Skin Soothing Salve - DIY

Salves.... never did I think in a million years, I would be making my own - seriously! 

After taking my herb class at Midsummer Farm in New York State,(I've mentioned how much I love Barbara and Mark in the past) I learned the basics of making a great salve. From there, I started to think about the products that I used on my skin, every day, and realized that some were really really good products, free of harmful chemicals, but others, were not. Every day, when I use up a product that has some "not so good" chemicals, I think about how I can make my own, if not, buy a better version of a commercially available product that meets my needs of being sans harmful chemical/fragrance. This lead me to think about my need for a good, soothing hand product for the harsh winter months.  For a long time, I had a love affair with the thick body butter type products from the big name body stores you find in the mall. Between the fragrances and chemicals, I knew that I was going to stop using these and make something that would give me nice smooth skin when the weather started beating up on it!  

So, today I whipped up a batch of Skin Soothing Salve with calendula, rose petals, lavender and cocoa butter. This is a super simple and quick recipe I concocted (on the fly) and excellent for beginner salve makers, so lets get started!

You will need:

2 - 3 oz containers for storing the finished product (or 1 - 6oz)
1/3 cup bees wax (I like the pastilles from Mountain Rose Herbs )
1/3 cup cocoa butter (I like the wafers from Mountain Rose Herbs)
1/3 cup calendula infused olive oil (I will explain this process)
10 drops lavender essential oil
some dried rose petals and calendula petals (Optional)
double boiler
a wooden skewer for stirring (makes clean up easier)

To make:

Lets start with the calendula infused olive oil. You can do this one of two ways. 

Method 1:  fill a jar half way with dried calendula petals then fill the rest of the way with olive oil and let sit for at least 6 weeks at room termperature, shaking a few times daily to mix it up. Strain out the petals for the amount you need. The one in the picture below has been infusing since December of 2014!! Its like women, they get better with age (or thats what I tell myself) :)

Method 2:  2:1 ratio of olive oil to calendula petals in a sauce pot over very low flame for 4-6 hours stirring occasionally (do not let this boil) or same ratio in a crock pot on low for approx. 6 hours. 

Next, chop up a bit of dried rose and calendula petals. This is going to be used more decoratively but still serving skin soothing properties.

Now, bring a double boiler to boiling then turn the heat down to medium. Add the bees wax and stir continuously with the wooden skewer until melted.

Once melted, add in the cocoa butter (I chop my wafers because it is easier to get an accurate measurement that way) and stir until melted together with the beeswax.

Once this is fully melted, you are going to add in your strained calendula infused olive oil.  If the oil is at room temp or cooler, it will start to harden when it hits the hot cocoa butter/ beeswax but not to worry, just stir until it all becomes liquified again. Turn off the heat and quick stir in the lavender essential oil.

Quickly pour into the containers and immediately wipe the bowl of the double boiler clean with a dry paper towel.  THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT! You do not want wax going down your drain pipe so wipe as much of the residue out of the double boiler bowl before it hardens. 

This mixture will dry quickly so add the petals a little bit at a time and gently push them down in the container with the skewer. Repeat this every minute for a layering effect until the mixture looks like this.

As the salve is hardening, the petals become suspended in the salve making it look really luxurious. I mean serious - we want this to look like it came from a real shee-shee chic boutique after all!

Normally I recommend giving the containers a little tap-tap while the mixture is hardening so that their aren't any air bubbles, but this is not needed in this recipe since we are pushing the petals down every few minutes. 

Leave the containers be so everything settles and hardens nicely and then.... TA-DA! You are all done!  Darling little Skin Soothing Salves - one for you and one for a friend!

As always, comment with any questions you may have. 

Enjoy and Happy Salve Making

-Danielle

Note: This is not a sponsored post. The companies mentioned in this blog are those that I use and fully support.  No royalties were obtained from these companies.  If you have sensitive skin or are allergic to any of these ingredients, try on a small patch of skin first. Not intended to heal any skin conditions or diseases. Always consult with your medical professional. This recipe was created by me so please use it as much as you like, for personal use, but please do not make this recipe and sell finished product. 

Rose and Lavender Face Toner DIY

There is something so special about rose petals… I am not sure whether it is their distinct scent or their delicateness  that makes them so appealing! I have always been completely fascinated with roses, ever since I was an itty-bitty Danielle - Seriously. When I was a little girl, both my grandfather and my great uncle (my grandfather's brother) would bring me roses from the rose bushes in their gardens. Even to this day, there isn't a time when I see fresh cut roses from a garden either in my house or someone else's, that I don't think back to my childhood! 

So it is pretty safe to assume that all of my life, I have had a thing for roses.  A few years back, while visiting my favorite herb shop (of all time), Sugarloaf Mountain Herbs (Joe and I have gotten to know the shop owner and one of the shop keepers quite well), I began talking to Alyssa (the shop keeper) about natural skin care and different herbs for skin care. During the conversation, she asked me if I've ever given rosewater a try as a nice refreshing face mist (I had never tried it before), and recommended that I give it a try. I purchased a bottle from the shop and quickly, both Joe and myself became highly addicted. Between the scent of the rosewater and the actual skin benefits, there wasn't a single product, neither drug store or high end skin care line, that could compare. My skin  felt softer and firmer than ever before -  I practically told every person that crossed my path that they had to give it a go in their own skin care routine. I used plain old rosewater as a face mist after I washed my face or needed a mid-day refresher for months and months… until I got the idea to make a rose and lavender face toner.  Just when I thought it couldn't get any better…. it totally did! So today, I am going to teach you how to make this totally easy, super fantastic face toner! Let's get started.

You will need:

• 1/3 cup dried rose petals or 2/3 cups fresh rose petals (Be sure to use rose petals that have not been sprayed with any chemicals!!)
• 2/3 cup witch hazel
• a jar (roughly qt sized)
• a jar/ misting bottle for the finished product
• fine mesh strainer
• 15 drops of Lavender essential oil

To make:

Measure your rose petals and witch hazel.  I used dried rose petals for this project since roses were out of bloom when I started making this DIY.  If roses are in season when you decide to make this, you can choose to use any variety and any color petals.  If it were up to me, however, I would choose either red or bright fuchsia colored roses as they will turn the water a nice vibrant color while the mixture is brewing.  If you choose white, yellow, or light pink flowers, the coloring of the finished product will lack the color but still contain the skin benefits.

Take both of the ingredients and pour them into a jar with a lid.  If you are using fresh petals, you need to make sure you have enough witch hazel to fully cover the rose petals. Also, make sure the jar isn't jam-packed tight as you are going to need to shake the jar to mix things up, time-to-time. When you add the two ingredients into the jar, give them a good shaking and leave your jar on a counter, out of direct sunlight, for 2-4 weeks. Shake the jar once per day.

As the time passes and the longer the petals are soaking, the color of the rose water becomes more vibrant. I choose to let my batches sit for 4 weeks so that they are good and strong… if you can't wait, two weeks should do the trick.  So after they are done "brewing", you are going to want to strain the petals from the witch hazel.  To do this, take your fine mesh strainer (or a few layers of cheese cloth) and pour the mixture through. I usually strain my 3-4 times to make sure that I get all of the little bits out so they don't clog my mister.  If you are going to use this without using a misting bottle, you can store the toner in a jar and pour it onto cotton rounds. For this method, you don't have to worry about straining it so many times. Here is a before and after picture of my strained toner.

Isn't she lovely?!? So at this point, add 15 drops of lavender essential oil to the strained toner and give it another good shaking. Now you are all set to either pour this into a misting spray bottle (I use glass since I have a thing about plastic) or a jar that you can use to pour.

And thats all she wrote my friends!! Your very own, all natural rose and lavender face toner!

A few tidbits about the toner:

• Why roses? Besides their delicate aroma, they are antibacterial which helps keep acne and breakouts at bay, they contain high amounts of vitamin C which help protect skin cells agains damage from the sun, the oils found in roses help lock in moisture to skin, and they help to tighten pores and restore firmness and suppleness to you skin while adding a beautiful and youthful glow to you skin - who knew right?
• Why lavender? Well #1, the lavender e.o. helps make the toner smell more pleasant because the witch hazel can over power the delicate scent of the roses.  Also, it too has anti-acne, moisturizing, and toning properties just like the rose petals so they work lovely together. 
• Why witch hazel? It's antibacterial and antiseptic which helps reduce and eliminate breakouts (see the theme here?), helps cleanse pores and keeps blackheads from forming, it tightens and shrinks pores, and has anti-inflammatory properties which help with redness and itching that can occur on the skin.
• How do I use this? It's easy - wash your face and use the toner after cleansing your face, but before your moisturizer! If using a misting bottle, spray 3-4 spritzes on your face and then using a cotton round, wipe the toner onto the skin. If you are not using the misting bottle, pour some of the toner on to a cotton round and wipe your face.  You will be amazed that, sometimes, you will find that there will be some dirt left behind on your skin, even after cleansing! I call toners the "spin cycle" of skin care, for this very reason. 

If you make this toner or have questions, please let me know in the comments below!

Happy DIY'ing!

Danielle

Disclaimer:  This DIY is to be made and used at your own discretion. These health benefits have been obtained from professional resources; however, these statements have not been proven by the FDA. These are my own thoughts and conclusions regarding the ingredients mentioned in the post and are based on the work and research of other herbalists. As always, with any product, a small skin test should be performed before using this DIY.  If you have allergies to any of the products mention, do not attempt to use this DIY. Additionally, this post is for informational purposes and has not been evaluated by a dermatologist.