Aroma Balm Solid Perfume - Bath Blend of the Month

This is a wonderful item to make for yourself or as a gift. The essential oils in the blend give an aroma that help with anxiety, stress, and tension. If you are making only a couple for yourself, cut the recipe down to ¼ the original size. For the full recipe, you need 12 to 14 round 1-ounce tins or heat resistant jars to pour the liquid into.  It is best to warm the base ingredients in a double boiler or a bowl over water, rather than directly on the stove.

Base --

• 1 ½ cup almond oil
  
• ½ cup grapeseed oil
• 1 tsp vitamin E oil
• ½ cup beeswax pastilles or grated beeswax

Essential oil blend –

• 20 drops clary sage
• 20 drop sweet marjoram
• 20 drop vetiver
• 10 drop juniper
• 10 drop lavender

Directions:

Mix essential oils together in a glass bottle and roll between the palms of your hands to combine.  Set aside.

Using a double boiler, gently warm carrier oils over medium heat.  Add the beeswax and stir together until completely melted to liquid, but do not boil.  Remove from heat and immediately pour into 1 oz, containers.  Drop 6 drops of essential oil blend into each tin and screw lids on tight.  Makes 14.

Beeswax Lip Balm - Weekend Recipe

This Saturday I am in Wisconsin at an Herb Fair put on by the Wisconsin Unit of the Herb Society of America.  Held at the Boerner Botanical Gardens 9400 Boerner Drive Hales Corners, WI 53130 (near Milwaukee)

It is the second show this month where I will be outside in the sun all day.  The hardest part is drinking enough water when it is warm.  If I do not the sun and the dehydration make my lips brittle.  I started making this plain beeswax lip balm to wear outdoors when doing these shows and gardening.  It is protecting to your lips, keeping them soft.

Balm for Lips
Makes 1 ½ ounces

• 2 tablespoons grated beeswax

• 1 teaspoon sunflower oil
• 1 teaspoon apricot kernel oil
• 1/8 teaspoon vitamin E oil

On a stove or in a microwave, gently heat beeswax and oils until melted; be careful to not overheat. Stir well to combine. Pour into a small, clean container, then cool completely.  You can add essential oils by the drop as it cools or flavored extracts if you want, but I like it plain in the summer.

Gardener’s Moisturizing Salve

Working in the dirt is very drying.  I wear gloves when I garden, but that does not keep the dry effects away.  I always wash carefully when I come in the house and then put on a moisturizing salve or lotion.

I like to make one with herbs for use in the summer.  The first step is to make an infused oil to prepare the salve from. I gave instructions for that in a previous blog post in September 2012 (Making Infused Herbal Oils.)   For this salve I recommend making the infused oil with a savory herb like thyme, lemon grass or oregano for the earthy scent and the germ fighting abilities.  (Never forget that many germs exist in the soil.)

To make a simple salve, grate up some beeswax and add it to hot infused oil, stirring continuously until it melts. (About 1ounce beeswax to 8 fluid ounces of oil)

Test on the back of a wooden spoon to see whether it is of a suitable consistency.  That means stir the spoon down into the melted wax and oil, then draw it up and turn it over.  As the mixture cools it will harden.  See if this is the texture you want.  If it is rough and hard add more oil, if it is runny and slick add a bit more beeswax.  Sometimes the humidity of the day will affect the consistence so do not be afraid to make adjustments. If you are not confident to do the spoon test, an easier way of checking is to drop a very small amount of oil plus melted wax into cold water in a small bowl or mug. The salve will immediately cool and you can rub it between your fingers to check the desired thickness.

Once you are happy, pour the mixture into small jars and seal. The salve will thicken on cooling, usually from the bottom upwards if you pour into cold jars. It will usually be a paler color than the original oil.

To make a moisturizing salve use oils which have an affinity with the skin such as calendula and add violet leaf or marshmallow oil to add moisture. If you want the salve to have a strong scent, add 1-4 drops of your favorite essential oil per fluid oz of oil, but do not do this if the salve may be used by a young child.

You can experiment with adding honey or lanolin to your salve to give it extra softness.

An Icy Chill, Chapped Lips and herbal Lip Balm - How Tuesday

It got bitter here.  The same time of year it gets bitter here every year, but this year it was 40+ degrees leading up to a dip with wind chill below Zero and air temps not far above Zero!  Now I know I shouldn't but as soon as I get outside in the bitter wind, I lick my lips.  I hate it when they feel dry.  I remember to put on a lip balm only after they start to crack and ache.  This year I actually thought ahead and made a lip balm which is in my purse, but old habits die hard.  I did not put it on today until I was on my way home from work after the cold weather had done its worst.

I still thought I should share the balm I made as it is very effective.

Lip Balm
The easiest way to make a lip balm is to infuse dried calendula petals with 2 parts cocoa butter melted with 1 part sunflower oil. When pour into cold jars, the balm will keep solid at room temperature. 


If you want to make something more elegant and ricchly scented, you can try this recipe.  I got it from Herbaholics Herbarium.  This is a UK site so be aware they use herbs differently there than we do in the US.

Rosebud Lips Balm
9fl oz. Calendua Oil
3 Tablespoons Jojoba Oil
1½ oz. Dried Alkanet Root
1oz. Beeswax, grated
12 Drops Rose Essential Oil (optional)

Gently heat both oils in the top of a double boiler for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the alkanet root and steep for around 30 minutes, to extract the color from the root. Strain the root from the oils through cheese cloth or a coffee filter. Return the oils to the double boiler with the beeswax. Once the wax has melted, remove from the heat and add the rose essential oil drop by drop. Pour into small sterilized jars. Allow to cool thoroughly before putting the lids on.

Notice when making balms or salves you generally use materials by weight not volume.  That is important to getting a stable salve or balm that hardens as you would want.