Many of the common weeds you have growing in the nooks and crannies of areas where you don’t want them to grow, can actually be valuable for us to work with. Sometimes those nuisance weeds can be used to create a plethora of helpful, healing products.
These weeds can include plantain, dandelion, mullein, yarrow, and singing nettles. Now, lets take plantain for example. It is an anti inflammatory, antimicrobial, and offers expectorant actions. That means that, among many things, this herb can be used topically for bug bites or even internally to ease coughs.
Even if you don’t want to use ‘weeds’, you can grow other herbs that are easy and simple. Any herb in the mint family such as sage, thyme, oregano, lemon balm, and peppermint are easy to grow and spread easily. Calendula and echinacea are also easy to grow and provide beautiful flowers that are not only medicinal but also great pollinators.
Calendula, which is an annual, is a great choice for topical use because of its emollient properties for softening and moisturizing the skin. This makes calendula a perfect choice for lotions, lip balms, and other similar products. Echinacea is a perennial plant with tall, upright stems and long lasting flowers that make a wonderful landscaping plant, adding a burst of color along garden borders. It is commonly used in tea blends for colds and flu’s.
Depending on the products you plan to make with your herbs, you may need to purchase plant based organic oils, beeswax, honey, jars, tins for packaging your creations, and labels. Then all you need to do is determine what the product is that you want to make and go for it!
I am going to go over how to make a lip balm, using calendula. Calendula is amazing for the skin because it is an emollient herb, so making this into a lip balm, can be great for your lips. It is simple, all natural, and easy to make. And, it will nourish and protect your lips even in the harshest conditions. Lets get started.
The materials you will need is coconut oil, shea butter, beeswax, a double boiler, lip balm tubes, calendula flowers, and plant based oil. Now, what I mean by plant based is any kind of oil such as olive oil, grapeseed oil, or avocado oil. And it is worth mentioning that the green part in the middle of the calendula petals should be included since this is the most medicinal part.
Start by making a calendula infused oil. Now you can do this two different ways. The best result is the slower way, however if you are in a hurry, you can do this more quickly with heat. The first way is infusing the calendula flowers into oil for 6-8 weeks. Simply cover the flowers with the oil and shake the container to mix it up once a day for the 6-8 weeks. Make sure to keep this out of sunlight.
Or if you prefer the faster method, you can infuse the plant based oil with calendula and then heat it up. If you are going to do the heat method, start with ¼ cup of calendula flowers and 3 ½ ounces, by volume, of a plant based oil. Heat it up and simmer it for 45-60 minutes. Make sure to cover it to hold the medicinal benefits inside.
When your herbal-infused oil is ready, strain out the calendula flowers. Take 2 tablespoons of the infused oil and add 1 tablespoon coconut oil, one tablespoon shea butter, and 1 ½ tablespoons beeswax into the double boiler. Over medium heat, and while continuously stirring, heat it just until everything melts.
This is the point where you need to let the mixture cool where it is still pourable but not enough that it hardens up. Carefully pour the mixture into lip balm tubes. They will harden as they cool.
There you have it, you will be able to make lip balm to give as a gift or keep for yourself.
If you want to purchase herbs, please consider using this affiliate link to purchase them. I highly recommend this link because of how they process and store herbs. You can’t always trust who you purchase from online, but with this company, I truly do feel it is top of the line and high quality. Just go to this link and type in the herb you desire in the search box.
If you would like to find out more about the author or learn about other herbs, please consider visiting this link.
Stay natural!
~Dr. Amanda P. Cartwright