Refreshing Nettle Spearmint Eye Gel

Refreshing Nettle Herbal Eye Gel

My super easy, homemade Nettle & Spearmint Eye Gel is that refreshing, cooling and soothing (totally) natural relief you’ve been waiting for to nourish tired eyes. Not only that, but Nettle brings an astringent action that gets to work on tightening the delicate skin around your eyes so the effects are not only healing, they’re beautifying! There are two ways to use this gel: to cool your eye area or as a face mask to tighten skin and increase glow. Wait till you feel the tightening action! Come on back to my healing kitchen and I’ll show you how to make this skin-nutritious eye gel.

This stuff is so good you could eat it (literally). That’s how grass roots, natural and organic this herbal eye gel is! Eye gels have always been a great way to naturally soothe and cool the eye area, but particularly these days with our device usage increasing and all those zoom meetings……you know what I mean! These things cause a lot of heat and dryness in our eyes and that affects all structures around the eyes too. The drier your eyes are, the more prone you are to wrinkles, itchiness, redness, eye strain and eye fatigue.

This Nettle and Spearmint eye gel is all about nourishing the eye area. The skin around your eyes is really delicate and prone to line formation. To care for your eye area stick to natural and gentle and nothing does it like herbs! The Aloe vera gel actively cools and settles any inflammation or itch and provides a gentle barrier for your skin. The Nettle acts as an anti-inflammatory and tones and tightens skin. It’s also rich in lots of vitamins and minerals (I call it my ‘green multi’). And the Spearmint freshens up your sparkly twins with its antioxidant and anti-inflammatoy activity. What a well-matched pair!  

So in this post I’ll show you how to whip up a totally natural, refreshing and cooling gel that you can apply to your eye area each night and wash off in the morning. You could easily put small amounts on in the morning under moisturisers or makeup too. The cooling and tonic action of this gel will work on reducing that redness and providing some moistening to the eye area. Apply it over the eyelid if you like but be careful not to get any gel inside your eyes. If you’re struggling with so many device hours and zoom calls like the rest of us, this could just be the coolest solution 🙂

And by the way, what a great Chrissie present this would make. Squeeze it into a cute little amber glass jar and post it to your loved ones. (Be sure to get that amiox preservative if you’re gifting these, see below for more details on that).

Refreshing Nettle Herbal Eye Gel

Photo: Nataliya Vaitkevich

This cooling herbal eye gel can help with:

  • Dry skin around the eyes
  • Wrinkle prone skin around the eyes
  • Itchy skin around the eyes
  • Itchy eyes
  • Red eyes
  • Dry eyes
  • Eye strain

 

How to use this herbal eye gel

You can apply a generous amount of gel around the eye area each night, and rinse off in the morning. You can also use this gel as a glow-inducing and super-tightening face mask by applying a generous amount all over the face and leaving to dry. Then rinse off 20-30 minutes later.

Use smaller amounts and dab around the eye when leaving on for longer periods. I like using the gel before applying serums and lotions or creams. Oils don’t blend so well with it and you’ll end up getting bits of gel separating. So best to use water based products on top of it if you’re using it as a moisturizer. Experiment! See what works for you.

 

What else you can do to care for your eyes naturally

  • The reality is that when we stare at screens for hours on end our blink rate reduces and this causes dryness and irritation. Use some natural eye drops or saline solution to keep your eyes hydrated. Some come without preservatives, they’re the best ones to use.
  • You can also take herbal and nutritional supplements. Start with something like Macuvision by Blackmores and Vision Care by Metagenics as an absolute basic. If you’re concerned, book in for a consult with me and I’ll put a protocol together for you. Particularly if your eye strain’s chronic or unrelenting.
  • Take a break from your device for 5 minutes every hour.
  • Keep your screen below eye level (3-5 inches below your eye level is best)
  • Eye strain can lead to neck and back pain, aching, fatigue, disrupted sleep and blurry vision .
Refreshing Nette Eye Gel

Of course you can switch up the type of gelatin you use, and if you don’t have the AMIOX it’s okay! Just keep it in the fridge and it should last a few weeks.

Just a couple tips before you mix up this refreshing gel. As the ingredients are so NATURAL you’ll either need to preserve them with amiox or an equivalent, or you can keep refridgerated. Without the amiox this will last around 3 weeks. 

Also on the gelatin, I use this standard supermarket vegetarian plant-based gelatin but you might prefer another type. So go for it. Be prepared to experiment a little with the amount and if anything, use less of an animal-derived gelatin. 

Okay, all ready! Let’s make gel.

Refreshing Nettle & Spearmint Eye Gel

My super easy, home-made Nettle & Spearmint Eye Gel is that refreshing, cooling and soothing natural relief you’ve been waiting for to nourish tired eyes. Not only that, but Nettle brings an astringent action that gets to work on tightening the delicate skin around your eyes so the effects are not only healing, they’re beautifying! Come on back to my healing kitchen and I’ll show you how to make this skin-nutritious eye gel.
Prep Time12 hours
Cook Time20 minutes
Author: Sulin Sze

Ingredients

  • 2 grams nettle leaf dried
  • 2 grams spearmint leaf dried (use peppermint if you can't get spearmint)
  • 2 aloe Vera leaves (with gel skimmed out
  • 1 Gel-It-In vegetarian gelatin sachet
  • 3 drops Amiox (Natural preservative for beauty products)
  • 200 mL filtered water

Instructions

  • Infuse the herbs in water overnight. Strain in the morning and retain the liquid. You'll need 60mL of it for the next step, and 90mL of it for the following step (150mL total).
  • Combine 60mL of the infusion and the aloe gel in a blender. Blend to a smooth consistency. Strain out the juice and set aside.  
  • Combine 90ml infusion and gelatin in a small saucepan. Sit for 2-3 minutes to bloom, then switch on heat. Warm until thickened.
  • Add amiox, aloe and infusion mix and stir to combine. Blend again if needed to smoothen the consistency. Pour into jar.
  • Refrigerate to keep cool for a more skin tightening application. Lasts 6-8 wks.
Refreshing Nette Eye Gel

First create the infusion, you’ll use the infusion as your main liquid. 

Refreshing Nette Eye Gel

Blend part of the infusion with the aloe gel. Get a nice smooth consistency and strain it at the end anyway.

Refreshing Nette Eye Gel

Make the gelatin mix with infusion and one vegetarian gelatin sachet.

Refreshing Nette Eye Gel

And you’re gel is ready to use but you might like to pop it in the refridgerator so it’s extra cool when you apply it. This is bliss for your eyes! X Sulin 

enjoy

Hey there! Welcome to my world of totally natural and powerful healing medicines. Medicines from nature. Medicine from Source. I’m a naturopath and herbalist with extensive clinical experience working with a range of health conditions including hormonal, metabolic, mental health, sleep and more.

I’ve brought together years of clinical and teaching experience, academic skill and curiosity to bring you this blog. I hope you enjoy it! If you do, leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!

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