Natural Skin Care and Herbal Solutions at Fiona's Forest

By Wendy Robinson

Published in the Lotus Guide for Healthy Living Issue No. 56 Oct/Nov/Dec 2015

Article Link: http://www.lotusguide.com/fionas-forest-herbal-solutions

Herbal solutions and natural skin-care products have found a home at Fiona’s Forest in Paradise, California. Jules Pecson, an experienced herbalist in Paradise, harvests local plants, processes the gathered components, and offers classes and participation at her shop. The local environment provides hundreds of herbs to accommodate “wild crafting,” which offers alternatives to pharmaceutical products with undesirable side effects. With a responsible and sustainable harvesting method, gatherings are ongoing and production of tinctures and salves is under way daily at Fiona’s Forest. Consultations with an experienced herbalist can help you find your way back to health.

The natural healing process has a long history but has become more crucial with the onset of genetically modified food crops. The human body recognizes and is able to absorb and use the benefits of a plant when all the constituents—the active ingredient along with the vitamins, minerals, and essential oils—are present in the remedy. The forests in our own backyard provide health-related solutions from wild harvested plants grown in their natural environment. Fiona's Forest extracts herb and plant constituents in small batches with time-tested techniques to ensure quality and freshness.

Jules Pecson has also partnered with Michael and Mei Mei Ryan from Magalia to create a line of natural skin-care products: soaps, lotions, and creams incorporating natural and essential oils. The soaps are made with coconut and palm oils as a base and scented with pure essential oils and colored with natural micas or clays. In addition, some of the soaps contain wild harvested medicinal plants to help heal conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, acne, and dry skin.

“Never include an ingredient you can't pronounce” is the motto of Fiona's Forest. The face creams, body butters, lotion bars, and lip balms are a combination of shea butter, coconut and almond oils, or cocoa butter. They are scented with pure essential oils or fragrances and can include zinc oxide as a sunscreen. The face creams include distilled goji berries to provide antioxidants and stimulate blood flow to the skin. Local Bordin’s beeswax is used to bind and stabilize the lotions and creams.

You can find these products in the shop at 5390 Skyway in Paradise, at the Saturday farmers market in Chico, or the Tuesday morning farmers market in Paradise. www.fionasforest.com