some Baltic magics for natural beauty16/06/2009

Midsummer is not only a time when all the plants have reached their blooming and growing peak. It's also a time when even those who have grown accustomed to city comfort and technologies, are ready to wet their bare feet in dew, scatter their hair full with cleaver petals and burn their noses into the bonfire. It's a night when people - possibly for the only time in a year - voluntarily goes into the nature. MADARA wants you to also enjoy this night and therefore offers a fern flower searcher's guide through summer solstice. It gives useful, nice and romantic advices which can make Your summer solstice unforgettable.

Put some fennel into your Midsummer crown... and have no worries at the table

Dill essential oils improve one's appetite, stimulates digestion, helps get rid of the gases, so you must not worry, even if you have eaten a little too much. Fennel also helps against insomnia and respiratory problems.

Cut some sweet flag roots and scater along the floor... and enjoy peace and harmony into your home

Sweet flag smell during Midsummer not only brings a special festive feeling into your house, but also scares away the insects, improves the guests appetite and gives energy. You can also put a small piece of sweet flag into your pocket - for a pleasant scent and great mood!

Rub your skin with peppermint leaves... Insects will leave you alone

If you'll rub your skin with peppermint, basil, wormwood or melissa leafs, you will keep your soft skin safe from mosquitos. These plants contain essential oils, which scare the insects away. Nevertheless, it is recommended to repeat this rubbing from time to time, for a longer-lasting effect.

Wash your mouth in the morning dew... and be beautiful till autumn

Dew is the only naturally available water on the earths surface which doesn't contain any salts or minerals. In it's softness it is similar to distilled water! Together with the ozone formed by the plants during the process of photosynthesis, dew also obtains a bleaching effect, therefore when washing your mouth in the dew, the skin becomes whiter, fresher, cleaner and softer. You can also prepare a dew mask for your hair - early in the morning pull a towel around a damp meadow, then take all the ticks and mosquitos off the towel and put it around the head.

Dandelion leaves for tired eyes

If your eyes are tired or a little irritated from the Midsummer bonfire's smoke, place some chopped and crushed dandelion leaves on them. Dandelion leaf juice is used externally to treat eye diseases, as well as a facial skin treatment for acne and freckles. The small leaves you can also put on cheese slices. Not only it'll improve the taste, but also complement your body with iron and make you less tired after the fest.

Rinse your hair in birch juices... and make your hair shining and smooth

If you have some birch juices left over from spring, rinse your hair with them. Birch juice, as well as birch bud and leaf decoction has a reinforcing effect of hair roots. You can also flush wounds with it.

Hops for a sweet sleep in summer's shortest night

Collect hop fruits, put them into a cloth bag and place near the bed or below the cushion - you will have good sleep. Hop has a calming and pain-reducing effect.

If bruised a knee, put some comfrey leaf on it

Comfrey juice has antibacterial, styptic and curing effect. It will also help against mosquito bites and various skin irritations.

Rinse your hair with nettle broth

Pick some nettle, cooke a broth and rinse your hair with it - they'll grow bushy and strong. Also, you can try other brewages for strengthening your hair roots - take equal doses of sweet flag roots, burdock roots, hops and camomile flowers, cook, then leave to brew, filter and wash hair.

Cornflower, cornflower

Decorate the refreshments table with cornflowers - you can eat them too! Before a bath drink cornflower tea - it'll let you sweat more and make you slimmer. Cornflower has an excess water-wasting effect, it also reduces irritations. Also you can prepare an eye-wash out of cornflower tincture - it'll remove swelling!

Wild strawberries for rosy cheeks

Collect a handful of wild strawberries - eat a half yourself, the other half squash in fingers and apply on the face. Taste for the stomache, beauty for the face! For external use, the wild strawberry cures various skin irritations and improves facial color. If eaten, forest strawberries regulate the metabolic process and have a positive effect on intestinal activity.

Before kissing - St John's Wort and oak leaves

Collect St. John's wort and prepare a tincture. Wash your mouth with it before leaving in search of a fern flower. St. John's Wort has antibacterial and astringent effect. It cures gums and oral mucosal. For the same effect you can use oak leaf infusions, which will help against an unpleasant smell from your mouth.