Heavy legs, swollen ankles and orange peel skin, are there any natural remedies to counteract all of this? As always, nature also comes to our aid with infused oils and plants with a draining, diuretic, antioxidant and astringent action, also useful to improve blood circulation.
Ivy
Ivy is rich in saponins, which are antioxidant substances that help strengthen blood vessels. But ivy also shows an important drainage action against edema in lower limbs, it detoxifies and is diuretic (Gulcic et al, Planta Med, 2004 - Facino et al, Arch Pharm, 1995). Given these properties, ivy is very useful in combating cellulite and the effect of orange peel skin, as also reported by the well-known French herbalist Messegue in his book My Herbarium. In this case, the ivy can be used both internally, by preparing an herbal tea, and externally. As for the herbal tea, bring a cup of water to a boil, remove from heat and add 1 tablespoon of dried leaves of ivy, you can find them in herbalist’s shops or online. Let the tea rest for ten minutes, then filter and drink. As for external compresses, pour a handful of ivy leaves collected a day earlier into a jar. Add sweet almond oil or sunflower oil to cover all the leaves. Heat the jar in a double boiler for a few hours, then remove from the double boiler and let it rest overnight. The next day filter and use for evening massages. Alternatively, you can also prepare a concentrated infusion in this way. Boil a liter of water, remove from heat and add 3 tablespoons of the plant, let it rest for twenty minutes, then filter and use for local foot baths or compresses using a soaked gauze.
Coffee
Coffee is an excellent source of caffeine and polyphenols, useful to promote microcirculation, to remove stagnation and for a slimming effect (Sang-Young Byun et al, Ann Dermatol, 2015). Mix 4 tablespoons of ground coffee, fresh, and 3 tablespoons of jojoba oil or other vegetable oil you have at home. Apply to the thighs and cover with a plastic wrap, leave on for an hour. Then rinse in the shower. Complete by applying a body oil, such as sweet almond oil, which helps keep the skin toned.
Rosemary
Topical applications of rosemary extracts are used to treat cellulite thanks to the presence of carnosic acid. Not only that, thanks to the presence of antioxidant and anti-aging substances, rosemary also works to improve the elasticity of the skin (De Macedo et al, Plants, 2020). You can add 4-5 drops of rosemary essential oil to the infused oil that you have prepared with ivy leaves as we have seen in the dedicated paragraph. Alternatively, when you apply a body oil or body cream, you can add a drop of rosemary essential oil by mixing it with the product directly in the palm of your hand.
