"I've known Kate Holly-Clark of Antika Nueva for years, but until recently I'd never tried any of her "apothecary goo" products. I simply don't have a lot of cash lying around for things that aren't actual necessities, so I tend to just turn off my attention toward anything that isn't groceries or gas.
But with the onset of the Great Diabetic Wound Adventure, I was scared enough to start paying a bit more attention to this body-thing that my soul is currently wearing, because human parts aren't easily replaceable. And through the mysterious workings of Fate and Kate, I was gifted with a sample of her Raw Shea And Comfrey Goo, which promotes fast healing.
Now, this is not something I could safely use on the wound itself in this stage of healing - I'll explain why in a moment. But I used it on the skin around the wound, which was pretty battered. When I realized that a little goes a long way, I used it on the entire top of my foot, which (as diabetic feet tend to be) was becoming covered in horribly dry and scaly skin which was at the same time extremely fragile, and sporting several bad breaks in that fragile skin from perfectly ordinary stresses (like putting on shoes).
And dammit, this stuff WORKS. It works FAST.
Within a day those bloody little skin-breaks were starting to look cleaner. And the rest of the skin looks nearly normal, and no longer breaks at a feather-touch.
Did I say FAST?
(That's one reason why I was warned by Kate not to use it on the actual wound until I was certain the infection was gone - this stuff'll heal the skin over a wound so quickly that it can actually trap the infection inside, which would NOT be a good idea.)
So I started trying it in other trouble spots. I have a couple of small scars that I have a bad tendency to scratch, which of course reopens them. With this stuff applied, they are re-healing more normally, with less raised scar tissue. One of them is now really hard to find at all, either visually or by touch. I mean, seriously - a scarred spot that I'd worried at for years is essentially GONE in a week.
My much-abused nose, victim of countless colds and chronic sinus infections, no longer sports bloody broken skin. That is nice. That is *really* nice.
And once the diabetic wound is well filled-in (right now it's still sort of a crater in my foot) I'll definitely use it there - don't wanna try it now because, even though I think the infection is gone, I suspect it'd heal so fast that the crater would remain. (Nicely covererd with healthy skin, of course, but I'd rather let it fill in first!)
All of this is to say... WOW, Kate, this stuff is AMAZING.
Kate makes a variety of "apothecary goo" products, each one formulated to help specific kinds of pain and/or skin issues. There's goo for arthritis and goo for nerve pain, goo for bruises and goo for cracked skin. I've heard people rave about them - and now I know why.
(They're not actually gooey. The base is mostly shea butter, which is pretty solid at room temperatures.)
If you have unrelieved pain or troubling skin issues, chances are that Kate has a goo for that. I can only personally vouch for the one I've used, but I know plenty of other folks who will tell you amazing stories about the ones they've used.
She is still shipping at the moment, and plans to continue as long as she can safely do so. Since both she and her spouse work from home and take precautions, ordering from her is probably safer than ordering from Amazon. And hell, Amazon ain't got nothin' like this!
The link below is the goo page of her website. She also has handmade wire-wrap jewelry and home-made soap and other goodies. Check it out!"
Honestly, this is the kind of thing that makes my WEEK. So often things that chivvy at us are small--an itch, a rough scar that you worry at, a raw place....they're tiny and eat up so much of your mind in proportion to their size it's ridiculous. Being able to solve those things for people makes me feel really good.