for sunburn

With the beginning of summer and the holiday season, it's not too late to prepare a simple two-ingredient medicinal oil. When applied 2-3 times a day, this effectively reduces the unpleasant symptoms of mild sunburn and soothes the skin. (Warning! It does not prevent further sunburn.)

In sunny weather - following the basic rules of herb collection (you can read more about them here) - pick 10-12 stems, it is not necessary to use longer stems now, we will only use the flowers.

Don't forget to shake out the small beetles from the lush inflorescences before collecting. Since St. John's wort grows in scattered groups, always leave 3-4 stems so as not to disturb too much the life of the insects that come to feed there.

There are several subspecies of St. John's wort, or bellflower as it is called in Transylvania, with almost the same effect. To identify it, if you are not experienced in this, use a plant identifier in BOOK form and check it with a plant identifier application in addition to it (not instead of it). (Plantnet has worked for me so far). You can find more information about St. John's wort in this article here.

For the herbal oil, prepare the following:

- sterilized 2 deciliter bottles (feel free to reuse those that have been emptied in the household)

- almond or olive oil

- freshly picked St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum)

The preparation is time-consuming, but not a big effort. The steps for this:

1. Dry the freshly picked flower heads outdoors, but not in the hot sun, in a place protected from the wind - on the day of picking. I usually spread them out in a single layer on an old bedsheet.

2. The next day, put the flower heads in the jars and pour the oil over them until the plant is all covered. Close the jar with a screw cap and place it on a sunny windowsill.

3. Shake it every 2-3 days. If the oil does not cover the flowers, refill it.

4. After 4 weeks, you can filter it into sterile jars and, if you keep it in the refrigerator, you can use it for 3 months.

Feel free to contact me for individual herbal advice- Holistic Therapeutic Recommendation!

Important! Making a diagnosis based on symptoms indicating a disease is a medical task. Even in the case of an existing medical diagnosis, the information on this page does not constitute treatment recommendations. In all cases, please seek the opinion of your doctor!