Photo by iStock
Try chamomile to soothe skin and dental infections.
30 min DURATION
Ingredients
- 1 cup purified water
- 2 teaspoons dried chamomile flowers (or 4 teaspoons fresh chamomile flowers)
- 3/4 cup sweet almond or apricot kernel oil (available in most health-food stores)
- 2 tablespoons grated beeswax
Directions
- 1. Boil water and pour over chamomile flowers. Cover and let brew for 10 to 20 minutes. Strain out flowers, reserving herbal infusion.
2. Pour oil into a heat-safe glass measuring cup and add shaved beeswax. Set it in a saucepan of water that reaches about halfway up the side of the measuring cup. Heat on stovetop over low heat until beeswax melts.
3. Immediately after beeswax melts, remove pot from stove. Allow to cool for a minute or two but not longer as beeswax will begin to harden.
4. Pour herbal infusion into blender and blend on high speed with lid on (with a hole left in lid for pouring beeswax-oil mixture). Slowly pour oil-beeswax mixture into infusion. It will begin to emulsify as you continue pouring oil. It normally begins to thicken after about three-quarters of the oil has been incorporated. Continue adding oil until you’ve incorporated all of it.
5. Immediately pour lotion into glass storage jars. Use a spatula to remove any remaining lotion from blender.
6. This lotion lasts about 3 months and is best kept in the fridge.Read More:
5 Best Herbal Antibiotics
Adapted from Be Your Own Herbalist: Essential Herbs for Health, Beauty, and Cooking (New World Library) by Michelle Schoffro Cook.
This silky cream soothes inflammation as it glides across the skin. It is simple to make and requires few ingredients. Because no chemical preservatives are used, it’s a good idea to store this cream in the refrigerator. You will need a medium-sized wide-mouth glass jar or a few small glass jars for storing the lotion.
