COLUMBIANA, Ohio – Barberry, goldenrod, jewelweed, turkey tail, witch hazel and wormwood may sound like ingredients for a halloween witch’s potion, but they are also part of a blend of herbs found in many skin care products at The Wild Herb Co. Ltd.
“We handmake everything,” owner Beth Komara said. “We have a traditional herbal formula that we use. It’s made of 24 different wild herbs.”
The Wild Herb Skincare Blend is in several of the products available at The Wild Herb, including several creams, beard and face oil, ointment, salve, lip balm and even shampoo.
The business’s story began over 30 years ago. Marina Schaum graduated from Princeton, where her parents were professors, and ended up in Homer, Alaska. While working there, Schaum befriended an indigenous woman, an herbalist, who took Schaum on herb walks and taught her about many of the uses for local plants.
“They would make little concoctions and take them around to the different mom-and-pop shops because there weren’t too many pharmacies up in the area,” Komara said.
Eventually, Schaum met and married a man from East Liverpool, which brought her to Ohio. So in 2001, Schaum began again, learning about and creating from the herbs in this region.
“She started the apothecary type of business with the herbs being the driving force of her creations,” Komara said. “And she’d make salves and balms and creams and soaps. I tell people lotions and potions.”
Komara started working with Schaum in 2016, three years before Schaum retired from the business. At that time, Schaum was attending artisan shows featuring handcrafted items to peddle most of her herbal remedies. Komara had a background in marketing, but she said Schaum stoked her interest in herbal medicine.
Schaum moved to Hawaii before she died, leaving Komara to carry on the traditions. Komara moved the business into a historic brick storefront with wooden floors and decorative tin ceilings on Main Street in Columbiana.
“Of course we did the formula for the local herbs in this area,” Komara said. “And it’s interesting because you can find them in the woods in two seconds. Go and look at the ground, and right there’s about five that we use.”
Everything is as all-natural as possible – even the preservatives are made from natural ingredients.
Additionally, the store has essential oils, extracted scents that are added to some of the products. Molly DeFilippo recently started working at the store and concocts frankincense and muhr smudge pots in a box for the customers.
The shop evolved around the idea of holistic natural herbs, and instead of going to shows, it now has a robust online business.
Inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Komara has a back room where she makes many of the products herself. The store is open only Thursday through Saturday, but she can be found there making products in glass jars on the other days.
In addition to containers of local herbs and the products made from them, shoppers can find air plants, candles, tapestries, artwork, journals, teas, crystals and jewelry.
Komara said she loves that Schaum built the business to focus on people and their health. Komara said though she can’t advise people about the healing properties she knows the products have, she has a naturopathic physician she refers people to if they have questions.
The Wild Herb’s No. 1 seller is the magnesium cream, and Debbie Kuglics, who was visiting the store with her husband, Rich, swears by it.
“We use that for everything,” Kuglics said.
Although visiting the Columbiana store is a bit of a trip from their home in Beaver Falls, the Kuglics said they come for herbal products, the “cool vibe” and the jewelry items, some of which Kuglics makes.
“And if you’re here at Christmastime, she makes the most delicious balsam hand cream,” Kuglics said.
Pictured at top: Molly DeFilippo, left, and Beth Komara.