Essential Oils

How to Make a Body Butter (Reblog)

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I was in the mood to make a body butter and share it here, so I decided to look at the recipes I’ve made before and decided that I would just reblog the one I followed most closely, otherwise it’d just be a repeat anyway. I love making body butters because of the way they change from solid, to liquid, to a creamy consistency. It’s like true alchemy at work. They are decadent too, and so perfect for this time of year when heaters start cranking and skin starts cracking. These butters are perfect for the skin that gets driest, such as feet and elbows and hands, but I use these all over my body and my legs seem to especially love the highly moisturizing texture. They make lovely gifts too, just heed the warning below about using a tight-fitting lid such as a screw top if you or your lucky giftee have a prying pet. Below is my blog from February of 2018, and here is another one on making body butter complete with video.

Making a body butter or cream is an especially magical process because the mere act of whipping the concoction creates the luxurious feel of the product and also the opaqueness. It’s really easy to do and there are so many ways to do it that I very rarely repeat the same process twice in the exact same way. That being said, I don’t always get the proportions exactly right for a proper whip to the recipe so do follow the ingredient recommendations closely of whatever recipe you choose at least for the first time or two. Even if the whipping doesn’t make your butter quite creamy, you will still end up with a soft balm that is just as good for moisturizing, and considering all these ingredients are natural, healthy, and non-toxic, you can use them on any part of your body that needs a little lotion-y love. Use whatever essential oils you like, but just know if you are using the recipe below the cocoa butter gives the finished product a decidedly chocolate-y scent, so figure that into your scent profile. For example, orange and chocolate might be good, cedarwood and chocolate though….maybe not.) I used vanilla absolute to round out the chocolate scent and the lavender to make sure it didn’t smell completely like food, plus lavender has so many skin benefits.

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Body Butter

1/2 C Cocoa Butter

1/4 C Coconut Oil

1/8 C Shea Butter

1/8 C Rose Oil (Olive Oil based)

20 drops Lavender

10 drops Vanilla Absolute

Put all the ingredients, except for the essential oils, into a measuring cup that can go into a pot of water that will heat up to a simmer. 3756C7C8-FDB6-4FEB-B5E5-051F1F1C9E5A[1]Let the solids completely melt, then take the measuring cup out of the water and let the liquid cool. You can put the measuring cup on ice, or put it in the fridge or freezer with a clean towel on top of it. It takes a while to cool, anywhere between a half hour to an hour depending on how it is cooling (freezer or on ice or just sitting out or whatnot). If you lose track of time and find the measuring cup hours later rock solid, don’t worry, just melt it again. When the liquid feels room temperature to the touch, add the essential oils and start whipping it with an electric mixer or in a blender until it turns creamy and opaque. This could take 5-10 minutes, depending on how cool the liquid is upon starting. Pour the butter into a clean jar and keep it out of heat and light for storage. This is a very emollient body butter, good for hand or foot cream, elbows, or any part of the body that is very dry. It isn’t recommended for the face though because those hard oils and butter can be pore clogging. It smells decadent and it is really fun to make something that starts off mostly solid, melts into a liquid, then whips into a totally new texture.

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Store in a clean glass jar with a tight fitting top, in a cool, dark place. Preferably a cool, dark place up out of nosey doggie territory. I was going to give this body butter to a friend so I had it down on the bottom of my shelf of herbal things where I knew I wouldn’t forget about it, but see that cork there…? My dog took the cork out of the jar (it does smell heavenly, and very much like food despite the lavender, I have to admit) and the jar hardened to a decidedly non-butter state. Definitely not gift-worthy anymore although I’ll still use it. Now it’s back to the stove top to make another batch, this time with a screw-lid jar.

This does harden a bit over a couple of days even with a properly closed container, so don’t be surprised if that happens. It still melts right onto (and into) your skin. We have all heard how skin is our largest organ and whatever we put on it goes into the body, so make sure you are only using the best, purest, products. You are worth it and your body will thank you. Please subscribe for weekly posts about herbs, natural health, and green beauty, and please share this with anyone who might be interested.

 

Herbal Perfume Base DIY Part 2

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This is a follow up post to the one about making herbal perfume bases. After the tincture sits for about a month, it is ready to be strained and used as a perfume base. It can sit for longer than a month and potentially get a little stronger, but if you are like me and get antsy to get crafting, a month is long enough. I actually strained mine this time slightly before a full month was up, but I could tell from the scent and the color that it was ready. A note about the color~ when you make an herbal tincture it will inevitably take on the color of the herbs which shouldn’t be a surprise, but it may seem strange to put colored perfume on your body. The color does not show up on the body and I’ve never had it stain my clothes either so you don’t need to worry about that. If you do not like the idea of colored perfume, stick to essential oils in straight alcohol, or make an herbal oil instead because oils take on a lot less color. Here’s part two of making an herbal perfume base:

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The final perfume I made with the 2 oz. spray bottle is the following:

50 drops ylang ylang

10 drops nutmeg

3 drops palo santo (because I’m out of sandalwood)

5 drops bergamot

This turned out to have a nice, fresh, gender-neutral, autumn day scent. If you watched the video you will know that I was thinking of adding jasmine but I’m just not really feeling jasmine-y this time of year. Nutmeg is a strong scent which is why there are only 10 drops while ylang ylang has 5 times as much, but the scent turned out to have a strong vanilla-nutmeg scent which just feels right for October. It could have really used some sandalwood but I improvised with the palo santo which is another essential oil that is extremely strong so only three drops of that one. The bergamot just gave it a light, happy finish as the only real top note in the mix.

Thank you for reading and please subscribe if you haven ‘t already for more herbal tutorials and wellness articles from the natural foods and products world.

 

Herbal Perfume Base DIY

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It’s really nice to have an herbal oil or herbal extract as your natural perfume base because it adds another layer of scent and benefits to your perfume. It also lessens the amount of essential oils you need in your perfume, making the end product more affordable and sustainable. Essential oils are wonderful, therapeutic, beautiful gifts from the earth, but they should be used sparingly as their production can and does take an environmental toll in some cases. Sandalwood, for example, has become endangered due to over harvesting and some other environmental factors, which is also why its price has been steadily and substantially increasing. It often takes an enormous amount of botanical material to make an essential oil, and the more material it takes the more expensive the resulting essential oil. Rose and Jasmine (link is to an absolute) are classic examples of this, and one way around the steep environmental and personal financial price, is to make an oil or extract from the flowers yourself. It takes 60,000 rose blossoms to make 1 oz of rose essential oil, and it takes even more Jasmine than that, but to make an oil or extract, you can use a lot less and end up with a great product although not as potent. Vanilla is another great herb to use as an oil or extract because vanilla can’t be made into an essential oil, it can be made into an absolute which is generally found already mixed with jojoba oil, so using it in an alcohol based perfume is not rose and vanilla in oilrecommended other than as an extract itself. I like to make my perfumes that are alcohol base with vanilla extract, then add essential oils to it. You don’t need to just pick one herb though, you can add herbs together for a unique, multidimensional scent as your base, then layer in the essential oils to create something completely your own~ a true signature scent.

Today I made rose vanilla oil and rose vanilla extract for my perfume bases. The extract will take 4-8 weeks to cure, but the oil is ready in a few hours (thanks to the quick method) so I can start experimenting with some fall scents right away. Below is what I did, but remember that you can do this with any botanical ingredient that you like. If you have something growing near you that isn’t found as an essential oil, I especially encourage you to try working with that and seeing what kind of special, local scent you can create full of originality and terroir. Go for it!

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Thank you for reading/watching and I hope you are inspired to create your own multilayered natural perfume or cologne with an herbal base. Let me know what your favorite combinations are~ I’d love to hear!

 

Quick Fixes for Acne

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Now I’m not talking about cystic acne here or any other more serious acne condition, although some of this might help those conditions, but what I’m referring more to is the occasional bumps and blemishes that everyone deals with (especially teens and women of child-bearing age) from time to time. Most people understand there is a connection to what is happening internally to what shows up externally and it isn’t solely a matter of how you care for your skin, though the common myths of chocolate causing acne or skin being ‘too oily’ persist. Chocolate only causes problems if you have a dairy intolerance and you eat milk chocolate, or an intolerance to chocolate itself, which would be a darn shame. Food intolerances definitely play a role in skin health though and I certainly experienced that with gluten before going gluten-free. It was one of the things I noticed before ever getting tested for gluten intolerance because of course I had more than an inkling I had a problem with gluten before confirming that which is how I got tested in the first place. I don’t expect many people are tested for gluten intolerance unless they themselves ask to be, which is just another way one has to advocate for themselves when it comes to the modern medical system. As a side note, my physician who ran the blood test said that she doubted I was gluten intolerant because “not many people are”. (Not true.) Then her nurse called back with the results telling me that the results showed such reactivity to gluten that I was a celiac. (This was misinformed. You can’t tell if someone is a Celiac through a blood test.) So she told me to go to a gastroenterologist who took one look at me and said, “You probably aren’t celiac. You’re too dark! Celiacs are from northern Europe and you look southern European.” (This is problematic for two reasons other than the fact he was diagnosing me from my coloring~ Italy has the largest confirmed population of celiacs and I am pretty sure they are considered southern European. Also, I’m French, German, and Irish~ not exactly southern European.) I said, “Shouldn’t I just get the test done to make sure I’m not celiac since that’s a serious, hereditary disease and I have kids?” And he said, “Why? All you can do is not eat gluten whether you are gluten intolerant or celiac. It’s the same protocol either way so I wouldn’t recommend it. Your blood test shows you clearly shouldn’t eat gluten so don’t eat gluten.” I was too baffled by such an unusual exchange to argue especially since normally I find doctors to be overly exuberant about tests, but since he was recommending I not have an uncomfortable procedure for once, I went with it for better or worse.

Anyway, back to acne. Acne is one of the rare occasions you can use essential oils directly on your skin without a carrier. You can put a drop of tea tree or lavender on a blemish to diminish it. It isn’t immediate but it will work over a couple of days time. From an internal standpoint, acne generally is associated with digestion and/or hormones. Food intolerances are clearly part of the digestive component and they can wreck havoc on skin in other forms from eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, and more. Avoiding the foods one is intolerant to is obvious, but also improving digestive processes can help long-term. Using digestive bitters and/or enzymes before eating helps with breaking down the food. Adding fresh or dried herbs to food can also improve digestion, or drinking herbal teas with an aim to cleanse the liver can help. (Most skin blend herbal teas you find on the shelves of stores include herbs which cleanse the liver and blood, and therefore deliver cleaner building blocks to the skin.) Taking probiotics and/or eating foods that have natural probiotics in them, such as kombucha and apple cider vinegar, help too. Fresh veggies, especially greens, are generally recommended, but in my research into digestive health I’ve learned that if you have digestive issues, you will get more from your veggies if they are cooked in some way, such as in soup. Fresh veggies have the enzymes which is great, but if the digestive system is compromised it needs more than those fresh enzymes to break down the food a bit and truly reap all the benefits from the veggies. I personally like sweet potatoes best of all for skin.

As far as hormonal fluctuations go with teens and also with women’s monthly cycle, taking adaptogens on a regular basis can help with hormonal balance. Teens do need to exercise some caution with adaptogenic herbs because adaptogens work primarily through the endocrine system which houses and transports hormones, and although adaptogens are generally very safe for most people, they should really be said to be safe for adults. Ashwagandha should be used only in small amounts and for shorter amounts of time with breaks in between. Ginseng should not be used by people under age 30. Seriously! It’s a potent herb for increasing (especially masculine) vitality and can cause ill effects if used incorrectly. Adaptogens such as Eleuthero and Astragalus are good ones for teens.

For women, chaste berry or vitex is the classic women’s hormone regulatory herb. There are teas, capsules, and tinctures to enable easy use. It can also be found in blends to support cycles and aid reproductive health overall.

Using clean and green products on the skin is important too. This line from Alba Botanica has been great on my son’s teen skin. I got him on the following as soon as he started having a blemish or two, and it works like a charm: the cleanser, astringent, these patches or the gel (use one or the other), and there’s also this scrub for the body is other areas besides the face are a problem. If he forgets to use it because he’s not at home, then inevitably one or two little buggers will pop out, but as soon as he uses the products again, they go away, usually literally overnight. It isn’t expensive either which is a nice plus.

If you are interested in something a little fancier and definitely as clean and green as you can get, evan healy has a whole line dedicated to acne. We haven’t tried those specific products of hers yet since the Alba has been doing the trick, but I’ve used many of evan healy’s other products such as this serum and they are extremely high quality and definitely work well.

What have you used that has worked on acne?

 

 

Lavender Lore

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This Saturday I’m giving a DIY class on using French lavender and French green clay to make bath and body treats to celebrate Bastille Day (a day early). I thought I’d share a bit of the history and folklore of lavender here that I’ll be sharing in the class before we start crafting.

Lavender first originated in Arabia, then spread to the Greeks who considered it sacred. Egyptians used it in mummification process and were the first to make it into perfume. The name lavender comes from the Latin word lavare, “to wash” because the Romans used lavender to scent their baths. It was expensive at that time and only used by the wealthiest Romans. Lavender has long been used for cleansing purposes, and it was even used to ward off plague in the middle ages. By that time it was more common and less expensive, so even poor villagers would tie lavender around their wrists in hopes of keeping the plague away.

Lavender’s essential oils are antibacterial and it is used externally as well as the herb being used internally in tea, tinctures, or eating the flower tops on salad. The essential oil is sometimes used internally but only do so on the advice of a trained professional. Taking essential oils internally can be dangerous, even deadly, and they have a drying effect on the internal tissues, plus it is not a sustainable use of the herb. Keep in mind, the essential oils are present in the herbs themselves, (that why they smell the way they do!) whether using fresh or dried herbs, so those e.o. qualities are there without the potency of just the essential oil alone.

There are four categories of lavender with many hybrids and species. Lavandula stoechas is the category sometimes known as French lavender. They all more or less have the same characteristics and can be used interchangeably, but French Lavender has long been prized in perfumery for its strong scent.

Lavender in general has also been traditionally used for its therapeutic benefits and actually is known for beginning the research into the medicinal qualities of essential oils. The story goes that a French chemist and scholar named René-Maurice Gattefossé had an accident in this laboratory which resulted in burns. The story says he plunged his arms which were on fire into a vat of lavender oil “accidentally” although some say after he put out the flames he intentionally put lavender essential oil on the burns. Even though the specifics of the story are unclear, either way, he had such great results and so little scarring that he continued to study the medicinal qualities of essential oils and used that knowledge of lavender on WW1 burn victims. This is said to be the real beginning of the study of essential oils for medicinal use.

Essential oils are 99% of the time, not to be put directly on the skin without a carrier. Lavender essential oil is one exception to this rule as it is tolerated ‘neat’ by most people, and can be therapeutic in cases of burns, bug bites, cuts, and acne.

Lavender essential oil is known to be a relaxing scent that blends well with all other essential oils. It is great for uplifting moods and allaying anxiety. A blend I recommend for anxiety and panic attacks is lavender and neroli, while a good blend to help fight depression is lavender and orange or lavender and grapefruit. All the citrus oils are anti-depressant and lavender adds in a relaxed component. BTW, if you clicked on those links and are surprised by the price of neroli, it’s important to know that neroli is one of those higher-priced precious oils but there is a less expensive option. You can get neroli absolute instead, which is already blended with jojoba oil.

In the class I’m giving on Saturday, we will be making lavender bath and body oil, bath salts, lavender and French green clay masks, and a facial toner. It’s so fun to craft with people~ I’d love to see you there! Thank you for reading and please share with lavender lovers everywhere.

 

Infused Witch Hazel

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I wanted to show you the end of the process since I showed you the beginning a few weeks back. This is the witch hazel after four weeks of infusion. The witch hazel has clearly been infused with all the beneficial qualities of the rose petals and calendula because the color of the liquid has turned from crystal clear to a deep, warm orange. I prepped some for a facial toner with geranium and carrot seed essential oils, and left the rest without any essential oils in case I needed it for an after sun spray, in which case I’ll use lavender and peppermint essential oils instead.

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Witch hazel is anti-inflammatory, soothing, cleansing, and balancing to skin alone, but infusing it with botanicals makes it a medium for adding more antioxidants, healing, and enhancing properties to your skin. It’s also just fun and so rewarding to see the color change that takes place when infusing it with herbs, so it makes for a particularly good green beauty craft for young teens/tweens and it’s also gentle enough for them to actually use.

Thank you for reading and watching! I also added a couple of other new videos on YouTube on making natural perfumes if you are interested in actual recipes. Watch the alcohol based version first because in the oil based body perfume video I tell you how to (somewhat) alleviate a problem with essential oil perfumes that I bring up in the first one~ the fact that products made with essential oils just don’t stick around as long as chemical fragrances due to their ‘alive’ and volatile natures.

Happy holiday week to all the Canadians and Americans and anyone else out there who has a holiday this first week of July :0).

 

More DIY Herb Classes

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I’m excited to share with you guys the rest of this year’s herb classes I’m teaching at the gorgeous 21 Acres. The following are the workshops already planned, but I’m also collaborating with them on private events, so if you have an idea in mind of a special GNO, or a unique work outing/team building experience, you can contact 21 Acres or me to coordinate a class. I am also available to facilitate herbal events at other places as well, so contact me if you have something in mind and let’s chat!

https://21acres.org/event/girls-day-out-french-spa-beauty/

https://21acres.org/event/make-your-own-herbal-mood-boosters/

https://21acres.org/event/folkloric-medicines-101-make-your-own-herbal-crafts/

https://21acres.org/event/become-a-master-perfumer/

https://21acres.org/event/cut-the-sniffles-herbal-immune-boosters/

https://21acres.org/event/holiday-culinary-gifts/

https://21acres.org/event/holiday-green-beauty/

Come if you can and please share with anyone who might be interested. Even if you aren’t around for an herb class, if you are in the area then you should really check out 21 Acres in Woodinville. They have a lot of great events there, a working farm, a market with local foods, camps for kids, and the people who work there are all warm and inviting. Definitely a good vibes place! (I took that pic up top there btw.)

Have a great solstice everyone!

 

 

Infusing Witch Hazel

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Witch hazel is a great ingredient to have in your natural beauty cabinet. It is anti-inflammatory, soothing and healing, great for acne and other skin conditions, balances pH, and can be used to cleanse the skin. It is most often used as a toner, the step between cleansing and applying serum and/or moisturizer, and can be mixed with other ingredients to create a more multidimensional product. I have shared a couple of toner recipes here already, this more basic one and this one with a glycerine infusion, but you can also infuse the witch hazel itself with herbs to customize it for your particular needs. I like to infuse witch hazel with green tea for toner concoctions, but for this tutorial I’m infusing healing herbs for after sun spray for a class I’m giving later in the month.

If you follow me on instagram, you might already know that I’ve chosen to infuse two herbs into witch hazel intended for after sun spray. Calendula and rose are both well-known skin herbs that add extra healing qualities to the witch hazel and essential oils (added later) for sun damaged skin. Either one would be a great choice, but since I happen to have both of the herbs in stock, I am using both. After the infusion sits for 2-4 weeks, I will strain the herbs from the witch hazel, pour the liquid into spray bottles, then add essential oils. It’s surprisingly easy to do, just like making a tincture, and really the hardest part is straining it without making a royal mess.

Here’s how to infuse witch hazel:

You will need the following:

witch hazel infusion

Fill the jar about half full with the dried herbs, cover with enough witch hazel so that the herbs are completely saturated and there is at least an extra inch of liquid on top. Push the herbs down (they will float to the top) with a wooden chopstick until they are completely covered. Put a piece of plastic wrap over the cover if using a metal lid, otherwise just cover with a plastic lid and shake gently. Let it sit in a cool dry place for 2-4 weeks. The longer it sits, the stronger the infusion will be so wait the full 4 weeks if you can. Strain and use as is or add other ingredients such as aloe and/or essential oils such witch hazel infusion1as peppermint for cooling or lavender for skin healing (or both).

Store in a cool, dry place, preferably the refrigerator since it is specifically for over-sunned skin. It will feel especially cool and soothing if it is fresh from the fridge, and if you do put aloe vera gel or juice into the mixture, it really needs to stay in the refrigerator to last for about 10 days. If there is no aloe in it, it will last for longer, so you can count on it being potent for a good three months or more, assuming no stray germs got into it during the creation process.

Thank you for reading and enjoy the sun safely! Please share with anyone prone to over-sunning themselves in the summertime.

 

Herbal Classes

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I’m excited to announce I’ll be giving herbal classes at the gorgeous 21 Acres starting this summer. Teaching these workshops has been a long term goal of mine ever since I started this website about a year and a half ago, because I love giving people the opportunity to be creative in a community setting, working with herbs and other natural ingredients in ways they might not have thought of before, and also having all the materials there makes it easier to delve into an herbal crafting project rather than having to track down the supplies on one’s own. I’d love to have you join me there for crafting more natural wellness into your life. Here’s the first one, coming up soon!

https://herbalsummerselfcare.brownpapertickets.com

Please share with anyone in the greater Seattle area, or anyone who wants to travel here too of course :0).

Make Your Own Insect Repellent

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This is somewhat counter-intuitive, but bugs do not like essential oils. That always struck me as odd since bugs and plants seem like they should be natural friends, but I guess the strength of essential oils is off-putting to them. This works out really well for us because we can lather ourselves up with essential oil laced products and smell divine while playing in nature, without having to endure the nasty smells and questionable ingredients of over the counter bug sprays. Citronella is an essential oil that is already commonly used in mosquito repelling products such as candles, but there are other essential oils that can be just as effective and perhaps more appealing to put directly on your body and/or your clothes.

One way to take a precautionary measure before even getting dressed in the morning is to apply a body oil with essential oils on your arms, legs, and stomach. To make a body oil, you just need a base oil or a mix of base oils such as sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil, or jojoba oil, and add whichever essential oils you want to wear. Almost any essential oil or blend of essential oils will deter bugs, but especially good picks are lavender, peppermint, thyme, and lemongrass. You will want there to be 5-7 drops of essential oils per 1 teaspoon of base oil. (There are 6 teaspoons in an ounce, so aim for 30-42 drops of essential oils per ounce.) Make sure to shake the mixture before blending, and allow time for the oil to dry before putting your clothes on for the day to avoid oil stains. This can be reapplied throughout the day, but it is probably easier to make a spray for day time reapplication.

To make a bug spray, add essential oils to distilled water in a spray bottle (preferably dark glass) in the same proportion as above, 5-7 drops of essential oils per teaspoon of distilled water. You can spray this as often as needed on yourself throughout the day and it will help deter bugs and also provide a nice little scent pick-me-up when you do so. Again, any essential oils will be helpful, but the ones mentioned above would be a great place to start. Of course, citronella is always an option too.

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In Valerie Ann Wormwood’s book, The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy, she gives this recipe for a great blend to keep away the little buggers:

4 drops Thyme

8 drops Lemongrass

4 drops Lavender

4 drops Peppermint

She recommends putting a couple of drops of this blend on a cotton ball at night and placing near open windows or around your head or body, especially while traveling. Another technique for traveling is to add a couple of drops to boiling water and placing it by an open window or if you are sitting outside, right on a table next to you. Even very hot water in a mug will dissipate the essential oils, so as long as you travel with an essential oil or two, or a blend like the one she suggests above, you don’t need to worry about a diffuser.

I actually do like to take a little terracotta diffuser with me when I travel. They are quite small and do not require any heat, so it’s a convenient option. These make cute little gifts as well, and are one way to easily use essential oils in your car or in other places where you don’t have the option to light a candle or use an outlet.

If you do happen to get bitten or stung by an insect, lavender can be applied neat to the area. Applying essential oils to the body without a carrier is 99% of the time NOT recommended, but lavender is one of the few that can be applied without a carrier and it actually is quite good for burns, bites, and other skin issues. Do use caution if you have sensitive skin though.

Thanks for reading and Happy May Day. The warming weather means more time outside and more potential encounters with insectss, so please share this article with anyone who might be interested in flower powered bug repellent.

In case you missed the links above, here’s more information on making your own body oil: https://botanicalalchemyandapothecary.com/body-oils-diy/ and more details on making a body spray: https://botanicalalchemyandapothecary.com/essential-oil-sprays-for-body-and-home/.

*This website has links to affiliations with amazon which provide a small incentive back to me. This helps to keep the information coming in such a way that is free to the reader. I only talk about products or services I truly love and believe in and hope this information brings every reader/watcher closer to their optimal health and wellness whether or not they buy anything through these links.