I have an auto-immune disease and am always on the hunt for anything that will help ease my symptoms and strengthen my immune system. I’m also trying to put off taking more meds until I absolutely have to. Recently I have been longing to try all types of natural products.  It makes me laugh just talking about this because when I was younger I remember thinking my tutu was  crazy for wanting to make or try any all natural products. I use to think “all natural” stuff was sub-par to store bought products. Boy was I completely wrong!  

WILD WOOD APOTHECARY 

 

Here I am today buying and trying all kinds of natural products.  The irony!  

Through Instagram I stumbled across April, IG @She is of the woods. She is the owner of a shop called Wild Wood Apothecary.   I became intrigued with her products, or what she calls her “offerings”. I also started watching her YouTube channel and learned so much about natural plant allies and what they are able to do for the body.  It has opened my eyes to so many things and I started making notes of the things I wanted to try so when Aprils shop opened back in November, I went a little crazy.  

I bought a total of 11 things. Here’s what I purchased, my reasoning for doing so & the results I got from using them:

TINCTURES

Tinctures are a liquid herbal extract. Herbs that have been soaked in alcohol for 6-8 weeks. Many tinctures can be taken orally while others are solely for topical use.  

Aprils tinctures comes with info cards. It shows the plant ally picture, folklore and common uses for each product.  I purchased 6 tinctures but gave one away to my hubby’s associate who suffers from gout.  The 5 I kept are as follows:

Blue Vervain – I bought this because I wanted something to help with my liver function & help with inflammation. Some of the things it does is it supports a stressed immune system, encourages optimum liver function, eases inflammation, elevates our mood, helps melt away the pain. I’ve been using it for about a month on rotation and have been feeling pretty good.

Catnip – gently helps relaxation and sleeplessness, muscle pain relief, digestive upset and cramps from menses. I was standoffish about purchasing this because I thought only cats  benefit from catnip. lol However, this has helped with digestive issues. My daughter used it for cramps and RJ also used this when he was nauseous. Within the hour his nausea disappeared.

Wild onion bloom – for immune support, aids cough as an expectorant.  I got this because I needed something to help with my cough from allergies and it has surprisingly helped calm it.

Milky oats – helps the body cope with stress, helps a depleted nervous system and lifts moods. I’ve only taken this a few times just to see how it would taste. It’s not bad at all but I haven’t taken it enough to note any changes.

Mullein – calms chronic cough, thins mucus lining in the lungs and promotes lung health. Both myself and my son took this and it works wonders for cough. I took this for 5 days straight to see if it worked better then the wild onion blooms and dare I say I feel like it does.  

APRIL’S OTHER OFFERINGS

Comfrey Leaf body oil – aids in healing, with sore muscles, aches and pains.  I bought this oil specifically to help with muscle aches and pains from pilates and also my fibromyalgia.  I use it on specific areas and surprisingly it works. I say surprisingly because it’s an oil that goes on effortlessly and is absorbed quickly which made me wonder if it would do it’s thing. I’m so use to pain lotions being thick and smelly. This is quite the opposite but works as well as any OTC brand if not better because it has no strong odor.

Wild Rose and Coffee bean face serum – the caffeine in coffee grounds helps with circulation and reduces puffiness. I don’t usually like thick serums but I do like that this is absorbed nicely and smells like cocoa.  I love that during the winter months it provides great moisture to the skin much better then water based moisturizers.  I haven’t had any kind of adverse reaction to using this. 

Summer on the mountain perfume – I decided to buy this after hearing her story about how her grandmother wore this scent and found it endearing.  I have a soft spot for grandmothers.  This has a light subtle fragrance that starts off as pine scent mixed with mountain air but fades into a lovely powdery scent. The scent lasts about 4 hours before needing to re-apply.

High Pine Blemish Serum– Even at my age, I get the occasional mount Vesuvius unsightly pimple that’s incredibly embarrassing and a battle to hide.  One associates pine with Christmas trees and not for acne BUT this dries and heals the occasional eruption usually within the first 24 hours after use. If you follow me on Instagram, I have showd the 24 hour amazing results I’ve been getting from this blemish serum.

Grounding oil – I work a lot and often times find myself having so much on my plate that I can’t focus or feel “flighty”.  I bought this to help me get re-grounded.  This is another pine scented product intended to bring that outdoor mountain scent that sparks the feeling of being one with the earth thus promoting grounding. I feel like it does just that but I prefer the High on the mountain perfume over this oil.

I am extremely happy with all of my purchases.  To be honest, I wasn’t sure how or if they would work at all. I’m pleasantly surprised that they do and look forward to her shop opening again at the end of Jan. I plan to buy several products in larger sizes and will also try different ones as well. I have a running wish list, that i’ll be sharing on Instagram, every time she introduces products.

 If you’re looking for an alternative to western medicine might I suggest you give Aprils products a try.  Let me know what you’ve purchased and think I’d benefit from trying in the comments below!

 

xo

A few years ago, my girlfriend Shantel introduced me to the brand Natural Aloha which she found while at a craft show in Hawaii.  She told me this brand made an all natural deodorant in a small tin that was applied with your fingers. I was super apprehensive about the application process. Yet recently I had the opportunity to try out a bunch of products from Natural Aloha and I have fallen madly in love with this brand. 

Natural Aloha 

Here are the things I have and love:

THE PIT BALM – Natural deodorant – all natural ingredients that work to keep you smelling fresh all day

THE PIT BALM TENDER – almost identical to the original Pit Balm but for those, like myself, who are sensitive to baking soda.  

I love both Pit Balms.  I’m amazed at how awesome these are.  I don’t mind the finger application process as I initially thought I would.   In fact it allows me to use just the right amount and place it exactly where I need it.  I simply wash my hands after application, no big deal.  This has a faint smell of tea tree which helps kill odor causing bacteria.  This lasts me at least 10 hours without any trace of odor at all until I shower at night before bed.  A HUGE bonus is I haven’t had the wretched white deordorant stains on black clothes when I use this.  Who else hates those white stains? 

ALOHALICIOUS LIP BALM – I use this both morning and night and it’s been great at keeping my lips moisturized during these winter months.  It’s non-greasy and doesn’t have any scent or flavor which would be perfect for the sensitive nose.

CALM AND CLARITY AROMATHERAPY SPRAY – A blend of Witch Hazel and essential oils to promote calmness.  There are so many ways to use this spray:

• I use this as a pillow spray to promote healing sleep.  
• Steam show spray – I spray a few pumps on the wall of my shower, turn on the water and let the steam pull the essential oils out so when I step into my shower it smells like lavender which is known to calm the mind, body and soul. 
• You can also mist the face when feeling a little stressed 
• Or use it as a fixing spray after putting on your makeup to keep everything looking dewy with the added bonus of helping to calm you to deal with the day

OLENA BODY SCRUB AND BATH SALT – Every Sunday one of my Self Care rituals is a long hot bath among other things.   A combination of salts and Olena, Hawaiian Turmeric, which is known to help with inflammation and pulling impurities out of the body.  A few Sundays ago my body wasn’t behaving, I used this in my bath and when I got out I had zero pain, felt extremely relaxed and I was able to get a full nights sleep.

THE FIX – healing salve & pray – These are both great first aid items to have.  It helps with:

• cuts
• scrapes
• acne
• rashes
• sunburn
• mosquito bites etc

I plan to keep the spray at home in our first aid drawer and the salve will go into our travel first aid kit in order to pass TSA.

I’ve been very fortunate to be able to use these items and I love them all!  I use The Pit Balm Tender, Alohalicious Lip Balm and Calm & Clarity spray daily so much that I’m putting in another order!  

If you’re in Hawaii, pick these items up at a craft fair.  She has her schedule of fairs she’ll be at on her website.

If you’re elsewhere and would like to try these products for yourself, visit the online store.  I promise, you will not be disappointed. 

NATURAL ALOHA ACROSS THE WEB:

 

click the following links to take you directly to the online shop and don’t forget to follow her on social media 

WEBSITE

If you’ve tried her products and have recommendations of the ones you love, let me know in the comments below!  

xo