Helichrysum when in its natural state as a dried ornamental flower, known to keep its shape, fragrance, and color almost forever. Hence it’s called Everlasting or Immortelle. Chances are, you’ve had a piece or two of helichrysum in your dried floral arrangements at one time or another. It also has a scent like sage or wormwood and in Europe, along the Mediterranean, where it grows, it’s used as a spice.

Helichrysum is antibacterial, antiviral, anti-phologistic, anticatarrhal, anticoalgulant, an expectorant, and mucolytic.

Anti-phologistic means it helps to reduce the inflammation caused during fevers that has a tendency to wear out our bodies and cause exhaustion.

Anticatarrhal means it is anti-inflammatory to the mucous membranes.

Expectorant means it loosens and expels mucous from the body.

Mucolytic means it increases and thickens mucous making it easier for the body to expel it.

When cold and flu season hit your home, this will be one of your best friends to heal quickly. Put this in your diffuser with your favorite immune boosting blend and use it continually. Its expectorant properties when inhaled, will allow it to loosen and expels mucous from the body. Also, it helps to loosen the existing mucous from the membranes in our lungs allowing our coughs to be more productive. And its mucolytic properties increase and thicken that loosened mucous making it easier for our lungs to expel it. All the while keeping that fever and its exhausting affects at bay. Sounds like a winner to me and I’d rather use this than some medicine has any number of crazy side effects that you’re not expecting.

Anticoagulant means it prevents the clotting of blood, or is a blood thinner. Helichrysum is considered a safe alternative to blood thinners. The active ingredients curcumene and caryophyllene, which are two of Helichrysum’s chemical components, work as blood pressure reducers. You can apply a drop or two to the bottom of your feet and across your chest over your heart, to help with circulation.

It’s fantastic for cell-regeneration and scar healing, and is considered an emollient. It would work fantastically for matured and damaged skin in an oil cleanse for your face. Also combined with a carrier oil of your choosing, and rubbed on stretch marks. It also prevents de-hydration and cracking of the skin, allowing it to retain its moisture balance.

On an emotional level, again when inhaled, it enters your limbic system, your emotional center, and has the ability to allow us to bypass our anger, allowing us to forgive trespasses and move forward.

When not available, similar therapeutic results can be achieved by mixing 5 drops of Elemi, 5 drops of Idaho Tansy, and 1 drop of Wintergreen. And I should warn you, if you’ve had any recent surgeries, and/or have a risk of internal hemorrhaging, steer clear of helichrysum.

And with that, we are “forever” indebted to Helichrysum’s healing properties. Ha, did you catch that? I crack myself up. But for real, school season is upon us. Stock up on helichrysum for those colds and flus, and peppermint for that lice epidemic that’s bound to hit, just like it did last year and the year before. Happy oilying ya’ll!