Is anyone else familiar with the saying “Leaves of three let it be”? I learned this when just a little girl as I was (and am!) very allergic to Poison Ivy. After my eyes were trained and watchful for the plant, I managed to avoid it the majority of the time. Eventually, though, the inevitable would come and I would have contact with poison ivy.
Enter: The Jewelweed Plant!
Jewelweed is a native plant that grows in moist wooded areas, typically along the edges of woods or along creeks. The oil in the leaves and stalks of this delicate looking plant help neutralize the oil in poison ivy. When used shortly after exposure to poison ivy, this neutralization can prevent a rash from ever occurring or it can help minimize the rash and speed up the healing.
If you don’t have any of the Jewelweed plant handy, the next best thing is using Jewelweed soap.
Each spring when the oil in the plant is at its peak (typically when it is beginning to flower), I harvest large amounts of it off of our property. Thankfully, we have this plant in abundance, and it is increasing every year!
Some of what is harvested will be dried, and when that process is complete, it is infused into olive oil. The rest will be infused fresh into distilled water. Once there is a rich infusion, the plant remains are filtered out leaving a richly infused Jewelweed/water blend.
When it comes time to make the soap, the Jewelweed water is used in place of plain distilled water, and the infused olive oil is used in place of plain olive oil.
The resulting soap is one that is packed full with the Jewelweed oil, and it is all ready to help you neutralize and wash away the Poison Ivy oils.
Our customers love this soap and have raved about how well it has worked for them. So the next time you find yourself in a patch of poison ivy or begin to develop the itchy, painful rash, use a bar of Jewelweed soap to help prevent and/or treat the rash naturally!
***The Jewelweed plant and Jewelweed soap are most effective when used shortly after coming into contact with poison ivy. For severe reactions, seek medical attention.
2 Comments
So good to know! I might have to buy a bar to keep on hand just in case. I’m pretty sure there is some in the wooded area at the back of our backyard. Rebekah stays away from it but I’m always afraid the boys will run into it once they get a little more adventurous. Would it be safe to use this soap on kids?
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there was some there, Nathana! Poison Ivy is very prevalent in Missouri – whenever we have an outing to a nature trail or wooded area, I always see it and usually, a lot of it. I would imagine once your boys are older and reach that adventurous toddling around age, they likely will be exploring the wooded edge! Yes, this soap is safe to use with children. (Though since it is not a baby soap, it would burn if it got in the eyes.)
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