Don’t let the winter months dry your skin… Remember to keep extra hydrated inside & out protecting your skin from the cold winter weather. Drink lots of water & load your skin up with nutrients.

Our detoxifying shower scrub will wake you up and energize you to wrap up your holiday stress. What feels better than being bundled up in a sweater? Having exfoliated skin underneath. Treat your skin well with our nourishing products (they make great gifts too!)

And, with every purchase this December receive a free seasonal vanilla peppermint lip balm (while supplies last).

Wishing you a holiday season filled with joy, peace, health & love…

The Wellness Place

Be well,

The Wellness Place

Come visit The Wellness Place at the Green festival this weekend!

In case you haven’t heard of the GreenFestival®, think of it as a walk through a sustainable community, offering solutions to create more health socially, economically and environmentally. Organizations and businesses will showcase programs and products that restore the planet and all that inhabit it. Lets be part of the solution…

Come by and check us out:
SF Concours Exhibition Center
635 8th Street (at Brannan Street)
San Francisco, CA 94103

Saturday: 10am – 7pm
Sunday: 11am – 7pm

Admission: $10 online, $15 at the door. There are SEVERAL options for FREE entry, click here
to see if you qualify.

Elecampane (Inula helenium) in bloom at The Wellness Garden, Summer 2011.

Fall is here in the garden. Outwardly, this isn’t our garden’s showiest time of year but underground things are happening! This is the time of year when we begin harvesting medicinal roots & we’ve got exciting things available.

Featured Cold/ Flu Season Plants

Fresh Elecampane root: This root is warming & aromatic. It’s medicine is specific for the lungs & respiratory system. It soothes coughs, helps to clear mucous & is full of anti-microbial essential oils. Chronic cough, bronchitis, pnuemonia & the like are greatly helped by this herb. Think: respiratory illness, wet lungs.

Fresh blooming Oregano: This super strong anti-microbial herb is a great preventative as well as acute cold/ flu herb. Recent studies are finding that it rivals penicillin & other anti-biotics in effectiveness. The good news is this herb wipes out the “bad” bacteria without killing all of your other good bacteria. Go herbs!  We also offer this fresh-dried to keep on hand throughout the winter months. Make a strong tea, throw it into broth, cook with it.  Think: any infectious illness, prevention, warming tea.

Shop the products at a 15% discount!

When: Wednesday July 13, 5-9pm
Where: Telegraph Hill, San Francisco (email info@wellnessplaceco.com for address)

Enjoy a 15% discount on all purchases.
When: Wednesday July 13, 5-9pm
Where: Telegraph Hill, San Francisco (email info@wellnessplaceco.com for address)

Fresh plants currently available :
Lemon Verbena Aloysia triphylla
Chamomile flowers Matricaria recutita
Motherwort Leonurus cardiaca
Wild Lettuce Leaf Lactuca virosa
Echinacea Leaf E. pallida
Tarragon Artemisia dracunculus
Chives Allium schoenoprasum
Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis
Vervain flowering tops Verbena bonariensis
Chinese Horsetail Equisteum hyemale
Raspberry Leaf Rubus spp.
Cilantro Coriandrum sativum
Borage (leaf and flowers) Borago officinalis
Oregano Origanum vulgaris
Thyme Thymus vulgaris
Peppermint Mentha piperita
Lemon Balm Melissa officinalis
Calendula flowers Calendula officinalis
Spearmint Mentha spicata
Catnip Nepeta cataria
Chinese Mugwort “Oriental Limelight” Artemisia vulgaris
Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis
California Poppy Eschscholzia californica
Plantain Plantago major
Comfrey leaf and root Symphytum officinale
Hedge Nettle Stachys chamissonis
Coyote Mint Monardella spp.
Olive Leaf Olea europaea
Violet Leaf Viola spp.
Wormwood Artemisia absinthium
Hummingbird Sage Salvia spathacea
Dandelion (whole plant) Taraxacum officinale
Clary Sage Leaf Salvia sclarea

Dried Plants Available:
Nettles Urtica spp.
Motherwort Leonurus cardiaca
Chinese Mugwort “Oriental Limelight” Artemisia vulgaris
Lemon Balm Melissa off.
Dill Seeds Anethum Graveolens
Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis
Oregano Origanum vulgaris
Thyme Thymus vulgaris
Catnip Nepeta cataria
Tulsi Ocimum sanctum
Vervain Verbena bonariensis
Lemon Verbena Aloysia triphylla
Yarrow Achillea millefolium

For more information on ordering plants, please see our Garden Page. If you are interested in placing an order or you have anything questions, please contact bayareaherbs@gmail.com

Be well!

We were reminded of why we started creating the products we make here at Wellness Place when we came across a recent Vogue article postulating:

“Sunscreen use is at an all-time high- and yet, so are new cases of skin cancer… If we’re all doing what our dermatologists tell us- diligently using sunscreen everyday- what’s going wrong?”

The answer to this daunting question lies in two possible areas: The dangers of chemical sunscreen & inadequate sun protection (namely, products that shield against UVB rays only- while UVA rays actually make up 95% of the ultraviolet radiation). We are focusing on the dangers of sunscreens…

You spend the day in the sun & come home without a burn. That’s the measure of success for sunscreen, right? Actually, experts are now finding that many heavily used chemical sunscreens may save your skin from burning that day but cause long-term damage. Using them can actually increase the risk of cancer by generating free radicals (highly reactive uncharged molecules which cause cellular harm).

The skin, our largest organ, absorbs what we put on it. In chemical sunscreens, compounds have been created which soak into the skin to stop burning via chemical reaction. Here are a few to look up: Oxybenzone, Benzophenones, PABA & PABA esters, Cinnamates, Salicylates, Digalloyl trioleate, & Menthyl anthranilate.  Along with free radical generation, many of the chemicals are hormone disruptors (which accumulate in our body’s fat stores) and cause sexual & reproductive disfunction. Studies and in vitro experiments have shown that chemical sunscreen ingredients have been linked to increased risks of malignant melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer & could accelerate skin damage and increase skin cancer risk in general. Malignant melanoma has also been linked to Vitamin D deficiency (note that Vitamin D is absorbed through exposure to ultraviolet light). Absorbing some sunlight safely, in moderation, can be beneficial.

In the Environmental Working Group’s annual report to consumers on sunscreen, they say that only 39 of the 500 products they examined were considered safe and effective to use. EWG’s analysis of initial findings on the dangers of sunscreen released last fall by the FDA and the National Toxicology Program raises public health concerns about the use of these products.

For complete sun protection, only two sunscreen ingredients available in the United States provide protection against long UVA rays: the chemical ingredient avobenzone, & the physical (non-chemical) ingredient zinc oxide. But only one–zinc oxide–provides comprehensive protection against UVB and both short & long UVA radiation.

The good news: Sunscreens do not need to be chemically based to be effective. Experts (dermatologists and researchers) will tell you that the most effective sunblock, is the natural mineral zinc oxide. This compound creates an actual physical barrier between you & the sun rather than using a chemical. Zinc oxide is the active ingredient in Wellness Place Sunscreen. We formulated it 100% naturally with nourishing ingredients such as hand-grown organic plants & antioxidant rich Vitamin E. Our sunscreen actually protects against free radicals, aging skin & wrinkles. We even include aloe vera juice to soothe & cool the skin.

Safety AND Efficacy: Does the Wellness Place Sunscreen check out?

Protection against UVA and UVB light? Yes. Zinc Oxide protects against all ultraviolet light: both long & short spectrum UVA & UVB.

Chemical ingredients? No. Zero!

The most protective sun-blocking compounds on the market? Yes. Zinc Oxide is the most protective (and the safest!) compound known.

Anti-aging & free- radical protection? Yes. We use pure Vitamin E- a natural antioxidant & protector against free radicals.

The Vogue article…

Drunk as a tea, peppermint is extremely soothing and relaxing to the stomach and intestines, making it a very effective remedy for indigestion, gas pains, and nausea.  Headaches resulting from indigestion can also be eased with this tea.  Taken at the first signs of cold or flu, a cup of hot peppermint tea drunk regularly increases internal heat and perspiration, effectively squelching the illness.  Topically infused into an oil, peppermint brings cooling relief to itchiness and inflammation on the skin.

Hello from Wellness Place Garden!
We are combining forces with The Village Farm to create the “Bay Area Medicinal Herb Growers”, which will offer you an even larger selection of fresh, local, pesticide-free plants for purchase.

Fresh plants currently available from Bay Area Medicinal Herb Growers:
Oregano
Thyme
Peppermint
Lemon Balm
Calendula
Spearmint
Catnip
Chinese Mugwort
Rosemary
California Poppy
Plantain
Comfrey leaf and root
Cleavers
Hedge Nettle (Stachys)
Coyote Mint (Monardella)
Olive Leaf
Violet Leaf
Wormwood
Hummingbird Sage
Dandelion (whole plant)
Clary Sage Leaf
Oyster Plant (whole plant)

If you are interested in ordering any of these plants, please contact amber@wellnessplaceco.com.  Plants can be picked up at the Ohlone Center in Berkeley on Fridays between 1-4pm.  Orders must be placed by Wednesday evening at 10:30pm in order to get the plants that week.  Fresh plants are sold by the 1/4 lb.  Please contact me for prices.

Thank you and be well!
Amber, Wellness Place Garden Manager