Fast recovery from aches and pains
This article was originally published in August 2011
Heal soreness, soothe sunburn and bruises with these favorite remedies
After a day of hiking, biking, climbing or just soaking in the sun, it’s easy for your body to be taxed and tired. Keep it going strong with products at PCC that will help relieve sore muscles, bring comfort to sunburned skin and help with relaxation and recovery.
Alleviate aches and pains
Soothe an aching body with balms, rubs and ointments that use plant-based ingredients such as menthol, cayenne pepper, Arnica montana, St. John’s Wort, and essential oils to help alleviate muscle tension and soreness.
Shepard Moon, based in Seattle, offers Aches & Pain Relief Bath salts that help increase circulation, relax muscles and reduce inflammation in your body. Find them prepackaged and available in bulk so you can buy just the amount you need. Moon Valley in Deming, Wash., offers a deeply penetrating Muscle Rub that contains a unique blend of Chinese and Western herbs to help stimulate circulation and relax nerve pain associated with stiffness and swelling.
One of our favorites is Elemental Herbs Herbal Cool Sore Muscle Spray, which provides fast pain relief for sore muscles and achy joints through a carefully formulated blend of herbs and organic plants. You’ll also find Tiger Balm and Badger Sore Muscle Rub.
Soothe sunburn
When your skin has been exposed to too much sun, cool it down with a gel, lotion or spray formulated specifically to treat sunburn.
Nutrient-rich aloe vera has antiseptic and antibiotic properties that help with skin irritations. All Terrain offers Aloe Gel Skin Relief, and from Real Aloe you’ll find a mist spray made of 99 percent aloe vera juice that will help with an extremely sensitive, sleep-depriving sunburn. You’ll also find Pure Aloe Vera from Aubrey Organics, made with 98 percent organic ingredients, and Burt’s Bees’ Aloe & Linden Flower After-Sun Soother, which will “help overexposed skin chill out.”
For an all-over lotion, turn to the protective, replenishing After Sun Face and Body Moisturizer with CoQ10 and Pomegranate from Aubrey Organics.