Lip Balm

I made lip balm this afternoon, and thought I would share it with you.  I used the recipe from the Meadowsweet Herbs website.  I'm planning to give some for stocking stuffers, and to have around the house for the up coming dry-lip season known as Winter!

It was super easy to make.  The clean up is a little high maintenance, because of the waxy-ness, but not reason enough not to make this simple essential.  Also, it has natural ingredients that aren't terribly expensive.  Here is what I did:

Mixed together 3 ounces of almond oil, 1 ounce of jojoba oil, and 20 drops of vitamin E oil.  Then added to that, 1/4 of an ounce of alkanet root.  It is the red stuff you see floating around the oil.  It naturally gives the balm a rosy tint.  I let this mixture sit overnight to let the alkanet work its wonder.

The next day, I lined a metal strainer with a napkin.  The recipe called for a coffee filter, but I didn't have one.  We use a french press.  Then, I strained the Alkanet out of oil.  The color is a really beautiful rose-red.

Then I put the beeswax in a metal pan, turned the burner on low, and melted it.  I really enjoy the way beeswax smells.  So wholesome.  After it was completely melted, I added the rosy oil to the pan with the beeswax and stirred with a metal spoon until it was completely combined.  Then, I removed it from the heat and added essential oils.

The recipe calls for 40 drops of your essential oil of choice.  You shouldn't use citrus though, because it is photosensitizing.   A bit of a bummer for me because I have only a few essential oils that seem palatable enough to put on your lips, and lemon was one of them I wanted to use.  So instead I used a combination of ylang ylang, lavender, and peppermint.  It was a bit, shall we say, grandmother-ish?  The ylang ylang was not a wise choice for me, although I'm sure someone will like it??

 I am definitely going to try it again and I will leave the ylang ylang out, and perhaps just stick with peppermint or lavender.   Any suggestions out there??

The rosy tint turned out to be not very prominent on the lips, like hardly at all noticeable.  This is why I think it would make a great lip balm for young girls who are intrigued by make-up.  It looks like lipstick, but doesn't actually act like it.

please excuse the crusty countertop, we have been a productive little family.

I  bought a bunch of these little white chapstick tubes, as well as some little round salve-like containers.  I poured (important: use something with a pourable spout) the melted mixture into the containers and let them set.  And, voila!  Lip balm for the masses!

Curative Powers

I've been hearing some hints of a runny nose around these parts.  Some post-nasal-drip clearing of the throat.  The voice sounding a little scratchy, some snorting.  And this year I want to be PREPARED.  I want an arsenal of natural remedies with curative powers that I can call upon at the first glimpses of illness.

Last week I made Elderberry Syrup.  Elderberries are a powerhouse of good medicinal compounds and used as a preventative medicine can help boost the immune system.  I used this recipe from Meadowsweet Herbs.  It turned out delicious, and a little more runny than traditional cough syrup.  I have been giving it to our whole family everyday, one tablespoon for adults, and one teaspoon for kidlets.  I feel like it really helps, and I'm pretty psyched that I made it in my own kitchen, and I know every ingredient in it.  No harsh chemicals, just plain ole elderberries and honey.

I'd like to make some chest rub next, and maybe some sort of bath bomb for sickies.  Any of you have any magical potions that you use to keep your kids healthy?  I'd love to hear about them.