the skinny on skin part I: psoriasis relief

so this is part one of two. the second part will be an overall skin health tincture and hand / body salve. so keep an eye out for part two coming soon(ish)!

in part one, we're talking about psoriasis. i've been struggling to write this post because 1) i'm not a dermatologist and 2) this is one of those instances where i am taking my very best instincts, information, and advice from trusted herbalists and throwing it at the wall with my fingers crossed. 

​i don't suffer from psoriasis, personally. but a relative does. she came over recently and listed a bunch of different things that she's tried. so of course i wanted to add my own remedy to the mix: a psoriasis tincture! you might be thinking "but it's her skin. why would she take something internally to fix something externally?" and that's a great question. one that i'm not medically qualified to answer perfectly but the gist is this: apparently psoriasis, even though it shows up on your skin, is an immune problem that starts inside your body and presents as a buildup of scaly skin cells externally. your skin is an organ. all of your body's organs react, in some way, to what you ingest. and the tissue of your skin is no different. it's busy protecting your insides and secreting toxins and all sorts of cool things. and anything you can do to boost those functions, like taking a rad anti-inflammatory, liver supporting tincture, should help your skin be better at what it does. including, in theory, shedding dead skin cells instead of building them up in scaly patches.

​sometimes an herbal medicine is tried and true. and sometimes it's an educated hypothesis using knowledge of a specific client's condition, other illnesses and medications, and an understanding of the herbal actions of my ingredients. this is the latter. if YOU have a tried and true psoriasis remedy, i would love to hear about it in the comments!

psoriasis tincture: pau d'arco, oregon grape root, turmeric, black peppercorn, calendula, burdock root, yellow dock, licorice root, milk thistle, oregano, thyme, and arnica, all extracted in vodka