Solid Lotion

I promise this is the last of my "home remedies" posts for a while.  Promise!

BUT, these are awesome people.  Gotta post them!

This is a lotion bar.

Solid lotion.

It works kind of awesome.  ::)

You hold the bar in your hand, and the heat from your skin makes it soft enough to spread on your skin.  So much for taking way too much lotion (wait - am I the only one who does that??!) and needing to smear it all over in places that don't necessarily need it.

I can just use this on the places I want it right then.  I find it works especially good on my feet!

So, wanna make your own?

My oldest son and I experimented with a few different recipes, and this is our favorite:

Solid Lotion Bars

1 part Coconut Oil
1 part Shea or Cocoa Butter
1 part Beeswax

Melt the solid oils/butters together in a double boiler (or glass jar in some boiling water) and add:

2 Tbsp Infused Oil
60 drops of Essential Oil
Vitamin E

Mix well and pour into molds.  I just used some silicone muffin tins.  Let stand until hard (like about 8 hours) and pop out.  Use on all your dry skin.

Cheers

How To Host an Herbal Exchange

A Herbal Exchange?

An Herbal Exchange?

Oh well.  It was an exchange!

A few months ago I ran across a photo of an exchange that a woman did.  She did it just before Christmas and used the products for her gifts.  

I loved the idea, but wanted to do it just after Christmas because I didn't want to overload my friends with stuff to do.

I asked around, texted, emailed, and told people to invite friends.  After a couple weeks, I had 15 people committed to exchanging.

This was perfect because 15 is a do-able number.

Also 15 gives you a wonderful assortment of things to play with!!

I made a muscle rub based on the muscle balm I already make.  Placed it in little jars and printed a recipe (see below if you want it).  This is what else I got:
Flu Buster Kit (lotion and capsules to take)
Lavender and Calendula Body Butter
Shower Disks
Breath Easy Lotion
Balm of Gilead Burn Cream
Solid Perfume Sticks
Calendula Salve
Marigold Salve
First Aid Salve
Coffee Soap
Almond Lotion
Shampoo Bar and Pineapple Weed Infused Soap

Super fun!!

I knew all but two of the attendee's, but all of them didn't know each other as they came from different places.  It was great fun to get together and discuss our methods of why we chose what we did, what it works for, and how we made it.

We had 3 ladies who had made only the one product they brought before.  We had some who had a couple products under their belt.  And we had the rest who had been doing this for at least a couple years.  It was a grand showing and telling time for all of us!

If you ever get the chance to try something like this....grab it!!  It was a wonderful time for all of us.

Now the recipe:

Muscle Rub

In a glass jar:
20 gr beeswax
25 gr Coconut Oil
20 gr Shea Butter (or Cocoa butter)

Melt and pour into a blender.  When it is almost solid (but not solid), begin to blend and add in a steady stream:

3/4 C Infused Oil (I use a few kinds, comfrey, calendula, plantain, chickweed, arnica...to name a few options)
2/3 C Distilled Water
40 drops of Essential Oil (I use a pain blend I developed)
0.1 oz Vitamin E Oil

Blend just until mixed and thickened.  Pour into glass containers to let solidify.

This will keep for about a year in a cool, dark place.

Rub onto sore muscles, headaches, pain, and inflammation.

Cheers!