I'm going to be making some luscious Green Tea and Rose Antioxidant Skin Cream this weekend, and am taking preorders/prepayment for 4 oz jars of this, if you'd like to take advantage of my creation.
A 4 oz jar will be 25$. It is a lovely antioxidant, skin nourishing, protective cream, especially for use after being out in the sun, or before going out in the sun. Not really an SPF cream, but definitely protective to the skin cells as an antioxidant to prevent skin damage.
It will have a light rose scent from the rosewater in the recipe, but otherwise will have no essential oils/scents added.
ingredients as follows:
sesame oil (organic)
sencha green tea(organic)
rosewater(organic)
shea butter ( raw and unrefined, this has a particular smell on it's own, but it is not rancid or off, just a fragrant nut oil)
aloe vera juice (organic)
If you would like to purchase some of this lovely creation please place your order and send payment by Friday evening, (via paypal to blueturtlebotanicals@gmail.com or check/money order) or write to me for a mailing address. I'm purchasing supplies on Saturday, and will be making this on Sunday. Please include 5$ for shipping per 8 oz ordered, if you aren't in the Tucson area. I will ship this Monday or Tuesday.
Thanks all!
Showing posts with label salves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label salves. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Green Tea salve
Mmmm....green tea. I had a client request green tea salve this week, so I went and had a go at this creation, which I must say I'm very happy with!
Green tea is well known for its antioxidant properties and it is becoming quite popular as an ingredient in natural face care products. Topical use of green tea has been used in some novel ways, including skin cancers, radiation and burns, and other skin damage, even for HPV and Herpes Simplex virus.
The potent antioxidant polyphenols in Green Tea, specifically EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate) is the most often studied compound in green tea. Most people just drink the tea, or take capsules of the concentrated and standardized extract of EGCG.
I think this salve is a novel way to administer a highly respected traditional medicine for skin needs. Plus it was fun to make. I used some high quality sencha green tea from Seven Cups Tea House. and infused it in a base of almond oil into a rich emerald green oil, full with the green grassy scent of tea leaves. The salve leaves a lovely scent of green tea on the skin, long after the oil has absorbed. I look forward to giving this a try myself on burns, and sun damaged/exposed skin. Someday soon I might make more oil for a lovely green tea skin cream when combined with shea butter and aloe vera.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Summer burbles
It's summer, and the monsoons are definitely here. It's humid enough that my herbs are having a hard time getting dry when I lay them out. The stems won't seem to crisp up, even when the leaves do. I can also tell it is monsoon season because the turmoil and change and unexpected are whipping through the air and through my life, as expected.
My sweetie fell ill the day I was to leave on my trip, so my trip was cancelled so I could heed the call to be a healer. He had a good fever hovering between 102 and 103.8 F for two days straight. Not that I ever wish fever on someone I love, but it's a good chance to watch the herbs at work.
My first strategy for a fever is my standby diaphoretic blend tea, which includes various parts of elder flower, yarrow leaf and flower, monarda leaf, and peppermint. Several hot cups of this tea and sleeping most of the first day was the first line of defense. He complained of aches , typical of a fever, in which the body is using proteins from muscles to build immune components, and I gave him 5 drop doses of Boneset in warm water. The nasty taste aside, he swears the boneset relieved the achiness about 50%.
His temperature went up to about 103.8 that evening, and a good dose of fresh elder flower tincture and a tepid bath (94 degrees F) brought the fever down to a comfortable 102 Degrees before heading to bed for the night.
The next morning a warm shower and another dose of elder flower tincture broke the fever in a drenching sweat. Even my sweetie was impressed. But it wasn't over, and several hours later his temperature crept up again. At this point I began dosing him with 4 oz cups of echinacea decoction and elderberry elixir every few hours or so to give the immune system a boost at fighting whatever bug was in action. By Late afternoon and early evening his temperature spiked again, and another tepid bath made him more comfortable before going to sleep again. He said that he sweat through the night, and the next day the fever broke completely at midday. He was still very tired and weary and napped most of the afternoon as part of the recovery process. By Sunday, he was back to his usual self, complete with witty quips and puns.
He never developed any other symptoms, no flu like respiratory illness, no nausea or gastric distress, no severe headaches or anything. I was a bit stumped and a bit worried about what might be going on inside my beloved, but the body knows best and with just a little help from the plants, gentle hydrotherapy, (Not the freezing alcohol rub downs or ice baths he remembers from childhood) and rest, he recovered quickly.
He was somewhat hungry during most of the feverish phase, but I insisted he eat lightly so as not to draw energy away from the immune system. Small portions of chicken broth, and small cups of raw milk gently warmed and lemon water were all the food he took for the duration of the illness, and on Saturday evening when he was on the mend, and the fever gone, a light supper of salmon and steamed squash filled his belly. (No, ice cream is NOT allowed during or after a fever. Way too cold and too much sugar. No matter how they beg, do NOT give in!)
I had a dream about a new salve last night, and made some this morning in a test batch. Pinyon sage salve...feels like a southwestern natural, kind of like the windy cool stretches of northern NM and AZ along the Mogollon Rim. I made this with a rich infused olive oil of salvia apiana, and several good sized fragrant chunks of pinyon sap, and a touch of beeswax. This cooled into a rich golden brown hued fragrant balm. Both the pine sap and white sage are supreme antiseptic healers, and pine is a wonderful drawing agent, while sage is a good antiinflamatory. This salve would probably be best for disinfecting minor wounds, and drawing out splinters, thorns, cactus spines, or small items stuck in a wound causing inflammation and infection. I'd probably give it a go on wind and sun chapped skin as a protective balm to prevent further chapping.
I'm pondering an early morning trip tomorrow to gather chaparral for making infused oil, now that the rain has had a chance to plump up the leaves on the plants. Passionflower must be gathered in the next few weeks, and I've been scouting out locations where I might find some in the mesquite bosques. My previous location is a LONG drive from here and has become rather dangerous in the last few years, so I'm looking for a new gathering spot. Wish me luck! I'll probably go down to Desert Survivors Nursery in the not too distant future to see if they have any native passionflower vines for sale that I can take home and baby in my yard and see if it will grow under my ramada.
I have a hankering to camp up on the mountain this week, overnight, and go on a monarda flower harvest. Also needing some mullein and yarrow, and probably more grape leaves to eat, as I've pickeled all the rest I gathered. Busy busy bee...
My sweetie fell ill the day I was to leave on my trip, so my trip was cancelled so I could heed the call to be a healer. He had a good fever hovering between 102 and 103.8 F for two days straight. Not that I ever wish fever on someone I love, but it's a good chance to watch the herbs at work.
My first strategy for a fever is my standby diaphoretic blend tea, which includes various parts of elder flower, yarrow leaf and flower, monarda leaf, and peppermint. Several hot cups of this tea and sleeping most of the first day was the first line of defense. He complained of aches , typical of a fever, in which the body is using proteins from muscles to build immune components, and I gave him 5 drop doses of Boneset in warm water. The nasty taste aside, he swears the boneset relieved the achiness about 50%.
His temperature went up to about 103.8 that evening, and a good dose of fresh elder flower tincture and a tepid bath (94 degrees F) brought the fever down to a comfortable 102 Degrees before heading to bed for the night.
The next morning a warm shower and another dose of elder flower tincture broke the fever in a drenching sweat. Even my sweetie was impressed. But it wasn't over, and several hours later his temperature crept up again. At this point I began dosing him with 4 oz cups of echinacea decoction and elderberry elixir every few hours or so to give the immune system a boost at fighting whatever bug was in action. By Late afternoon and early evening his temperature spiked again, and another tepid bath made him more comfortable before going to sleep again. He said that he sweat through the night, and the next day the fever broke completely at midday. He was still very tired and weary and napped most of the afternoon as part of the recovery process. By Sunday, he was back to his usual self, complete with witty quips and puns.
He never developed any other symptoms, no flu like respiratory illness, no nausea or gastric distress, no severe headaches or anything. I was a bit stumped and a bit worried about what might be going on inside my beloved, but the body knows best and with just a little help from the plants, gentle hydrotherapy, (Not the freezing alcohol rub downs or ice baths he remembers from childhood) and rest, he recovered quickly.
He was somewhat hungry during most of the feverish phase, but I insisted he eat lightly so as not to draw energy away from the immune system. Small portions of chicken broth, and small cups of raw milk gently warmed and lemon water were all the food he took for the duration of the illness, and on Saturday evening when he was on the mend, and the fever gone, a light supper of salmon and steamed squash filled his belly. (No, ice cream is NOT allowed during or after a fever. Way too cold and too much sugar. No matter how they beg, do NOT give in!)
I had a dream about a new salve last night, and made some this morning in a test batch. Pinyon sage salve...feels like a southwestern natural, kind of like the windy cool stretches of northern NM and AZ along the Mogollon Rim. I made this with a rich infused olive oil of salvia apiana, and several good sized fragrant chunks of pinyon sap, and a touch of beeswax. This cooled into a rich golden brown hued fragrant balm. Both the pine sap and white sage are supreme antiseptic healers, and pine is a wonderful drawing agent, while sage is a good antiinflamatory. This salve would probably be best for disinfecting minor wounds, and drawing out splinters, thorns, cactus spines, or small items stuck in a wound causing inflammation and infection. I'd probably give it a go on wind and sun chapped skin as a protective balm to prevent further chapping.
I'm pondering an early morning trip tomorrow to gather chaparral for making infused oil, now that the rain has had a chance to plump up the leaves on the plants. Passionflower must be gathered in the next few weeks, and I've been scouting out locations where I might find some in the mesquite bosques. My previous location is a LONG drive from here and has become rather dangerous in the last few years, so I'm looking for a new gathering spot. Wish me luck! I'll probably go down to Desert Survivors Nursery in the not too distant future to see if they have any native passionflower vines for sale that I can take home and baby in my yard and see if it will grow under my ramada.
I have a hankering to camp up on the mountain this week, overnight, and go on a monarda flower harvest. Also needing some mullein and yarrow, and probably more grape leaves to eat, as I've pickeled all the rest I gathered. Busy busy bee...
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Rocky Mountain Bliss Balm and Desert Chaparral Salve
So in the spirit of making things happen, I decided to nudge the energy in the right direction by whipping up some lovely new salves. I need a few bucks to pay for gas to NM this weekend for the Shaman's Path gathering, and enough for a little food in the coming week, so I'm offering these special salves to all my lovely readers!
As always, the beloved chaparral salve, so helpful for any number of skin conditions, especially the hot, red, itchy and infected kind. Dry irritated eczema, psoriasis, insect stings, cuts, scrapes, burns and the like. The all purpose salve of the desert. Made with sun infused fresh chaparral in olive oil and beeswax. This is the salve I get calls for from as far as New York and Chicago. Get it while you can. It will go fast!
I have four 5o ml jars of this salve available for 10$ each (plus shipping).
I also have a special salve made with the nicest oils made with fresh wildcrafted mountain plants, Yarrow flowers, Monarda leaf, Rose flowers and St Johns Wort, in olive and sesame oil, shea butter and beeswax- I'm calling it Rocky Mountain Bliss Balm, since all the herbs were harvested during my time in the Rockies in Colorado. The times I spent collecting herbs and making medicines were few, but they were indeed blissful, so share some of the bliss!
This is a beautiful red salve, with antiseptic, analgesic, antiinflammatory and astringent wound healing medicine. This salve is more appropriate for wounds with a tendency to infection and inflammation, since there is no comfrey included. (You should always be careful about putting salve on an infected wound as the wax can sometimes seal infection in.) This is cooling and soothing to inflammations and antiseptic, with mild pain relieving effects. Give this one a go for summer sunburns, insect bites, heat rash and minor cuts and scrapes. The yarrow, rose and monarda are also excellent blood moving medicines, so this salve can be of help in stagnant bruises and contusions and sprains as well. A nice versatile pot of medicine eh?
I have three 2 oz tins for $12 each (plus shipping) and one 50 ml jar for $10 (plus shipping)
If you are interested in either of these salves, contact me and I'll get one in the mail to you. Payment can be sent via paypal or check in the mail. As always, I appreciate your support, and hope you enjoy the fruits of my labor of love.
As always, the beloved chaparral salve, so helpful for any number of skin conditions, especially the hot, red, itchy and infected kind. Dry irritated eczema, psoriasis, insect stings, cuts, scrapes, burns and the like. The all purpose salve of the desert. Made with sun infused fresh chaparral in olive oil and beeswax. This is the salve I get calls for from as far as New York and Chicago. Get it while you can. It will go fast!
I have four 5o ml jars of this salve available for 10$ each (plus shipping).
I also have a special salve made with the nicest oils made with fresh wildcrafted mountain plants, Yarrow flowers, Monarda leaf, Rose flowers and St Johns Wort, in olive and sesame oil, shea butter and beeswax- I'm calling it Rocky Mountain Bliss Balm, since all the herbs were harvested during my time in the Rockies in Colorado. The times I spent collecting herbs and making medicines were few, but they were indeed blissful, so share some of the bliss!
This is a beautiful red salve, with antiseptic, analgesic, antiinflammatory and astringent wound healing medicine. This salve is more appropriate for wounds with a tendency to infection and inflammation, since there is no comfrey included. (You should always be careful about putting salve on an infected wound as the wax can sometimes seal infection in.) This is cooling and soothing to inflammations and antiseptic, with mild pain relieving effects. Give this one a go for summer sunburns, insect bites, heat rash and minor cuts and scrapes. The yarrow, rose and monarda are also excellent blood moving medicines, so this salve can be of help in stagnant bruises and contusions and sprains as well. A nice versatile pot of medicine eh?
I have three 2 oz tins for $12 each (plus shipping) and one 50 ml jar for $10 (plus shipping)
If you are interested in either of these salves, contact me and I'll get one in the mail to you. Payment can be sent via paypal or check in the mail. As always, I appreciate your support, and hope you enjoy the fruits of my labor of love.
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