History and Uses of Comfrey Herb
There are a number of uses for Comfrey herb and a very long history of its usage.
In ancient times the herb was called ‘knitbone’,’ all heal’ or ‘woundwort’ and was used topically for healing cuts, bruises, fractures, sprains, injured tendons/ligaments, sores and skin ulcers.
On the skin, comfrey is an emollient, soothing and was used to heal scars and blemishes. It was also said to promote a youthful complexion.
Dioscorides, a greek physician, who wrote ‘Materia Medica’ in 50AD used the herb to heal wounds and broken bones. The Latin name ‘symphytum’ means ‘heal together’
It is now believed that the allatoin (a main component of comfrey) is responsible for the growth and multiplication of skin cells.
The medium we use for maceration is organic sunflower oil, as a rich oil full of vitamins and moisturising. Our comfrey oil macerate is effective for use in massage and can be easily blended with other carrier oils and essential oils can be added.
Maceration of comfrey is literally allowing the oil to take the goodness out of the leaves using this natural lovely process. Ours is a cold process maceration which leaves a fabulous naturally rich, nourishing green-coloured oil in its final form
We used comfrey oil macerate regularly in our clinical aromatherapy practice, for clients for which comfrey oil would be effective and approriate for their individual needs. All our products are only suitable for topical use.
For more in-depth information here are three links to research papers on the efficacy of comfrey. (1), (2), (3)
The comfrey we use is harvested by hand by us from deep within the rural countryside here in Aberdeenshire. We have permissions to access a private piece of controlled land for the harvest rather than forage. It is free from artificial fertilizers, pesticides and the comfrey grows completely naturally in its own environment.
The harvest takes place from end April into May, and we choose the optimum conditions for harvesting the plant as early in the season as we can (finding consecutive dry days can be very challenging!). We only take the youngest unblemished, freshest leaves. The harvest is fully sustainable and damages no part of the land. You can see no outward evidence that we have been to collect our yearly harvest.
Each year depending on weather conditions the plants are a different height and ready at different times on different years, so we monitor how the plants are doing from mid March each year. I have a small crop (that I do not use for production) at my home, and I keep an eye on their progress too as this gives me a general idea how the plants are coming on. This tiny crop is ideal for photo and video use for marketing purposes only.
The focus here has been on the history and use of comfrey herb on the body rather than its other uses: – such as an excellent mulch on your garden. The depth of the herbs roots into the ground bring their goodness up into the plant, which can be returned into the soil to enrich it and make it ideal for growing.
Comfrey Herb is also excellent for biodiversity as the bees and other insects love it.
There are so many reasons why I so enjoy working with these lovely herbs.
Our own comfrey uses – we have 6 products which contain our own wildcrafted comfrey from Aberdeenshire, Scotland – the comfrey oil macerated in organic sunflower (which in 2022 and 2023 the oil macerate for sale as an oil is macerated in organic olive oil) ,comfrey ointment, gardener’s hand balm, herbal foot balm, reflexology balm and skin SOS balm.
Comfrey Ointment – the wildcrafted comfrey is harvested by us in Aberdeenshire and macerated in organic sunflower oil to create a wonderfully rich and powerful oil. This oil is lovingly combined with other organically grown ingredients to make what we believe is a truly premium product
Gardeners Hand Balm – Great repair and deep moisturising for cut, grazed, dry or rough hands.
Herbal Foot Balm – Excellent regeneration and deep nourishment for overworked and/or damaged feet at the end of the day.
Reflexology Balm – Tested and used by reflexologists. This product was made by request and has been so popular. Many reflexologists also use the herbal foot balm too. We have been advised that it is very good for ‘slippage’ and reflexologists and their clients love it.
Skin SOS Balm – The Skin SOS Balm was developed following many requests from customers for a product that would specifically help with scars, and minor skin issues.
The SOS Balm contains a rich blend of powerful organic carrier oils and essential oils, which can be helpful on scar repair, also on psoriasis and eczema-prone skin. After much testing it was found also to be helpful for use on new tattoos and after tattoo removal. Protective, calming and regenerating.
All our artisan skin care products are made by a highly qualified aromatherapist (BSc in Complementary Therapies (Aromatherapy), Member of the International Federation of Professsional Aromatherapists)
