Essential Glow: Recipes & Tips for Using Essential Oils” by Stephanie Gerber, has over 200 recipes and projects perfect for DIY aromatherapy needs to invite healing powers of herbs and botanicals into lives and homes. By focusing on more than just the perfumes of essential oils, readers learn it is possible to incorporate helpful mixtures into daily life which help with kicking headaches, improving sleep, relieving muscle aches, and many other areas of holistic health.
• 6 tablespoons raspberry leaf-infused oil (see recipe below)
• 2 tablespoons beeswax
• 2 tablespoons evening primrose oil
• 36 drops clary sage essential oil
• 36 drops geranium essential oil
• 25 drops sweet marjoram essential oil
• 25 drops ginger essential oil
• 12 drops cinnamon leaf essential oil
• 5-ounce (150-mL) lidded container
1. Bring 2 inches (5 cm) of water to a low simmer in a small saucepan.
2. Put the raspberry-leaf infusion and beeswax in a medium heat-safe glass bowl. Place the bowl over the saucepan.
3. When the ingredients have melted, remove the bowl from the heat.
4. Add your evening primrose oil and the clary sage, geranium, sweet marjoram, ginger, and cinnamon leaf essential oils; stir.
5. Pour the melted mixture into a clean, dry container and put the lid on.
6. Let it sit until the balm is firm. Keep the finished product in a cool and dry spot.
To make the raspberry leaf-infused oil:
1. Pour 2 inches (5 cm) of water into a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low.
2. Mix 1/2 cup (20 g) dried raspberry leaves and 1 cup (240 mL) carrier oil (such as coconut, grape-seed, or sweet almond) in a heat-safe glass bowl.
3. Place it over the saucepan and simmer for 1 hour, stirring often. Avoid overheating, which can reduce the benefits. Add water to the saucepan as needed.
4. Remove the mixture from heat and let it cool.
5. Filter it with a fine-mesh strainer, squeezing out as much oil as you can. Discard the herbs.
6. Transfer the oil to a jar. If strained properly, it should last up to 2 years.
Enjoy your balm any time symptoms arise by massaging it directly onto your abdomen and lower back. Use within 8 months.
Tip: This essential oil blend is pretty potent—it’s meant to be used a few times a month (not daily) to relieve cramping. Don’t have beeswax? Just combine the liquid oils and use as a massage oil.
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From Essential Glow: Recipes & Tips for Using Essential Oils by Stephanie Gerber (Weldon Owen, 2017).
