Rough, cracked lips not only feel uncomfortable, but also look unattractive. You can protect your lips from winter's wind and cold and summer's drying heat with a soothing herbal lip balm. The balm I recommend is a good alternative to petroleum oil-based ointment sticks that can dry out your lips more than moisturize them. Indeed, many people complain that lip balm sold in stick form makes their lips even drier, and they find themselves needing more and more of it. Herbal lip balm comes in a tasty selection of flavors, including orange, tangerine, lemon and vanilla. If your lips are very chapped, avoid essential oils that can sting, such as peppermint. Plastic lip-balm containers that snap shut can be purchased in stores that sell back-packing supplies.

 

Fungal skin and nail infections can be extremely annoying—not only are they unsightly and uncomfortable; they are also difficult to eliminate. Ringworm, which causes athlete's foot and occurs most often on the feet, scalp, beard, fingernails and toenails, is one of the best-known, but there are many different types of fungal infections. Jewelweed, garlic, yellow dock, pau d'arco, the lichen usnea and the fresh husk of black walnut all contain compounds that deter fungal growth. (The tinctures of jewelweed and usnea are particularly good, but they are also extremely hard to find.) Many herbs high in essebtial oils are also antifungals, especially tea tree, oregano, lavender, eucalyptus , rose geranium and myrrh. Small amounts of peppermint relieve the itching associated with many fungal infections.

An herbal salve can be used on fungal skin infections, but your best bet is an herbal vinegar and/or a bentonite clay dusting powder to dry out the moist environment in which fungus thrives. Although dabbing a gourmet vinegar on your skin may seem odd, oregano and garlic vinegars make excellent remedies. Vinegar itself directly destroys fungal infections, and its effectiveness is increased by adding eight drops of tea tree essential oil per ounce of vinegar.

My friend Dave found great success using herbs to fight fungal problems. He had a terrible case of athlete's foot, which he thought he had picked up at the gym. He tried various pharmaceutical preparations, but they brought only temporary relief. After a few days, these preparations always made his feet burn and feel worse than the athlete's foot itself. Because his feet were so raw and because herbal vinegar stung, he used a salve containing tea tree and lavender essential oils. At first, his feet did not look any better, but they certainly felt better—much better, in fact. It took only a few days for the crusty rings to start subsiding. Dave still needs to use the salve  every once in a while when the athlete's foot flares up again, but he says that the attacks are happening less often. Part of the reason for this may be his discovery that it helps to wear shoes that keep the feet well-ventilated and as dry as possible. He also noticed that the fungal infection becomes worse whenever life becomes stressful.