Hypericum oil is an oliolito that is obtained by macerating the fresh plant, flowers and leaves of Hypericum perforatum, in vegetable oil: olive oil, sunflower oil or almonds depending on the use of application that follows, for purpose curative or cosmetic. Let's find out better.
Hypericum oil characteristics
Hypericum oil has a very bright color of a beautiful bright and intense red given by a pigment called hypericin which is present in yellow flowers and leaves.
This characteristic is an excellent aid for identifying and harvesting the plant, in fact it is sufficient to rub the leaflets or flowers with the tips of the fingers to see the intense red of St. John's wort oil and thus identify the plant better. The smell on the contrary does not help much since it is tenuous and not very marked.
The hypericum plant is known in the popular tradition as scacciadiavoli precisely because already in ancient times they believed that this product removed the evils both from the physical body and from the energy body. St. John's wort oil also takes the name of San Giovanni oil, and in fact the day of collection and preparation in the herbal tradition of the past was performed precisely on 24 June, the day dedicated to this saint. On the calendar June 24 is the summer solstice, the day when the sun is at its maximum splendor, and respecting the balsamic harvest time at this time allows the influence of solar energy to be collected in the extraction of oil of hypericum. The preparation of the oil occurs by macerating the leaves and flowers for 21 days in oil inside a container; the difference from the other oleolites is that the hyperolithic oil is left exposed to the sun and not macerated in the dark.
The composition of this oliolito is very broad and complex. A large part of the phytocomplex is extracted from the plant and this mainly contains: flavonoids (hypericin, rutin, hyperoside and quercetin), vitamins such as carotene (precursor of vitamin A), tannins and essential oil .
Properties and use of hypericum oil
As a herbal remedy, St. John's Wort oil can be used directly on the skin in case of: bruises, sprains, skin blemishes, psoriasis, dryness, skin aging, sores, scars, stretch marks, wounds, cracks, hemorrhoids, insect bites, lesions caused by acne, wrinkles, sunburn or cold bruises, inflammations and skin infections (diaper rash), gingivitis, etc.
This oil has healing, antiseptic (being antifungal and antiviral), astringent, decongesting, purifying, anti-inflammatory properties and is even able to stimulate cell regeneration.
The properties of promoting circulation, providing better capillaries, healing and a marked antiseptic power, show us how this plant carries in itself remarkable capacities on the blood system and the intense red color becomes, according to the Paracelso signature doctrine, an excellent indicator of such healing properties.
In addition to direct use on the skin, hypericum oil is also used as a tincture or in the form of capsules. Internal use rebalances the rhythm of sleep and therefore is used as a remedy in cases of insomnia.
For the nervous system hypericum oil capsules with the addition of lecetine are indicated for the cellular regeneration of the central nervous system, in the case of anxieties, tensions or tiredness of mental origin can be used to restore balance and tone and general mood.
For an emergency room in case of domestic burns it is possible to use hypericum oil on the scalded part, but only after the heat has left the affected area. It should never be used immediately because being oily it would cause a frying effect. The first operation must be to remove the heat from the affected part with cold water and then subsequently to apply hypericum oil as an excellent remedy to heal, burn, relieve congestion and heal the burn.
As a cosmetic use it is therefore useful in different skin blemishes and used directly on the skin as a "nail" every night and every morning it shows excellent results already after 10 days of treatment.
Furthermore we can use it for massages especially when there are joint pains, muscle contractures and need heat. Excellent also in the case of gout and rheumatism.
Did you know that
The use of hypericum has an important warning to be respected and is not to expose oneself to the sun as it is photosensitizing. This means that if one uses hypericum based products, both for oral and topical use, one should not expose oneself to the sun afterwards because dark spots and blemishes may appear on the skin.
A herbal recipe
To prepare St. John's wort oil you need to get about 100 g of flowering tops of the plant harvested from the end of June and in healthy, unpolluted soil.
The flowers and leaves are rinsed by quickly dipping them in a basin of water and delicately let them dry in the air for a day on a cloth away from sources of heat or direct light.
Inside a glass vase, the flowering tops of St. John's Wort are added by pouring over 500 ml of olive or almond oil or 400 ml of sunflower; The lid must be tightly closed and the jar is left to macerate exposed to the sun's rays.
For the first 10 days the lid is opened to let out any air and condensation and then it closes again. It also flips the jar up and down so that the plant is always nice covered with oil and well mixed. After 21 days the contents are filtered eliminating the grass and the ololito is conserved, becoming a ruby red, in a glass container better if dark (brown or green) and well sealed.
The steeping time of 21 days depends very much on the climate and on the temperature of the sun, which must maintain at least 20 ° C during the day so it is advised to leave the oil to macerate for 30 days to extract all the active ingredients of the plant. In case you want to extract with sunflower oil, the period can go up to 80 days to completely exhaust the extraction from the plant.
