Wee Favorite Gifts; For Herbalists Who Lead Plastic-Free Lives

Herbalists are fun folks to get gifts for, if you know what they love. Its nature.
In the modern world of plastic stuff and electronic toys, sometimes an herbalist would be happy enough to just get a stick rather than those things. But finding just the right stick can be hard, so I've come up with a few plastic-free gift ideas that can serve to keep your herb-lover happy all year 'round.

Herbalists want natural health care tools; lets start with that stick.

A wooden toothbrush with natural bristles will clean teeth without damaging tooth enamel or scratch sensitive gums the way that synthetic toothbrushes will do. These wood toothbrushes make dental care a safe and pleasing task. I've been buying these finely made toothbrushes since the 1980's when starting to remove all plastics from my home and life. Your herbalist will love these, and buy one for yourself too while you're at it.

Wood hair brushes with wooden pins (instead of bristles) set into a soft pneumatic air cushion base are another herbalist luxury. They gently massages and stimulate the scalp as you brush, distributing natural oils along the hair shaft. Using wood to brush hair eliminates static in the hair, making it more manageable and easier to style.

Both these wooden gifties can be found for under $10

Glass is a pretty nice material for health care tools as well. It's made of mostly silica. Many herbs contain silica, and so does sand. As an herbalist I can tell you, we love herbs and sand!

Form-fitting glass eye wash cups are an excellent maintenance tool for people with dry eyes or that wear contact lenses, to use with an eye rinse. They are also handy for keeping in a medicine chest to use to flush the eyes when something has gotten into them, or is irritating them. Glass eye cups are beautiful to look at when not in use, and can be purchased from a vintage shop, or bought new for under $10

Lovely things can be made out of metal as well. Metal is created out of ore, a kind of rock. It's true, I can't make this up! And what herbalist doesn't love rocks?


If your herbalist loves to travel, it's nice to be prepared for a get-away. They will surely enjoy a stainless steel metal soap box. I know that I love mine. They are durable, won't rust or break so they will have them for a lifetime. You can make them doubly happy by creating a stainless steel toothbrush case to go with it. It's not as hard as it sounds. Purchase a stainless steel cigar case, which are made well and to last. Next, if you are not handy this way yourself, find someone to drill a small hole in one end for aeration. You now have a travel tooth brush case to go with your soap case. Nice, very nice indeed.

If you've watched Steve Martin's movie The Jerk and shudder at the idea of getting a thermos for someone after hearing the song: I'm Picking Out A Thermos For You, please, get us a thermos! Look for any brand of food or drink storage that is durable, and attractive of course, after all it is a gift! The stainless steel type is a great choice. Make sure that the inside is also stainless, as food, especially hot food or liquid, can be easily contaminated by coming into contact with plastic. You can find the wide mouth style for soup and narrow-mouth style for herbal infusions and tea. The herbalist in your life will be so pleased that you cared enough to find just the right one to suit their sensibilities.