It is that time of year again when I teach a series of herbal gift-making workshops. Since many of you following this blog are not local I thought I would share some of my favorite recipes, along with, some ideas for packaging. Feel free to experiment with any of these recipes, if you don’t have the exact ingredients or can think of something else that would enhance the action of the formulas.
Soaks: The first set of recipes are for a variety of herbal soaks. For packaging, the ingredients in these recipes can be divided into large press n’ brew tea bags or jars with an attached cotton muslin tea bag, which can then can be reused. Mountain Rose Herbs has several of types of bags available. I prefer the press n’ brew bags. I divide the recipe into 4 bags, iron them shut and then combine these bags into transparent cello bags tied with ribbon and labeled with kraft paper tags.
Bright Eyes Herbal Tea Soaks
4 Tablespoons Chamomile flowers
3 Tablespoons Chrysanthemum flowers
2 Tablespoons Peppermint Leaf
3 Tablespoons Sage Leaf
4 drops lavender oil
Measure everything into glass jar, shake and divide between three large press n’ tea bags.
Instructions: Cover tea bags with boiling water, let cool until slightly warm then apply.
Detoxing and Warming Foot Soak
1/4 cup dead sea salts
1/4 cup Epsom salts
2 Tablespoons dry mustard
2 Tablespoons dried ginger root
2 Tablespoon cinnamon stick, broken up
2 T. of Dong Quai root (angelica sinensis)
1/4 cup of Mugwort leaf
1 Teaspoon Cayenne power
4 Tablespoons of dried Dandelion Root
Put herbs into mason jar, cap and shake. Package in jar with muslin bag or divide into 5 press n’ brew bags.
Instructions: Put herbs in large pot with 2 quarts of water. Bring to boil, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add to foot basin with enough cold water to allow feet to soak. Soak until cool.
Skin Soothing Milk Bath Soaks
¼ cup of goat milk powder
1 cup of powdered dry milk
½ cup of non-GMO corn starch
1 cup of oatmeal ground finely
¼ cup of dead sea salt
2 Tablespoons of rose petals
2 Tablespoons of lavender flowers
10 drops of rosemary essential oil
10 drops of carrot seed essential oil
10 drops of neroli essential oil
20 drops of rose hips extract
Combine oatmeal in blender and grind until powder, then combine the ingredients in blender and blend until essential oils are incorporated. Package in jar with muslin bag or divide into 8 press n’ brew bags.
Instructions: Put bag into bath and then fill with hot bath water, let cool until comfortable temp to enter bath.
Sprays: The next set of recipes are facial and aftershave sprays. I use bottles with spay atomizers from Specialty Bottle. Their two ounce bottles are ideal for this use. I also use kraft paper tags for labeling these as well.
Healing Facial Toner
1 Tablespoon comfrey leaf
1 Tablespoon chamomile flowers
1 Tablespoon Calendula petals
1 Tablespoon Rose petals
2 oz of witch hazel
2 oz of vodka in jar
10 drops of carrot seed essential oil
5 drops of lavender essential oil
5 drops clary sage essential oil
5 drops of cedarwood essential oil
Combine herbs with witch hazel and vodka in jar, shake well and let sit in warm space for 1 week. Strain herbs and combine remaining essential oils, shake well and bottle.
Anti-aging Facial Spray
2 Tablespoon of aloe gel
1 Tablespoon of witch hazel
3 oz of cucumber hydrosol
6 drops of carrot essential oil
4 drops of clary sage essential oil
2 drops of geranium essential oil
3 drops of frankincense essential oil
Combine all ingredients together in jar, shake and then fill bottles.
Bay West Indies Aftershave Splash
This essential oil is distilled from the Bay Rum Tree (Pimenta racemosa). It is a common scent in men’s aftershave products.
1 cups of witch hazel extract
1 ounce of rum
zest from half organic orange
1/2 cinnamon stick
6 peppercorns
1 sprig of rosemary
1 tsp of coriander
1 bay leaf
3-cloves
3-whole allspice
1 tsp teaspoon aloe vera gel
1 tsp of glycerin
15-25 drops of Bay West Indies Essential Oil, depending on preference
Combine all ingredients in 1 quart mason jar, cover and shake well. Let sit for 2 weeks, shaking daily. Strain and fill bottles.
Scrubs: The internet is filled with recipes for scrubs but I wanted to offer up a few of my favorites. In terms of packaging I use a 4 ounce jar with swing-top lid, which is convenient when using in a shower. There are many places to download printable labels, but this is one site I often use http://putitinajar.com/crafts/printables/ I use full sheet shipping labels and then print out my labels. There are numerous examples of labels available at craft supply stores for this purpose if you don’t want to trouble yourself with downloading and printing.
Seaweed Detox Salt Scrub
2 tablespoons comfrey root
2 tablespoons Calendula flower
1 ½ cup of sesame oil
¼ cup of bladderwack seaweed powder
½ cup of kelp powder
2 cups of dead sea salt
½ cup of Rhassoul clay
¼ cup of castor oil
10 drops of rosemary essential oil
10 drops of lavender essential oil
Combine the comfrey and calendula herbs with the sesame oil, heat on low for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool and strain out herbs. Combine remaining ingredients, mixing well. Add more clay if necessary to make it the consistency of peanut butter.
Chocolicious Body Scrub
1/4 cup of Epsom salt
1/4 cup of Dead Sea Salt
2 Tablespoons of cocoa powder
½ tsp of cinnamon
1 Teaspoon of vanilla
3 Tablespoon of melted coconut oil
Combine all ingredients together mixing well, then fill jars.
Mocha Facial Scrub
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoon of cocoa powder
2 Tablespoon of finely ground coffee
1/3 cup of oatmeal powder*
5-7 Tablespoons of sesame oil
2 Tablespoon of Aloe Vera Gel
1 teaspoon of Vit. E oil
Combine all ingredients together mixing well, then fill jars. * put oatmeal in blend and grind finely
Masks: Ever since I was a young girl I loved using facial masks. Over the years I have enjoyed exploring the full range of masks from fresh fruits to honey to clay. Here are two of my favorites. For packaging I use hexagon shaped jars, along with kraft paper tags.
Goat Milk and Clay Pore Refining Masque
1/2 cup of French Clay
4 Tablespoon of slippery elm powder
4 Tablespoon of dried goat’s milk powder
2 Tablespoon of comfrey root powder
2 Tablespoon of rose powder
1 Tablespoon of sandalwood powder
20 drops of carrot seed essential oil
10 drops of clary sage essential oil
10 drops of lavender essential oil
5 drops of cedarwood essential oil
Combine all in blender and blend until well mixed. Fill jars
Instructions: Moisten 1 Tablespoon of the masque with milk, yogurt or water. Apply to face and leave on until dry, rinse and pat dry.
Rose, Frankincense and Sandalwood Facial Mask
2 Tablespoons Rose powder
2 Teaspoons Sandalwood powder
2 Tablespoons Frankincense powder
1/2 cup of sugar
3 Tablespoons cosmetic white clay
½ cup of sesame seed oil
5 drops of black pepper essential oil
6 drops of coriander essential oil
2 Teaspoons of Vit E.
Mix all ingredients together in bowl and mix well. Mixture should be thick adding more clay if necessary. Fill jars.
Happy Holidays
Resources for herbs and Tea Bags:
https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/
http://www.oregonswildharvest.com/owh/browse/bulk_herbs,_teas_and_spices
For bottles:
http://www.specialtybottle.com/
For cello bags and other packaging:
http://www.papermart.com/HOME
Happy Holidays to you and yours