Part 3: Body Care Recipes
One sneaky way I found to use my harvest every day is to make them body care products. Soaps, salves, oils, and balms are handy to have around, are often more gentle and helpful that store bought options, and are a nice way to keep your garden around longer. I want to shout out The Nerdy Farm Wife website as the best source of recipes like this online. She is an incredible resource, had dozens more recipes like this, and I cannot stop downloading her eBooks. While slightly adjusted, her recipes were my jump off point.
Calendula Healing Salve
Create calendula oil by infusing dried calendula flowers in 1-1.5 cups of almond or jojoba oil for at least 2 weeks. When the oil is ready, strain it and set it aside.
The salve cools solid, so prepare need tin or glass containers to store the salve. On top of a double boiler, add 1 cup of calendula oil to 4 tablespoons of beeswax and 2 tablespoons of shea butter. Add water to the bottom pot of the boiler and begin to heat (medium to low). Stir the oil, wax, and butter mixture until it is completely melted. Remove from heat immediately and pour the liquid salves into their containers. Allow them to cool without a lid.
Bug Be Gone Salve
You’ll need citronella and patchouli essential oils for this one, but its worth it. Create the base oil by infusing dried calendula flowers with dried mint, lavender flowers, or lemon balm in a 3/4 cup of carrier oil (coconut, jojoba, sunflower, olive, etc) for at least 2 weeks.
When the oil is ready, strain it and set it aside. Prepare tin or glass containers to store the salve. On top of a double boiler, add base oil to 4 tablespoons of beeswax and 2 tablespoons of shea butter. Add water to the bottom pot of the boiler and begin to heat (medium to low). Stir the oil, wax, and butter mixture until it is completely melted. Remove from heat immediately and add 8 drops of citronella and 6 drops of patchouli essential oils. Pour the liquid salves into their containers. Allow them to cool without a lid.
Lavender Lotion Bar
Create the lavender infused oil by infusing 1-2 tablespoons of dried lavender flowers with in a 1/4 cup of carrier oil (coconut, jojoba, sunflower, olive, etc) for at least 2 weeks.
When the oil is ready, strain it and set it aside oil AND flowers separately. Prepare plastic soap molds for your lotion bars to sit in by cleaning them and spooning the lavender petals into the bottom of the mold.
On top of a double boiler, add base oil to 3 tablespoons of beeswax and 3 tablespoons of shea butter. Add water to the bottom pot of the boiler and begin to heat (medium to low). Stir the oil, wax, and butter mixture until it is completely melted. Remove from heat immediately and add ad a couple drops of lavender essential oil for extra floral punch, Pour the liquid lotion into the mold. Allow them to cool completely before removing them from the mold.
Mint Lemon Scrub
Pour a half cup of sugar into a mixing bowl and add a tablespoon of coconut oil. Add a little lemon zest (use a zester or microplane), juice from half the lemon, and a few sprigs of fresh mint. Mix well and place in a clean lidded jar. Fresh mint does not keep long, so use within two weeks. If giving it as a gift, use a few drops of mint essential oil instead of the plant.
This was such a fun area to experiment with this season. For more, check out the The Nerdy Farm Wife! Such a great source of ideas and