How to Make Herbal Tinctures from Dried Herbs I have several tincture recipes posted (including my two favorites: Chamomile Tincture and Digestion Tincture ) but I realized that a post with general instructions on how to make a tincture from any herbs would be helpful. A tincture is a concentrated liquid form of an herb that is easy to make and easy to take. Tinctures preserve and concentrate the properties of the herb, making them more effective and longer lasting. Alcohol based tinctures have a shelf life of several years and are easy to use when needed! If you’ve ever bought tinctures from the store, I’d encourage you to try making your own, as they are very inexpensive to make and can be made in minutes. Tincture Making Supplies: I make most tinctures in an alcohol base as this makes them the most long lasting, but tinctures can also be made with glycerine, vinegar or even with honey to make a syrup! To make a tincture, you will need the following supplies: How to Make a Tincture: First, pick which herbs you plan to use.
Lavender Detox Bath | Red Silk Essentials Setting aside alone time to de-stress and unwind can be challenging. But allowing our bodies (and minds!) time to rest and rid themselves of toxins is essential to staying healthy. One of the easiest and most relaxing ways is through a detox bath. For this recipe you will need baking soda, Epson salt and Lavender essential oil. Directions: Combine 1 cup of Epson salt, 1 cup of baking soda and 10 drops of Lavender essential oil.
How to Make Magnesium Oil to Improve Sleep and Reduce Stress I’ve written before about how I use magnesium daily and why I feel it is such a vital part of overall wellness . Many people are deficient in this vital mineral that the body uses for hundreds of reactions. Every cell in the body needs magnesium in some way, and it is vital for bone, tooth, muscle and joint health as well as for optimal sleep and stress reduction. Deficiency of magnesium is widespread because many of us have lifestyle factors that actively deplete magnesium such as lack of sleep, excess stress, or alcohol/caffeine/sugar consumption. On top of that, many natural sources of magnesium are becoming depleted (such as the soil due to over-farming and high pesticide use) and water filtration systems remove much of the naturally occurring magnesium in water. I take magnesium internally and use it on my skin daily in the form of magnesium oil . What you need: What to do: Boil the distilled water. Stir well until completely dissolved. To Use: Spray on arms, legs and stomach daily.
Homemade Whipped Coconut Oil Body Butter Recipe Does your moisturizer make you nervous? Let me guess: it’s either filled with questionable ingredients or wildly expensive. Or both. Whip It: The Secret to Moisturizing with Coconut Oil I’ve been having an on again, off again love affair with coconut oil as a moisturizer for a few years now. Heating the jar to melt the oil never worked for me, either, because I chronically forgot to do it! One day I ran across a recipe for whipped shea butter, and this got me thinking: can you whip coconut oil? The result was a superbly light and fluffy moisturizer that far exceeded my expectations. Want to try it out? Whipped Coconut Oil Body Butter Recipe I love that this coconut oil recipe only requires one (yes, one!) What to do: 1. 2. 3. Tip: An electric hand mixer will work, but my KitchenAid stand mixer did an amazing job and I was able to get other work done while it was mixing away. Note: Your whipped coconut oil should stay relatively soft, even at colder temperatures. Do you love coconut oil?
All Natural Herbal Hair Color Recipes Since I posted by recipes for homemade shampoo and DIY dry shampoo I’ve gotten a few emails asking about natural/herbal options for hair color. I’ve experimented with natural hair lightening in the past, but hadn’t tried dark or red shades. Many wasted herbs and a bunch of randomly colored streaks on the underside of my hair later, I figured out some good dark and red options as well! I started with sandy blonde hair, so I used the lightening herbs on most of my head, and I’m the blondest I’ve been since childhood (with some interesting red/brown streaks underneath). These are natural colors and as such will create natural hues on your hair. Also, I haven’t tried these on dyed/chemically treated hair, so I don’t know how it reacts with those types of hair! Herbs for Light Hair I’ve tried several basic herbal variations including: Pure, strong Chamomile Tea (brewed with 1/2 cup herbs per 2 cups water) and sprayed or poured on hair and left on for several hours. Ingredients: Ingredients:
21 Things You Should Know About Using Essential Oils Lord help me, people. I’ve spent the last two days trying to write a concise, easy guide to essential oils and their safety, and it ended up being just an enormous dump of information that no would want to ingest in a single blog post. Therefore, you’re getting the quickest, easiest 21 facts you need to keep in mind. These things include safety measures, essential oil facts, therapeutic uses, and more. However, at the end of this post, I am going to give extensive references to those of you who would like to learn more about the fascinating world of essential oils, as well as a list of my top 7 recommended essential oils for any household to have. Essential oils are not really oils. Most essential oils should never be used undiluted on the skin. Not all essential oils are created equally, nor does more expensive necessarily mean “better.” “What essential oils do you recommend I buy?” It’s a tough one to answer, because what EOs you buy depends on what you’re going to use them for.
Quick Slippers, Felted Feet. I paused for a day from my steel scarf and my newest cardigan and my current socks... to knit some new slippers. The ones I have been wearing are too big and fall off and slip around (aren't slippers supposed to slip?), and seeing as they were store bought (gasp) I knew I could do better by my feet. I had some Classic Wool left over from my Inukshuk project, and knew it would felt well. I found lots of felted patterns, but most have a high "boot" style, with the ankle covered and my feet get too hot in that style. These are more ballet slipper style, but needed a bit of elastic to make sure they stay on (and don't slip off). Slippers: Yarn: 2 balls of Patons Classic Wool (or any feltable worsted weight wool), Worked with 2 str ands held together: in this case, dark grey and light grey. Sew the heel flap to the sides (the 10 st cast off) and sew closed the toe opening (cast on sts). Felt in the washing machine (approx one cycle through the hot wash, but check halfway to make sure).
Homemade Summer Deodorant (That Won’t Melt in Your Cupboard) Last year, I shared some of my favourite homemade body care recipes, including deodorant. I’ve been using my own homemade deodorant for about three years now, to my complete satisfaction. It’s a very basic recipe, and you’re sure to find a bunch of similar ones online — it uses only baking soda, corn starch, coconut oil, and essential oils (especially tea tree). This recipe is great because it’s effective, super-frugal, non-toxic, and much less wasteful than conventional deodorant, where you chuck out a plastic container every couple of months. I’m trying to reduce the amount of waste — especially plastic — I send to the landfill, so that’s a big deal to me. About this deodorant, from the original post: You guys: this stuff works. There’s just one problem with my regular recipe. See, coconut oil melts at about 72 degrees F — the temperature of a moderately warm summer day. Some people remedy this problem by keeping their deodorant in the fridge. Add beeswax. Where to get beeswax?
Growing Herbs, Planting Herbs, How to Grow Herbs The best tips for growing herbs indoors, outdoors, and in container herb gardens. Learn how to plant and care for herbs when home gardening. Plant a kitchen herb garden to supply fresh herbs to spice up your meals. Design Your Own Vegetable Garden Layout Using our Free "Vegetable Garden Planner" Software! Why Grow an Herb Garden? The practice of planting herbs has been undertaken on every continent for hundreds of years. Herbs are prized for their scents, medicinal properties, and seasoning qualities in gardening, aromatherapy, arts and crafts, home remedies, and cooking. Planting a small sized kitchen herb garden supplies a wide range of flavorful, therapeutic, and fragrant herbs. Download Free Garden Planning Worksheets, Garden Diary, Zone Chart, Or Planting Guide Common Types of Herb Gardens Visiting herb gardens is the best way to decide on which plants to select and where to place your garden. Indoor Herb Gardening Many herbs can be successfully grown indoors in a container herb garden.
Reduce Depression & Inflammation with Patchouli Oil - Dr. Axe Patchouli oil comes from a species of plant with the genus Pogostemon. From the labiatae family, it includes lavender, mint and sage. This bushy herb has rigid stems, reaching two or three feet in height, and produces small, pale pink flowers. The plant is native to tropical regions of Asia, and is now extensively cultivated in China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mauritius, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The components of patchouli oil include alpha patchoulene, beta patchoulene, alpha guaiene, alpha bulnesene, caryophyllene, norpatchoulenol, patchouli alcohol, seychellene and pogostol. Extraction of patchouli essential oil is by steam distillation of the leaves; the cell walls must be broken with steam scalding, light fermentation or drying the leaves. The strong scent of patchouli oil has been used for centuries in perfumes; more recently it’s been used in incense, insect repellents and alternative medicines. Patchouli Oil Benefits 12 Patchouli Oil Uses 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
The Pioneer Woman's Sweet Potato Casserole or is it a Dessert Crisp? You be the judge... It's no secret that I love sweet potatoes. I've seen this casserole recipe in various cookbooks, but it was the Pioneer Woman's blog that finally convinced me to try this recipe. I zeroed in on this sweet potato casserole for two reasons-- it looked simple, and I had lots of pecans (do you say PEE-CANS or PE-KAHNS?). I wondered if my family would miss my Candied Yams (with melted marshmallows on half to appease the grownup kids) , but this year, I wanted to be different. P-Dub always does a great tutorial, but once again-- let me show you how I did it: Technically, these are Garnet Yams. In the meantime, let's make the topping. One cup of pecans, and 1 cup of brown sugar... Chop the pecans-- fine, but not too fine (hence, I didn't use the food processor). You need 3/4 of a stick of butter, and 1/2 cup of flour. Roast these babies at 375F for 30-35 minutes, or until fork tender. These are roasted perfectly. Cut them in half and scoop out the "meat". You need two eggs, whisked. Ingredients
DIY: Nourish yourself from head to toe with aloe & coconut moisturizer Summer is here and the sun is hot! Well for us in Singapore the sun is always hot, which is why we need to protect our skin that much more. This recipe is for an all-over, head-to-toe Aloe & Coconut moisturizer that leaves your skin feeling gorgeous. You’ll need: An aloe vera leaf2-3 Tablespoons of virgin raw coconut oil (add more or less oil depending on whether you want a more light or intense moisturizer) Aloe vera is a skin superfood! For the second ingredient, I chose to use coconut oil, because I love the instant results that I feel as my skin soaks up this nourishing oil. There is a trick to getting the gel from the aloe vera… Between the inner gel and the rind, is a layer of a yellow sap called aloin that has an obnoxious smell and can be irritating. After a quick rinse, you can then squeeze and scrape off the gel – it’s messy fun and what you’ll have is a lovely thick gel. I hope that you enjoy this summer and spent time outdoors, barefoot on the grass and under the sun.
The Lazy Lady’s Guide to DIY: Hanging Herb Garden in Ladyguides on Persephone Magazine. At some point near the middle of March, I always decide that I’m “done” with winter. The sweaters and jackets get pushed to the back of the closet, the flip flops come out, and I inevitably freeze my butt off for several weeks until the weather catches up with my warm-weather state of mind. Likewise, my cravings for fresh herbs and veggies are always a little ahead of the season. Growing your own herbs is a great way to save money and avoid buying too much at a time and letting most of it go to waste. What you’ll need: Tin containers with snap-on plastic lids (tea, cocoa, and coffee cans are a good bet), coat hangers, pliers, scissors, herbs (I bought basil, rosemary, dill, and cilantro for about $2.50 each), masking tape, coffee filters, a nail, a hammer, X-acto knife, scrap fabric or paper, and glue or spray adhesive. After you’ve emptied and cleaned your cans, remove the bottom of the can with a can opener. Slide the bottom inside the can, holding it up from inside. Happy growing!
What is Frankincense Good For? 8 Surprising Uses Essential oils have been used for thousands of years for their therapeutic and healing properties as part of the practice of aromatherapy. They’re sourced from leaves, stems or roots of plants that are known for their health properties. So then, what is frankincense essential oil? Frankincense, sometimes referred to as olibanum, is a common type of essential oil used in aromatherapy that can offer a variety of health benefits, including helping relieve chronic stress and anxiety, reducing pain and inflammation, and boosting immunity. What Is Frankincense Essential Oil? Frankincense oil is from the genus Boswellia and sourced from the resin of the Boswellia carterii, Boswellia ferreana or Boswellia serrata trees that’s commonly grown in Somalia and regions of Pakistan. The word frankincense comes from the term “franc encens,” which means quality incense in old French. 10 Benefits of Frankincense Oil 1. When inhaled, frankincense oil been shown to reduce heart rate and high blood pressure.