Oats straw is the green top of the oat plant, harvested when the seed is at the milky stage, before it's fully ripe. The herb is nutritive and soothing to itchy, flaky skin and is used in baths, lotions and skin washes. It also makes a comforting herbal tea.

Directions: To add to the bath, place two cups of oats straw in a muslin cloth and add to the bath water, swishing it around. Or make a strong oats straw tea and add the tea water to the bath. To enhance your oats straw bath experience, tie 1/2 cup of oatmeal in a soft cloth and use it to cleanse the skin after a nice soak in the bath.

To make a tea, use one to two teaspoons of oats straw to one cup of boiling water and let steep for ten minutes before straining. To enhance the tonifying and soothing benefits of the tea, combine with lemon balm, nettles, skullcap, chamomile or passion flower.

Suggested Uses: Oats straw is soothing to dry, flaky, damaged, and itchy skin. It's an ingredient in skin creams and lotions, baby products, and bath products.

Other oats straw benefits include its use as a relaxing tea and nerve tonic. For those who feel over-worked, over-stressed, depleted and burned-out, oat straw is the tea of choice. It's gently restorative to mind and body when taken for a period of time.

Caution/Safety: The Botanical Safety Handbook* classifies oats straw as:

Class 1: herbs which can be safely consumed when used appropriately

Per the German Commission E Monograph** for oats straw, there are no known contraindications, side effects or drug interactions.

*Michael McGuffin, ed., American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook, (New York: CRC Press, 1997)

**Mark Blumenthal, ed., The Complete German Commission E Monographs, (Austin TX: Integrative Medicine Communications, 1998