A Personal Field Trip to Four Elements Organic Herbals Apothecary

Somewhere there’s a certified organic family farm, surrounded by more than 9,000 acres of protected land, far from agricultural drift, with mineral-rich soil sitting on one of the most ancient outcrops of quartzite in North America. 

Four Elements organic farm in Wisconsin

In the pristine Baraboo Bluffs, designated as one of the Last Great Places by the Nature Conservancy, is the 130 acres where Four Elements Organic Herbals grows and handpicks herbs and flowers for its line of organic handmade soaps, balms, creams, oils, deodorants and hydrosols/toners.

Shirlie & I hiking at
Aldo Leopold Foundation trails

Four of us from Chicago were camping for a few days at the local Devil’s Lake State Park in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Before we ventured on one of our hikes up the park’s bluffs, my friend Shirlie pulled out a pump bottle of natural insect repellant from her knapsack. “Want to try it?” she asked. It was Four Elements Lavender Catnip Insect Repellant. She said she had purchased it at a shop in Evanston, a suburb of Chicago.

I was pleasantly surprised by my friend’s offering, as I had been using Four Elements products  I had immediately fallen in love with her soaps, in addition to a special roll-on facial oil called Golden Crown Botanical Elixir “designed for wise women with mature skin," for years. I first met Four Elements farmer and owner Jane Stevens at the Baraboo Farmer’s Market during a previous trip to the area.

Golden Crown
Elixir

Golden Crown Botanical Elixir is made from a list of luscious naturals: sage, calendula, gotu kola and ginseng infused almond oil, neroli, rose geranium, rose and clary sage essential oils, rose hip seed oil, vitamin E and something called “pretty face flower essence.” Smells so good! It keeps my skin glowing and I am totally unable to live without it. Thus, I have ordered it online ever since.

Evidently, Four Elements has increased their distribution beyond the local Farmer’s Market and online sales, as Shirlie could attest. Four Elements products are now available in retail locations in 36 states.

As I held and used the insect repellant that Shirlie just handed me, I asked her, “Do you have any idea where they actually make the Four Elements products?” She did not. “In the little town of North Freedom, just west of here!” From the Four Elements website, I had learned that they ran an apothecary of their products in North Freedom, eight miles west of Baraboo, the town closest to Devil’s Lake.

Coincidentally, with a Four Elements brochure tucked into my camping supplies, I had actually planned ahead to suggest a field trip over to the apothecary sometime during our stay in order to introduce Shirlie to their great products. Little did I know she was already familiar with them!

Four Elements Apothecary
in North Freedom, Wisconsin

No need to talk her into making the side trip to Four Elements Apothecary.  One afternoon, Shirlie and I and our significant others drove up to the Aldo Leopold Foundation Legacy Center and visited the buildings and trails on this bucolic, environmental site. On our way back, we made a loop into North Freedom (population 706) and pulled up to the unassuming storefront of the Four Elements Herbals Apothecary. 

Inside, we entered a modest shop area where the skin care and wellness products and testers were lined up on wooden shelves.  We were greeted by Molly, who explained how all the products are processed and packaged right on premises in a large area behind the shop.  And how everything that went into the products is grown and handpicked at the farm, located about six miles from the shop. How often does this this local farm-to-product process take place in America? Unfortunately, too seldom! The Four Elements farm itself, founded in 1987 and certified organic since 1990, is open to the public only on a special Open Farm Day held in late spring each year, or by appointment only.  This year marks their 30^th anniversary.

My cache from Four Elements Apothecary

After testing products on our skin, smelling their wonderfully natural aromas, and chatting with Molly about the benefits of each of the items we were interested in, both Shirlie and I gathered a cache of healthy selections to bring home with us. 

Hiking can sometimes leave me a little banged up after hitting stray tree branches or unseen jutting rocks, so I was eager to try the Four Elements Black and Blue Balm. In addition, my husband Carlos entered the apothecary with sore wrists and Shirlie with sore knees. After a couple of sprays of Four Elements Arnica Capsicum Botanical Liniment to the affected areas, the pain of both parties immediately vanished. Sold!

One of my family members is plagued by painful varicose veins, so I bought him a gift of Four Elements Very Close Vein Cream, which contains horse chestnut hull, gotu kola, St. John’s wort and other botanicals to help relieve vein pain, smoothly delivered in a shea butter and botanical oil base.

I was a little sad to see that my favorite and delightfully fragrant Four Elements Hunter’s Oakmoss and Pine Soap was being discontinued, but was able to pick up the last several bars half-off in the clearance bin.  A few other items rounded out my purchases including a Triple Lemon Tea, comprising lemongrass, lemon balm and lemon verbena. And Shirlie left with a healthy supply of items, as well, including a vial of the Golden Crown Botanical Elixir facial oil roll-on for herself. She and her beau Jim also liked the Herbal Shampoo in bar form. Easy to pack on camping trips, and not considered a liquid in flight carry-ons.

It was a highlight of our central Wisconsin trip to finally visit the Four Elements Herbal Apothecary in person to hand-pick new items and learn more about its earth stewardship and fair trade practices, and the dedicated local talent who grow, create, package and ship products

Owner Jane Stevens & her crew
who farm and create the Four Elements products.

they believe in.

Four Elements. Earth (some of the best soil on the planet). Air (clean air from 55,000 acres of surrounding forests). Water (set among the Baraboo, Wisconsin and Mississippi River watersheds). Fire (summer days of 16 hours of sunshine). It is all pure and vibrant in central Wisconsin. Hoping next year to take part in Four Elements Open Farm Day come spring! 

-->

For more information about Four Elements Organic Herbals, visit: http://www.fourelementsherbals.com

◦

A Personal Field Trip to Four Elements Organic Herbals Apothecary

Damiana: The Natural Aphrodisiac for Women?

How many FDA-approved male sexual enhancement medications are out there? Dozens.  How many FDA-approved female versions? Zero.

One of the reasons may be because of differences in male and female sexual drivers. While male medications directly address men’s physical capabilities, ones that are currently being tested for females are instead targeting women’s brain chemistry.  

Did you know there is a natural, herbal product that also addresses women’s brain chemistry when it comes to sexual enhancement, which also does not pose any of the side affects of any of the proposed prescription medications, once any gets FDA-approval?

That natural herb is damiana.

Damiana leaf is in the Turneraceae family (ie. Turnera Diffusa) and is often included in the same family as Passionflower (P. incarnate) Passifloraceae. The herb is also known as Damiana Aphrodisiaca or Turnera Aphrodisiaca.

Damiana gives the mind a sense of relaxation and letting go. It helps when lack of sex drive is the result of mental exhaustion, when someone’s thoughts are occupied elsewhere and need to switch out to the sensual side of their natures.  According to some traditional wisdom, damiana is the “wild one who tames.”

With careers, motherly duties, household responsibilities, and an effort to maintain friendships and outside interests, many women are mentally and emotionally taxed to the point of occasionally, sometimes or often finding it difficult to relax enough to “get in the mood.” Damiana might be of help.

And as a writer, my ongoing thoughts are often occupied with my writing projects. According to playwright Eugene Ionesco, “A writer never has a vacation.  For a writer, life consists of either writing or thinking about writing.” 

But I am also a yoga instructor. When practicing yoga or teaching yoga classes, I find yoga helps me to switch into a different mode than one in which I wear my writer’s cap. 

In a similar fashion, damiana can help a woman ease out of a mentally taxed mood to one that embraces more of a physical or sensual sense of expression.

One source actually claims the relaxing effects of the damiana plant is similar to the initial relaxation of smoking marijuana, but damiana is legal in most places.

I personally have used damiana for years with no side effects. And as we grow older, I can’t deny that we women may need a little extra “help” at the end of the day before turning special attention to one’s partner. Many men as they age often do as well. There is no doubt of the popularity of Viagra, Cialis and like enhancers among them for men. As far as damiana for women is concerned, I find the tincture version versus capsules to be most effective. I suggest women take one dropperful or more 20 minutes before sex. 

What would the frugal poet do? Take a costly sex-enhancing prescription medication on a daily basis and be subject to various side effects (which the proposed medication marks on each point when it is finally FDA-approved) or turn instead to a natural, herbal aid with a long, historical track record and use only when needed?

Brief historical background of damiana

Damiana was first used in Mexico since the times of the ancient Aztecs and natives along the Baja peninsula. Although its primary use is to encourage sexual desire, it is also an effective nerve relaxant, digestive stimulant, mood enhancer. It can be used by men and women alike for any of these needs, but may not carry the same effectiveness on male sexuality as it does with female.

There is even a damiana-enhanced liqueur that is distilled in Mexico and sold in stores around the world. The glass bottle is shaped like a voluptuous woman with large breasts, large belly, and full hips, modeled after an ancient pre-Columbian goddess. The bottle is often given as a wedding or shower gift to new couples. Many familiar with Neolithic art might see a resemblance of this bottle to the Venus of Willendorf sculpture, discovered in Austria and dating back nearly 30,000 years.

As a side note, there is evidence that the original margarita cocktail incorporated a damiana-based liqueur as well, versus the triple-sec or orange-flavored alcohol used today.

◦

Damiana: The Natural Aphrodisiac for Women?