Herbal Recipes

Lavender Cleansing Cream

10 tablespoons grated white wax
5.5 tablespoons almond oil
4 tablespoons infused lavender water
5 drops cider vinegar

Melt the wax & oil together over a low heat. Remove from the heat, & add the lavender water & cider vinegar. Whip vigorously until creamy in texture, & then store in a screw capped jar.

SOURCE: Blackberry


Lemon Winter Whiffs

By Cait Johnson, Assistant Producer, Care2 Healthy Living Channels Make your own pocket-sized aromatherapy helper-in-a-bottle, such a convenient way to have some sweet-smelling stress-relief always close at hand. The main ingredient, lemon balm, has been known to relieve stress, anxiety, headache, nervous tension, insomnia, and depression.

Find out how easy it is to make these whiffs, perfect for purse or glove compartment.

Simple Solution: All you need is a small screw-top jar or bottle, a cotton ball, lemon balm essential oil, or dried lemon balm herb.

Soak the cotton ball in essential oil and place in jar, or fill jar with dried herb.

Whenever you need a breath of relief, simply uncap the jar and take a gentle whiff. When the fragrance fades, simply add a few drops of essential oil, or use a chopstick to stir and gently crush the dried balm.


Herbal Stick Deodorant

1 1/2 tbspn beeswax (yellow is best)
1/2 tbspn cocoa butter
1 tablespoon coconut oil
15 drops white thyme essential oil
15 drops rosemary essential oil
25 drops lavender essential oil
3 drops castor oil

Melt beeswax in a glass jar standing in hot water, add the cocoa butter, and when it has melted, add the oils. Stir to mix thoroughly, then pour into a clean, discarded deodorant stick case and leave to cool and set.

Source: by Annie Berthold-Bond, Care2.com Producer, Green Living Channels

NOTES: If you can tolerate essential oils, herbal deodorants are wonderfully effective since so many of them have strong anti-bacterial properties. I am excited to find this formula for making homemade stick deodorant because with this, any one of us can custom make the deodorant using essential oils that one really likes! That being said, I like the essential oils recommended for this formula by Snow Drift Farms; they are all strongly anti-bacterial:


Violet & Rose Splash

2 cups distilled water
4 tablespoons vodka
½ cup chemical-free dried rose petals
½ cup fresh violet flowers

1. Combine the ingredients in a sterilized glass bottle.
2. Swirl the contents gently.
3. Store in a cool, dry place for a week.
4. Strain out the flowers using a strainer lined with muslin or an unbleached paper coffee filter.
5. Bottle and enjoy.

(from www.Care2.com)


Headache Relief Herbal Bath

4 Tablespoons Dried Lavender
4 Tablespoons Dried Lemon Balm
2 Tablespoons Dried Peppermint

Steep herbs for about 20 minutes in water that has been brought to a boil. (Do not boil herbs because they will lose their volatile oils and much of their healing qualities.) Strain herbs before you add to bath water. The nice thing about infusions is that you can make them ahead of time and use when you wish. They are usually good for at least 5 days. If you don't have time to make an infusion, just put the herbs in a muslin bag or bath ball and throw in the tub with you.


Lemon Balm Hair Rinse

6 Tablespoons Lemon Balm
2 Cups Water (brought to a boil)

Steep herbs in water that has been brought to a boil. (Do not boil herbs because they will lose their volatile oils and much of their healing qualities.) Let steep until cool enough to pour over hair. Strain Lemon Balm from the water and pour over hair as your final rinse after shampooing. No need to wash out. Leaves your hair soft and smelling fresh and clean.

Freeze fresh sprigs of the lemon-scented leaves in ice cube trays for summer drinks.


Citrus and Herb Bath

You will need:

3 or 4 chamomile tea bags
3 or 4 fresh oranges, sliced
Equal parts lavender and lemon rind

Place in a muslin bag or a square of muslin tied tightly with string. Add to warm bath as the tub and filling and while bathing.

Courtesy of Brenda Hyde of OldFashionedLiving.com


Citrusy Wake-Up Bath

Adapted from The Essential Oils Book, by Colleen K. Dodt (Storey Books, 1996). This lively fragranced bath is a super antidote to the post-holiday blahs. One of the oils in this recipe is antibacterial as well as delicious-smelling, a great idea for winter when we’re exposed to so many colds and flus. In fact, all of the essential oils in this recipe smell wonderful and will keep practically forever. What a simple, enlivening recharge!

Run yourself a nice warm bath, add these magical oils, and sink in. Ahhhh!

3 drops lemon essential oil
3 drops rosemary essential oil
2 drops peppermint essential oil

Add oils directly to a tub full of warm water and mix well. You can find essential oils at your local natural foods store.


Clove Clothes Protection

1 3/4 ounces cloves
1 3/4 ounces cinnamon
1 3/4 ounces mace
1 3/4 ounces black pepper
1 3/4 ounces orris root.

Blend together to make a coarse powder. Put miture into small muslin bags and place in drawers and wardrobes where moths are a problem.

Source: Sunday Telegraph Newspaper, Body & Soul section, April 29th 2001