Excited to be back here with an incredible recipe from a magical and inspiring woman, Susanna Arjalaguer from Fitosinergia (@fitosinergia in IG), a friend and mentor. Visit her website to find out what workshops she’s organising around plants and phytotherapy.
Do you remember the calendula macerated oil with sweet almond oil that we prepared in January? Once the 40 days of maceration are over and to effectively strain the oil, use a cheesecloth to remove all flowers and its debris.
The macerated oil is a final product however it may also be an enriched ingredient for other homemade cosmetics. I use it a lot as a vehicular oil to mix with essential oils: lavender (calming), eucalyptus (expectorant), peppermint (to soothe tired legs and massage) and much more.
On the 30th of April, I did a talk-workshop about plants, and with that in mind, I set myself the challenge of creating a solid liniment or balm with my macerated oil using Susanna’s recipe. I leave the recipe here, with her permission, and some tips following my own experience.
For a vegan option, you may use shea butter instead of beeswax. Keep in mind that quantities may vary to achieve the desired texture.
Ingredients:
- 90ml calendula macerated oil (you may use other vegetable oils depending what properties you are after)
- 15g virgin beeswax
- 10 drops lavender essential oil, Lavandula angustifolia (you may use other essential oils depending what properties you are after)
Material:
- Wooden spatula for stirring
- Glass mixing bowl that you can use for bain-marie to combine and melt oil and beeswax
- Container/s to store your balm, either metal tin or glass jar with a wide neck (clean and disinfect with surgical alcohol 96º)
The most important tip Susanna gave me was to try and be precise with the amount of wax needed. Given the recipe above, the final texture is solid but easily spreadable. If you want a softer texture, you may achieve this by adding a little more oil.
It’s also advisable to have all ingredients and utensils close by and ready to use as you will find yourself having to stir the mix most of the time.
Place the wax and oil in a water bath (bain-marie) until all the wax has completely melted and is well combined with the oil. Remove the bowl from the heat before adding the lavender essential oil. Add the 10 drops and stir again to mix everything well – don’t wait, pour the mixture into the jar(s) or tins as the wax solidifies rather quickly!
Once solid, your balm is ready to use! Apply it as a lip balm, for skin irritations, for red and scaly nose from a cold and for insect bites.
Can’t wait to hear about your experience!
