MorningCedar Silky Smooth Beard Oil

Indigenous Uses:

Cedar:Western red cedar for the PNW coastal Natives the wood serves for house planks, house posts, roof boards, various kinds of boxes, and canoes. It is easy to split and is used for bentwood boxes. Bark is made into skirts, capes, and complete dresses for women, and roots and limbs are used for baskets and rope. The inner bark is used for slow matches to carry the fire from camp to camp, and also as mats, and baskets. Western red cedar is employed medicinally by a number of native North American Indian tribes, who use it to treat a wide range of complaints. It is seldom, if ever, used in modern herbalism. An infusion of the leaves are used in the treatment of stomach pains and diarrhoea. A decoction of the leaves are used in the treatment of colds. A decoction of the powdered leaves are used externally to treat various internal pains, including rheumatism. The leaf buds are chewed in the treatment of toothaches and sore lungs. A decoction of the buds are used as a gargle. A decoction of the small branches are used in the treatment of coughs, colds and tuberculosis. A weak infusion has been drunk in the treatment of painful joints caused by rheumatism or arthritis. A poultice of the crushed bough tips and oil are applied to the back and chest in the treatment of bronchitis, rheumatism, stomach pains and swollen neck. An infusion of the twigs are used as a wash in the treatment of venereal disease sores. A decoction of the boughs are used as an anti-dandruff shampoo. A decoction of the stem tips and the roots are used in the treatment of colds. An infusion of the bark and twigs are used in the treatment of kidney complaints. An infusion of the seeds and twigs are used in the treatment of fevers. The chewed bark, or a decoction of the bark, are drunk to induce menstruation. A moxa of the inner bark  are used as a counter-irritant for the skin. A poultice of the inner bark are applied to carbuncles. The bark are pounded until it is as soft as cotton and then used to rub the face. The very soft bark are used to bind wounds and cover dressings. The shredded bark are used to cauterize sores and swellings.

Stinging Nettle is used by almost all the tribes in the area as a type of cordage made out of the bark of its stem. The bark of the stem is peeled,  dried and rolled on the thigh into a two-ply string and weaved together to make different thicknesses of cordage and nets. The Skokomish, Lummi and Snohomish use the cordage for duck nets. Nettle is also used by the entire area of tribes for medicinal properties. It is used for rheumatism, paralysis, colds, soreness, stiffness, hair care and as a general tonic by the salish people. From tribe to tribe their uses vary.  Nettle is also given to women during pregnancy and when experiencing difficulties in labor. The seal hunters of the coastal tribes whip themselves with stinging nettle and after covering themselves with seal fat to help give the warriors power and adrenalin to stay awake all night and hunt for seals in the cold ocean. 

Cottonwood buds are used indigenously for materials and medicine. Many PNW Salish and Lushootseed tribes use cottonwood for living infrastructure and building materials. Squaxin uses the bark as tea for sore throats and bruises the leaves into water and uses it as an antiseptic on cuts.  For centuries around the world the resin from the buds have been made into a salve with some sort of animal fat to treat pains and rheumatism.

WesternUses:

Cedar: Western red cedar wood is primarily used in roofing for shingles and shakes, because of its attractive appearance, durability, lightness, and superior insulation qualities. It is also used in exterior finishings, utility poles, fence posts, piling, paper pulp, and various types of containers. The species is managed for timber in Europe and New Zealand. Cedar leaf oil is often the basis for production of perfumes, insecticides, medicinal preparations, veterinary soaps, shoe polishes, and deodorants. Wildlife: The leaves of western red cedar are a major winter food for big game in the northern Rocky Mountains, and deer browse it all year along the coast. Many cultivars are grown for ornament, including those used for hedges. It is the provincial tree of British Columbia. 

Stinging Nettle  is a perennial plant of the nettle family (Urticaceae), known for its stinging leaves. Stinging nettle is distributed nearly worldwide but is especially common in Europe, North America, North Africa, and parts of Asia. The plant is widely common in herbal medicine, and the young leaves are packed with nutritional properties and can be cooked and eaten. Stinging nettle has been used for it’s bast fibres for textiles, cosmetics and made into topical creams to aid in joint pain and in skin ailments like eczema and psoriasis. This plant has also been used in shampoos to treat dandruff. Nettle has a long history of use as a medicinal herb and is still used today by naturopathic doctors, herbalists and by people making medicinal folk remedies in their homes. The fresh leaves have been applied to arthritic joints to stimulate blood flow in a process called urtification. The roots and leaves have been made into a tea and used as a diuretic and for prostate enlargement as well as other urinary disorders. Tea made from the leaves has been used to treat hay fever, diabetes, gout, and arthritis. There are studies that reveal correlation with nettle relieving anxiety, stuttering and motor nerve malfunction as well. 

Cottonwood Buds have been made into a sweet smelling salve for centuries to treat a variety of skin ailments from cuts to minor bruises and burns and to ease pain. The salve is referred to as the Balm of Gilead, as referred to in the Bible which means Balm of God. It’s bright aromatherapeutic scent is it’s most memorable characteristic and its powerful medicinal properties are it’s strongest. The buds have antibacterial, antimicrobial, antifungal, analgesic, anti inflammatory properties that aid with healing 1st aid bruises, cuts and burns. A compound called salicin reduces fevers and inflammation from arthritic joints,, hyperextension as well as ease the pain. It is specific for the muscular-skeletal system and an analgesic and anti-inflammatory herbal oil. 

Active Components:  a volatile humulene oil,Balsamic resin; gallic acid, malic acid, salicin, populin, mannitol, chrysin, fixed oil, tectochrysin, arachidonic, trichocarpin, and bisopolol.

PNW Indigenous plants:

Thuja Plicata - Cedar

Urtica dioica - Nettle

Populus balsamifera - Cottonwood 

Equisetum telmateia - Horsetail