Two weeks ago, we talked about a study done on thyme that showed it to be superior to benzoyl peroxide in treating the bacteria that causes acne. SO many of you were elated at the thought, and many of you vowed to do the experimenting yourself – to see if it worked on you.
To date, two of you have checked in to tell us how it’s going. If you’ve been experimenting and haven’t checked in … YOOHOO? WHERE ARE YOU? Probably too busy admiring your gorgeous visage. Ah, such are the perils of crunchy beauty.
After this pretty picture, we’ll read the two “check-in” comments, but then you’ll find out just what else thyme can do for you (and it’s pretty cool).
“WOW. I made the toner (and added a little rose hydrosol) and it is working. I had an epic month-long breakout on my chest that would NOT clear up. Been using the toner night and morning for a week and it’s almost gone. THANK YOU.” – LFB
There’s one check-in comment! Thank you, LFB. Of note, it turns out that rose is actually a bit anti-inflammatory itself, so the addition of rose hydrosol is a GREAT way to sneak in a little more healing power. And I bet rose and thyme smell simply heavenly when combined. Mmmm.
“Trying a dried thyme / pure witch hazel mixture. It’s not preventing my awful acne BUT it’s drying them up and soothing the inflammation. The witch hazel is continuing to make my skin over-produce oil, but not to a really bad extent. Thumbs up from me!” – NMG
NMG checked in with this comment 6 whole days ago, so I’m REALLY curious to see how it’s going by now. NMG, if you’re out there, let us know. Also? What’s the deal with the two of you using three letters as your usernames. Funny.
Anyway, NMG’s comment is extra interesting, in the face of what we’ll learn about thyme today: It’s not just incredibly antimicrobial and antibacterial, it’s also a superior anti-inflammatory (double kudos to it for helping SOOTHE the discomfort of inflamed acne, then, too)!
Thyme Is Your Anti-Inflammatory Friend
After the Thyme for Acne post, I’ve found myself – for some inexplicable reason – completely obsessed with thyme. I keep pinching off leaves and chowing down on them, smiling with little green flecks stuck in my teeth for my neighbors to enjoy.
But, more importantly, I’ve been reading everything I can about this super-powered herb. And this particular bit of knowledge, I think, will help YOU out immensely!
You’ve heard of COX-2 inhibitors, right? They’re a form of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory) that suppress the COX-2 enzyme in our bodies, which is a huge culprit of inflammation and pain. Celebrex is a COX-2 inhibitor, and Vioxx was, as well, before it was pulled from the market for having really terrible cardiovascular side effects.
Well, it turns out that the natural, graceful, ever-fragrant herb, THYME, also exhibits COX-2 inhibiting effects. Like, superbly. In one study, researchers found this.
Check it:
So, [the researchers] screened a wide range of commercially available oils and identified six (thyme, clove, rose, eucalyptus, fennel and bergamot) that reduced COX-2 expression in cells by at least 25%. Of these, thyme oil proved the most active, reducing COX-2 levels by almost 75%.”
Now, unfortunately, we won’t be given “studied” ways to easily incorporate this knowledge into our daily lives – so it’s up to us to experiment and see what works for each of us INDIVIDUALLY, if so desired.
But here are some ideas of ways you could try out thyme to see if it helps with your inflammation and pain. Speaking of which, in times past, thyme was considered to be analgesic (and this study suggests there’s a lot of truth to that) – not just anti-inflammatory. Isn’t it just … divine?
Getting the Most Out Of Your Thyme
Sooo, if it’s not clear already, thyme really seems to be a superb choice if you want to experiment with your own acne remedies. It’s antimicrobial, antibacterial, antiinflammatory, and potentially analgesic, which solves just about all your acne problems.
Not to say that it’ll cure you completely, because … well … do cure-alls really exist? Of course note. But it may very well help.
However, if acne isn’t your problem, but you want to get the most out of your thyme, here are a couple of other ideas to utilize it in your personal health explorations:
If chronic inflammation is an issue …
- … like arthritis or other minor inflammatory problems … maybe you could try adding thyme into your diet each day? If nothing else, sneak some into a green smoothie whenever you can!
For a sore throat …
- Perhaps you could take some time now (or closer to autumn) to infuse some raw honey with thyme – and sage! Then, take a teaspoon whenever you’re afflicted, or add it to a yummy healing tea.
For minor wounds, like scrapes and scratches …
- Maybe you could try infusing a few tablespoons of organic dried thyme in twice as much rubbing alcohol (i.e. 2 Tbsp dried time in 4 Tbsp rubbing alcohol) for two weeks. Use this concoction to swab minor wounds, for extra anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.
For sore muscles or bruises
- Create a soothing salve/balm like this one, only add thyme to your mixture of herbs or flowers.
For gum health ..
- If you have issues with gum inflammation, thyme could prove very helpful. After you’re done brushing, add 1 drop of thyme essential oil into 1/4 c. water. Swish and spit. See if it helps! (P.S. I don’t recommend swallowing, but thyme oil in very small amounts is “Generally Recognized As Safe” to ingest.) FYI? Listerine actually includes thymol, one of the most active constituents in thyme. Now you can get the benefits without the harmful daily gum exposure to alcohol and other untoward ingredients.
Just a Few Ideas … Can You Think Of More?
So today in the comments, I ask of you two things:
- Have you tried the thyme tincture (or other ideas) for acne and blemishes yet? If so, how is it going?
- Can you think of any other natural ways to incorporate thyme into your routine to utilize its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties? Ideas on how to create recipes around thyme?
Foolproof Homemade Mayonnaise – Full of Super Secrets
Hi. I’ve a cough for months now so I started drinking thyme tea. The cough is much less but not gone. However, I noticed after a couple days that my arthritis pain is gone! It completely surprised me. I’m back out walking again after 4 months of barely being able to walk at times. I’m thrilled!!! Drinking a cup now every day to keep me going.
I was thinking about using baking soda and thyme as a face wash, But i was wondering if you think that it might work.
Since finding this article an overwhelming sense of hope has washed over me! I’m trying a mix of dried and fresh thyme with witch hazel. I’m debating whether it should be refrigerated or not since I’m adding fresh thyme…
Also, I found a recipe online for a thyme toner (http://www.skincaretalk.com/t/13430/making-my-own-thyme-antiseptic-toner) I made some personal adjustments for a smaller batch and added some ingredients: 2oz organic soy milk; 1 1/4 aspirin; 1/2 tbsp baking soda; 1tbsp fresh thyme; 1 oz pure aloe vera gel. I had some left over after putting it in the bottle so I smeared it all over my face and am trying it as a mask too. 😛 I’ll let you know how it goes!
I tried an infusion of sesame seed oil with dried thyme and have applied it two nights now to some persistent acne near my chin. It seems less inflamed and I like that it doesn’t look dry and irritated like it does after benzyl peroxide treatment. Thank you for the tip:)
I just wanted to come back to this topic and mention that the witch hazel did end up being too drying for my face, but I wanted to keep trying the thyme. So, I used distilled water and made some very strong thyme tea from fresh, organic thyme that I picked myself.
It’s making a huge difference!!! I’m keeping it in the fridge, and I use it as a toner right before bed and I also use it as a quick clean up first thing in the morning (I’m usually up early to work out and don’t clean my face until after the sweating is done). I’m not clear yet, but I’m able to wear less make-up and hope to see this continue to improve things.
I’m so looking into this. I have a crochet injury. (No, really.) The docs I work for have recommended 800 mg of ibuprofen 3 times a day. YIKES! Thyme, however, sounds much more reasonable. Lemme see if I can eat enough…
I made a thyme/witch hazel toner and I’ve been using it at bedtime for 3 weeks now. I’ve seen improvement in my acne but it’s not totally gone. Here’s my blog post about it: http://nearlynaturalnicole.blogspot.com/2012/07/thyme-tincture-for-blemishes.html#
I’ve been using a tea I brewed with dried thyme on my face as a toner in the mornings, mixed with some ACV to keep it fresh. My nasty-face is turning into happy-face. THANK JOO, CRUNCHY BETTER. 🙂
*Betty, not better. Wow, how embarrassing. XD;
I’m infusing thyme into the coconut oil I’ll be using for my deodorant. It’s not quite done yet, so I can’t report on the success of the project, but it smells nice!
I’ve been using the dried thyme/witch hazel toner for two weeks now. At first I used it for both my face and body, as I have acne on my chest, arms and back. I have dry skin, so I found the toner a bit harsh for my face. However, I continue to use it on my body and, while it doesn’t completely clear up my acne, it does reduce the size and swelling of my bigger, painful pimples dramatically. It takes about three or four days for the toner to work, but hey, waiting half a week is much better than waiting weeks, possibly months, for the acne to start clearing up by itself. Thank you Crunchy Betty!!!
After reading this post I threw a bunch of fresh thyme twigs in some lemongrass ginger tea and sweetened it with Manuka honey and (not to be gross but), got rid of some flukes that evening.
I got some contact dermatitis from who knows what, but I have a rash all over and it itches like crazy! I decided to use some thyme, and all I had to mix it with was warm water. I boiled a cup of water and put a teaspoon of thyme in a tea bag and let it seep. Then I wipe it over my itchy patches. Relief! I’ve been wiping it on the itchy places and it soothes the itch. It also made my skin very soft 🙂
this is a great idea. I’ve got allergic contact dermatitis to 11 diff. synthetic chemicals that are in almost everything you’d conventionally buy for beauty or home. And sometimes, even hugging friends or family makes my allergy reaction pop up. Now that you mention this, I’m going to also use my toner for those flare ups, in addition to using as the facial acne toner (which is helping tremendously)! Thanks so much for commenting!!
I have a small amount of dried thyme and witch hazel in a bottle and I’ve been using it as a toner. I haven’t noticed any effects that I wasn’t already seeing with the honey wash first thing in the morning, but I think I’ll add some apple cider vinegar to the mix and see if that changes matters.
Checking in, checking in! I LOVE it!
My skin feels fanTAStic, which is amazing in the tropical monsoon climate I live in! The extra dryness is just perfect for the humidity we experience here, and I was at bit at a loss after leaving the temperate climate of Sydney, having no way to keep my oils cool in the heat.
SUPER happy!
Love you lots Lovely Betty!
I started using the thyme-witch hazel toner for about a week before I left for some travels, and is it just me or is staying crunchy while traveling exceedingly hard? I ended up only being able to take the No Nonsense Facial Scrub — no OCM or toner or anything. Anyway, I came home with my skin pretty much wrecked from end-of-the-school year stress, international travel, and nearly constant absentminded picking. After about two days of using the thyme-witch hazel toner, my skin is making a great comeback! My little up-and-coming zits are disappearing, and my leftover spots are healing much faster than they usually do. I’m definitely convinced! This is the first time I’ve used witch hazel, so I don’t know what my skin is reacting to, but I’m pretty happy. I also came home to the finished jojoba oil infusion. Thyme is all we need!
I used to keep lemon thyme in pots outside, whenever I had to go out to work in the yard, I’d crunch the leave in my hands, then rub my arms, face & neck…no mosquitoes & I smelled good!
I used to keep lemon thyme in pots outside, whenever I had to go out to work in the yard, I’d crunch the leave in my hands, then rub my arms, face & neck…no mosquitoes & I smelled good!
I started on a thyme tincture in jojoba oil solution about two weeks ago. I’ve been using it twice daily on my combination acne-prone skin as.. something inbetween a toner & a moisturizer (I massage it in and that seems to be all it takes? Then again, I’m 19.) So far, I haven’t been seeing any *amazing* results, but I may step it up and try the thyme/clay mixture. In general, I see less blackheads and cystic/chronic acne, but there are many more whiteheads, and in places I didn’t used to have them, so I suppose it’s a trade off?
After reading the first article about thyme, I went and bought essential oil of Red Thyme and some pure witch hazel. The first time I swabbed too much thyme on and it burned something awful. So far, a mix of 1/4 cup witch hazel plus 1/4 cup water plus 4 drops thyme EO makes my skin tingle some but doesn’t burn. I’ll make a smaller batch next time because of the water. My minor forehead bumps faded and are staying away for now. I get larger more cyst-like acne in my hair near my temples and those are completely gone now! I don’t mind this toner in my hair as it doesn’t leave any sign on my hair when it’s dry unlike creams I was using before. I switched to baking soda and honey as a face wash and thyme and witch hazel as a toner all at the same time so I don’t know which is working better but it’s been fun!
Ah! After a few months of crazed crunching , i guess i calmed down and put it all on te wayside for most of my senior year (however, i did keep away from conventional lotion, makeup and daily shampoos). But i’m getting into it again, but with a more cautious, planned approach, and this thyme seems awesome! I can’t wait to try it!
I’ve made up the tincture, finally, and will be applying it to my upper arm acne, which I’ve had since I was a teenager. The only thing that has ever cleared this acne up before now, and only temporarily, was sunburn. I am fair-skinned, though, so if the tincture leaves a stain I’ll probably stop – I’d just be exchanging one blemish for another.
On the plus side, I am happy to report that the tincture has a mild pleasant thyme-y smell, and the scent of it on my arms does not bother me. I would have thought it would have a strong chemical-y smell – I’m glad it doesn’t. I guess that’s because it’s thyme, not thymol. 🙂
If your acne isn’t responding to anything you do, it might not be acne. I just found out I have what is essentially a yeast overgrowth (malassezia folliculitis) on my back and shoulders (essentially, the bacteria balance in the skin is off)…it looks exactly like acne to me but never responded to acne treatment. It DOES respond, however, to tea tree oil (anti-fungal) and treatments for athlete’s foot. It’s worth a try and it won’t hurt! Sun also acts as an anti-fungal, which may be why it cleared up after a sunburn. I had never heard of this before and I’ve been dealing with acne issues for about 15 years.
Hey, NMG here again! Haven’t been using it regularly, still not quite convinced – I don’t seem to do brilliantly with witch hazel in general. I also considered infusing white vinegar to make an anti-bacterial household cleaner? Or would the acid destroy any of the good compounds?
Thyme and lime tea is my favourite tea at the moment. I hadn’t even thought of drinking it as a tea – but then I wrote a blog post recently on herbal teas (http://www.littleecofootprints.com/2012/05/growing-herbal-teas-at-home.html) and one of my reders suggested it. Its delicious! I need to plant more thyme as my small thyme bush has since been harvested to a stalk.
Like you need a 46th comment saying the same thing, but I infused some witch hazel with thyme and have been using it on my sons severe, and painful, acne.. and while the lumps haven’t reduced, the red inflammation is definitely going away. AMAZING. NOTHING else we’ve tried has work- this was my last resort before giving in and buying Proactiv. Grateful I don’t have to now! I’ve been using it as a toner/wash at night before bed, and my skin seems happy (I only get zits at period time, so I can’t test it out for that, yet.) Thanks for the recipe! 😀
Just drank a cup of fresh thyme tea with local honey. It was amazingly delicious. Who knew? Thank you so much!
[Oh hey, that’s thyme in my display pic!]
Last week I tried a thyme tincture by just using boiled water and fresh thyme. Then I let it cool down and added honey and lime for some extra toning and brightening. I don’t know which of the additives went wrong, but I’m breaking out more than ever. It could be my skin’s way of adjusting so I’ll give it a little more thyme.
NVF are my initials WITHOUT my middle name :-). Plus I didn’t need to make this tonic since my “blemishes” have all but gone away since I started washing my face with honey 7 months ago! Thank You !!!!! xo
The stars must have aligned because I have been fighting CMP (aka Runner’s Knee) all week and the inflammation has been nuts, so this crunchy tidbit was, shall we say, “thyme-ly?” (Sorry, couldn’t help it.) Anyway, I’ve also read chamomile and turmeric, and possibly ginger, are anti-inflammatory as well, although to what extent I can’t say. I was thinking of adding thyme to my chamomile for tea, but is the thyme effective against inflammation when ingested, or should I apply it topically?
I’ve been having sinus-related headaches lately – I’m going to try chewing on some thyme tomorrow!
I use thyme essential oil in my homemade deodorant (with beeswax, coconut oil, Shea butter, aloe, baking soda, arrowroot powder, and lavendar EO). Works great! I’ve also added thyme to my toner, will update on that later!
I threw half a container of dried thyme into my “facewash” oil (I do the oil cleansing method) 2 weeks ago after reading your post. I’d been dealing with a breakout on my face. My skin is now clear!
I made the recipe that you posted…the thyme infused witch hazel. I love witch hazel to begin with so I was very excited to try this! It has been working wonderfully! My skin has been healing from one of the worst breakouts since I was in high school and this toner has helped with the healing process better than anything I have tried before!
I also bought a lemon thyme plant recently and made tea with it. I really love the taste and it sounds like it may be doing me some good! I will update more if I notice any differences with the tea.
Thank you for all that you post! You rock!
Yes! I have been using the tincture and just made more today! I love it. I had been breaking out on my chin for so very long and this worked so quickly! It was super effective, BUT very gentle at the same time. My face looks so much better-about 90% improvement. I do; however; smell like my Aunt Janet’s (God rest her soul) house after I apply it.
I’ve a problem with eczema and migraines. I’m going to add thyme to my diet or as a supplement and see what happens- thanks for this post!
Too early here. My plants are not ready for harvesting. Much cooler up here in Canada!
I make tea from tyme. The smell is so relaxing and good! It’s great with any other herb/tea, my fav is mint and tyme. SO good! Plus, can you imagine the great benefits of ingesting it???
The tyme/hazel toner is great but I hate the smell of witch hazel and it’s drying me out. I think next time i might just boil the tyme in water and then add lemon juice and store that in the frig.
Here’s the actual study mentioned about thyme and COX-2:
http://www.jlr.org/content/51/1/132.full.pdf
You’ll notice that, while they found that thyme essential oil did suppress COX-2 promoter activity, this same study also found rose and eucalyptus *ineffective* as an anti-inflammatory.
I’m sure there is at least one study out there that seemingly finds rose, eucalyptus, or both to have effective anti-inflammatory properties, though, just like there are studies out there that seemingly disprove their effectiveness.
Just shows us all that not all science is “good” science and we have to really educate ourselves and discern between good and bad science. If it was all good, then the results would be able to be recreated time and time again in different labs, and all studies would find rose effective (or ineffective).
I decided to infuse my apple cider vinegar with thyme (I use ACV with water as a toner), and I’ve been using it for about 5 days now and the results are AMAZING! My face was broken out along my jawline due to hormones, and now that I’ve been using this toner it is almost gone. Also, it is getting rid of blackheads that have been an issue for me as well as little bumps that used to be on my forehead (they’re almost gone!). I used to use prescription gels for my skin but stopped due to the amount of chemicals in them, and my skin has not looked this good since I stopped using them. I’m now going to infuse my honey that I use to wash my face in the mornings! : )
I just started a jar of honey/thyme for my face as well! 🙂
When we’re talking about infusing honey with thyme, we do mean DRIED thyme, right?? NOT fresh thyme?
I’m using dried thyme because it’s what I have, but I’ve had friends make honey infused with fresh herbs as well. I’m not sure if it makes a difference?
Doh! Forgot i wanted to make the thyme witch hazel infusion! I’ll be making it this weekend. Love witch hazel! Did some research on it yesterday via good ‘ole Google search and it’s like the unsung hero in the medicine cabinet! Have you ever done a post on all the uses of witch hazel? If not, might be a good one for future posts. 🙂
I’m gonna make me some thyme salve, with the honey that is made right here from our bees. Ooh! Thanks for this…
I meant to post as well, but I had a chocolate relapse while trying the thyme and witch hazel toner, so it didn’t get a fair shot. How is it possible that I could forget how much chocolate effects my skin?
To be honest, I’ve been using your book and while I’m happy so far, I’m not where I want to be with my skin. I’m rather frustrated with the constant breakouts, and seeing as I’m over 30 I really wish I could get rid of this issue. I think it started because of all of the chemicals in the face wash, lotions, and make-up I was using. Is there a good time frame for when my face should return to normal? I’ve been working on this for at least five months.
Anyway, sorry for the little rant, it’s about time I mentioned the thyme. I think is it what I needed to add to my regimen, and I am cautiously optimistic about it. I tried the toner with dried thyme and witch hazel as you described. I noticed that I wasn’t waking up with new breakouts in the morning. I’m currently trying the toner with fresh thyme, but I was concerned that it wouldn’t infuse well. So, I boiled a small amount of water and pored it over the infusion to really get things started. It worked great, and I’m starting to see some clearing from my a fore mentioned chocolate lapse.
Also, I happened to see something on your blog about lemon helping with hyper-pigmentation and I think that using that as my mask once a week is also making a difference. My face just doesn’t want to heal after breakouts and I’m left with dark spots for weeks.
I have your same problem with breakouts. I can speak for the lemon helping heal scars. I use a toner that includes fresh lemon juice, which hazel, and a couple drops of tea tree oil on my face every night. My face has never had such an amazing complexion! I have fair skin with freckles and the lemon has lightened my acne scars and lightened my freckles PLUS it helps clear up any acne. My next step is to add the thyme in my toner….that may be the perfect concoction!
I’ve been thinking about trying the tea tree oil, but I really, really dislike the smell. I might have to try it anyway. I did try the lemon in my thyme and witch hazel toner, but I think it was too much for my face. I’m going to try just using it as a mask once a week and see what happens. Thanks for the encouragement. I have been so frustrated with this. I’m thinking that I need to keep trying until I find just the right schedule and mixtures for my face.
So relevant for me now, as I’ve been exploring the natural way to health & beauty for the past two years! Thanks! I’m excited to be taking a class about making salves, balms, tinctures, potions, etc. on July 1 at a local herbal center – sacredplanttraditions.com.
I’ll share any good info I get from that, plus recipes, of course!
I’ve been using thyme and found it really nice for clearing up (or reducing the size of) my pimples. Curse those teenage hormones! I’ve been combining it with the chia facewashing technique that was on here the other week as I ran out of witch hazel. So I just mix my chia seeds and dried thyme together and then add water and let the chia seeds swell and then rub it all over my face.
I used your semi-homemade body wash recipe and substituted thyme with the other herb you suggested and I can’t remember. It is awesome! The acne on my back & chest is finally clearing!!
Whenever I get bronchitis or any sort of respiratory ailment, I do a lot of steaming with a thyme infusion, and my face gets so much clearer every time (and also the cold, of course).
Great to see this post. As soon as I read that thyme was anti-inflammatory I immediately began boiling a bunch of fresh and dried thyme. My son can hardly breathe at the moment 🙁 poor little guy. His nose is so stuffed up and his throat must be killing him from the coughing.
I brewed separate batches. A big batch so I can stuff his face under the steam, and a smaller batch, so I can make tea with a little bit of honey. He drank it and barely made a face. I also tried it, however, I did make a bitter face. It was bitter, but nothing you can’t get over. You can definitely sip, or chug a nice gulp, whichever your preference is. It is 1am and he is still coughing, I will continue doing this through out the night and see if he is any better in the morning.
I would dread having to take him to the emergency for bronchitis, or any other pulmonary/respiratory problems. I’m also going to pray.
I’ll check back in with results. I pray my instincts pay off, because I came back to read the rest of the post and the comments and I saw this comment. Made my night to at least have some reference.
Thank You Crunchy Betty!
I put thyme and several other oils (carrot seed, geranium, tamanu, raspberry seed and sea buckthorn seed oils into a bottle and have been moisturizing with it for a week. It hasn’t gotten a fair shot, though, because my hormones went nuts this week and I’m breaking out worse than I did as a teen. It probably won’t get a fair shot for a while either because I just started a detox with chlorella and I imagine I’ll be detoxing through my skin. Ugh. I hate pimples. If I ever notice thyme making a difference I’ll let you know.
I made fresh thyme “tea” to use as a toner but after a few days decided to drink it too. I like it with a squeeze of lime juice.
(The only witch hazel I could find contained alcohol so I just brewed fresh lemon thyme in filtered water.)
I thought it was clearing my face up but I wore sunscreen two days in a row and am now paying for it, I’m afraid. Maybe it would be worse without the thyme?
I haven’t gotten around to making the thyme infusion yet because I’m still busy road-testing turmeric (from your recent post)! Never fear, I have three kinds of thyme growing in my yard… an infusion is definitely going to happen! My skin tends to be dry though, so I’ll probably just use it as a “spot dabber” and not all over my face.
I’ve been using the thyme/witch hazel toner as well, and I have definitely noticed that it’s dried out my acne a bit, and helps for sure with some of the inflammation. As NMG noted, however, it’s not preventing any of the acne, just making it not as bad, and making it go away a bit faster.
My only complaint is that I’m quite fair-skinned, and putting jojoba oil as a moisturizer already tans up my skin a tiny bit, but when I use the brown thyme-infused witch hazel as well, my face looks stupid tan compared to my chalk-white neck. I wish there was a way to capture the goodness without coloring my face! Anyway, I’ve decided to just use it at night.
I was wondering if I was imagining things! I thought my face looked tanner after using jojoba in my OCM… I guess I was right.
Yeah, I think it’s only noticeable if your skin is already pretty fair, and obviously it’s not color that builds so it’s nothing to worry about. Not to mention jojoba oil is amaaazing so I don’t begrudge it one bit. : )
Did you use dried thyme? I just tried making the toner with fresh and there isn’t any color to it. See my post below for more explanation.
So you poured boiling water on the fresh thyme, and just make a thyme infusion? Or did you mix it with witch hazel as well? The only thing I don’t like about this idea is that you’d have to refrigerate it, but I suppose I could get over that if it worked amazingly. : )
I used a couple Tbls of witch hazel as well. I haven’t refrigerated it, but I probable should. I’m still new to this.
Thyme essential oil maybe?
I added dried thyme to the oats/almond scrub and it really helped with my acne. I usually break out the week before my period, but that scrub really helped. Thank you 🙂
I’ve been trying the thyme/witch hazel tincture as a toner for the past two weeks – it seems like it’s been working so far to reduce the redness from my acne and the inflammation if I (naughtily) pop a zit
I suck, I meant to check in…I actually posted about what I’m doing on my blog (
http://ecb.edesignsfashion.com/2012/06/12/new-oil-cleansing-method-spicing-it-up-with-thyme.aspx) and TOTALLY forgot to come back and comment. The thyme is doing miracles for me too!
I have read that about turmeric too. Try it in warm milk with honey. It is tastier that way. Also, you can get the fresh root at natural food stores, I have seen it at Whole Foods too, and it is supposed to be much more potent. Warning: it will stain everything yellow if you use the fresh root.
Turmeric is really great for you! South Asians have relatively low rates of colon cancer and that’s been mostly attributed to their consumption of turmeric. In Hindu wedding festivities, there’s a ceremony where the bride gets covered in a turmeric paste to make her glow before the wedding. I scrub my face with turmeric (mixed with honey!) about once each week and you can really feel the warming sensation and see the glow afterwards. Just don’t do it with a French manicure because it’ll stain your tips yellow!
Drinking it with warm milk and honey, as well as with a few fennel seeds, is a traditional way to take it in South Asia.
the tumeric, milk and honey sounds really good. about how much tumeric do you use?
thanks
I use about 1 teaspoon of powdered turmeric per 1 tablespoon of honey. I only use about a tablespoon of honey anyway and I always end up using the back of my spoon to kinda paint it on my face. If you’re super fair like me, it may take a little scrubbing to get it all off, but it’s great stuff! You’ll feel your face warm up a bit as it sets in, too.
I have been using your thyme tincture for the last couple of weeks and I think it is working. I had a hormonal breakout during that time and it seemed to be less severe than normal. I also have many small bumps under my skin that I fear might be rosacea. Nothing seems to help them, but I have noticed that my skin feels smoother and they are less noticeable. I am going to make my next batch with a touch of rose oil, that sounds really heavenly.
I read somewhere that thyme tea is a good pain killer. I have tried it, but I found it very unpalatable especially if you use dried thyme. Fresh thyme is much tastier as a tea. Mixing it with other herbs helps a lot too. Did it help my pain? I am not sure. I just now have enough fresh thyme to experiment more.
I didn’t check in sooner because I got busy and forgot about my thyme and cider vinegar infusion. I used it for the first time (thyme… har har) two nights ago and the skin on my arms was divinely smooth after a good scrub. I still have plenty of acne on my arms and legs though, so I will need to try a few more applications before I can comment on that!
I just made the thyme acne solution for my 12 year old last night. I put it in a jar labeled “Acne Blaster” for him. He thought I was so cool. (He is a budding herbalist himself.) I’ll let you know how it goes.
I was just reading the turmeric is very good for inflammation (searching for ways to help my husband who has chronic Lyme disease and issues with headaches and inflammation). I’ll bet thy thyme and turmeric would make a powerful combination, although perhaps not so tasty.
Yes, the combonation really does work! I just took some yesterday and today just to get some relief (and rest) from a hacking, dry cough which started as a sore throat. Tasts is earthy, but add some honey for that if wanted. I like it just as is
I have heard that Thyme oil is excellent for toenail fungus because it is an anti-fungal as well!