Sebaceous glands secrete the oily, waxy substance called sebum (Latin, meaning fat or tallow) that is made of fat (lipids), wax, and the debris of dead fat-producing cells. In the glands, sebum is produced within specialized cells and is released as these cells burst; sebaceous glands are thus classified as holocrine glands. Seborrhoea is the name for the condition of greasy skin caused by excess sebum.

Sebum is odorless, but its bacterial breakdown can produce odors. Sebum is the cause of some people’s experiencing “oily” hair, as in hot weather or if not washed for several days. Earwax is also partly composed of sebum.

How To Treat Acne Without Abrasive Chemicals

Tea tree oil is an astringent which is effective at killing bacteria without over-drying the skin.

Lavender oil can be used on infant skin or even on burns to help skin heal. For acne, it can help skin heal from eruptions and lessen or eliminate scarring from deep acne.

Clary sage essential oil is used to help overactive acne-prone skin produce less sebum at the skin’s surface, reducing oiliness.

Witch hazel is an effective astringent to use daily to sweep away dead skin cells and help dry acne without drying skin.

Jojoba oil is a plant wax that is similar to the skin’s natural sebum layer and provides moisture.

Myrcene is scientifically proven to be an effective analgesic in rats, as noted on PubMed.gov:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1753786

Lemongrass is also an effective analgesic, anti-depressant, anti-microbial, anti-pyretic, antiseptic, astringent, bactericidal, carminative, deodorant, diuretic, febrifuge, fungicide, galactogogue, insecticide, sedative and tonic.

If you plan to grow it look for stalks which still have part of the root at the bottom, or ask a store clerk they can generally help with this. To grow it just put a stalk into a glass with a couple of inches of water and place by a window sill for as long as a couple weeks and keep checking for roots starting to grow at the bottom. Once they are starting you can just plant it in the ground. Plant it somewhere where it will have plenty of room to grow, because it keeps dividing and will be a few feet in diameter before long. Trim some off of the tops of the blades regularly, and if a friend ever wants to plant some just yank one of the stalks to the side a bit until it disconnects from the rest and give it to them, then they can do the same thing with the glass of water at their house. Trimming a little off of the top regularly is great for it, so feel free whenever you want, but don’t feel obligated as this truly is one of the most maintenance free plants in the garden. Requires full sun and absolutely can not freeze. Below freezing weather will kill it. Those in climates where it gets below freezing can grow it in containers and bring inside whenever frost is expected. Needs full sun so pick the place in your yard that gets the most sun possible.

Biodiversity warrior Cary Fowler wants to save the world from agricultural collapse, one seed at a time. The varieties of wheat, corn and rice we grow today may not thrive in a future threatened by climate change. Cary Fowler takes us inside a vast global seed bank, buried within a frozen mountain in Norway, that stores a diverse group of food-crop for whatever tomorrow may bring.

In mixtures of 5% or greater tea tree oil kills fungi and bacteria but in mixtures of less then 5% it promotes fungal and bacterial growth. Unlike other bacterial fighting agents tea tree oil does not irritate skin. Tea tree oil should never be ingested or applied in or around the mouth or eyes. If ingested, tea tree oil could cause up to 12 hours of comatosis.

Lemongrass

Lemongrass extract a great homemade mosquito repellent. As a tea it is also great for treating symptoms related to the common cold.

Comfrey

Comfrey root extract breaks down cells and speeds scabbing of cuts and wounds. Comfrey should not be ingested as it is carcinogenic (it causes cancer).

Insecticidal Soap

Reusing a spray bottle in the garden as opposed to continually buying and throwing away spray bottles from the store is obviously much better for the environment. A glass or stainless steel spray bottle would be best but are unfortunately cost prohibitive and rather bulky for most of us to want to lug around the garden. I recommend buying a few pesticide sprayers available at most Home & Garden stores.

To make insecticidal soap, I recommend Dr. Bronner’s Liquid Peppermint Castile Soap. Peppermint makes a great addition to insecticidal soap because the strong smell repels insects. Use 1 to 2 teaspoons of Castile Soap per gallon of water. Be careful not to use more then 2 teaspoons per gallon or you may harm your plants when you spray them.

To improve your mixture so it will work on a wider variety of pests you may also wish to add any strong-smelling spices or roots. Onions, garlic, horseradish, ginger, cayenne pepper and any other hot peppers are all known to work well.

Mosquito Repellent

If you live in a region where there are a lot of mosquitoes, its probably best you not be outside during the dawn and sunset hours when mosquitoes are most active without wearing a mosquito repellent of some kind. Growing your own organic lemongrass can provide you with plenty of lemongrass to make an extract from, which can then be sprayed directly onto your skin. To get some lemongrass buy some from an Asian supermarket and make sure to get some that have some of the root portion of the stalk at the bottom. Then place the lemongrass stalk in a glass with an inch or so of water and once you see the roots beginning to grow you can plant it in your garden.

Lemongrass is a very drought tolerant plant, it actually stores reserves of water at the base of the plant. It prefers a sandy soil so if you can add liberal amounts of sand to your soil mixture. These generally low-maintenance plants grow quickly and yield plenty of lemongrass for you to make a batch of extract every so often.

If you have access to a tincture press this probably the best way to extract the liquid from the lemongrass. Otherwise you can simply cut the lemongrass into small bits and place it in water for a few hours. You should measure the lemongrass cuttings and use 2 cups of water for every cup of lemongrass.

Stay Tuned, More To Follow

I will be adding to this list more in the future, but in the meantime if you have any other ideas you want to mention please feel free to comment.

Everyone has their own style of mixing their soil. The following is my current recipe for soil amendments in my container gardens. I am, of course, very open to suggestions or criticisms so I can take them into consideration.

One of the most important things most (but not all) plants need is well aerated soil. When you buy a pack of seeds they generally state on the back some instructions and you will notice many plants mention they require “well-drained” soil. So how do you mix your soil so it will be well-drained? By amending your soil with something that will provide aeration. In this case, by aeration we are referring to the amount of air gaps in the soil.

To provide aeration I amend my soil mixture with perlite and cocoa coir.

Coco coir is processed from the fibrous husk of coconuts. I have found coco coir to be better then peat moss because peat moss has had a tendancy to become water logged after a while causing very poor aeration in the soil. This can be fixed usually by tilling the soil a bit, but the shock of this situation can cause a delay in growth.

The perlite used in agriculture is actually “expanded perlite”. Perlite is an amorphous volcanic glass which is then expanded to 7-16 times its own volume by heating it to 850-900° C which releases the water as vapors, leaving an inorganic material of low density.  Perlite makes composts more open to air, while still having good water-retention properties.

I mix 1 parts coco coir and perlite to every 4 parts soil.

Each gardener should mix their soil in a large bin of some sort and feel the soil as they go along until they get the consistancy they feel is right.

More on this subject later, but in the meantime if you have a better recipe we’d love to hear it so don’t be afraid to comment!