DIY: Herbal Syrups for Health and The Sweettooth

Peppermint-lemon balm syrup on the left,
calendula syrup on the right.

Preparing your own herbal syrups is one of the ways to preserve the flavors and medicinal properties of your favorite herbs for later. Those syrups come in handy also preparing different sweet dishes, you know - syrup means a lot of sugar. I know, it doesn't sound very healthy, on the other hand, syrups you buy in pharmacy to fight colds and sore throat are packed with sugar exactly the same way. You can preserve herbs in many other ways without adding sugar as well, but this time - syrup it is. To make it healthier you can replace sugar by honey, or at least some amount of sugar can be replaced by the same amount of honey, of course, if you aren't allergic to honey, in the second case - sugar it is.

You will need: 

1 kg of sugar or honey

1 l of water

200 - 500 g of fresh herbs

Optional for better long-term preservation and enhancing the flavor: 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice or juice of 1/2 a lemon. You can also add a few slices of lemon with peels cut into small pieces. 

Basically you take the same amount of sugar and water. 1l of water = 1kg of sugar,  1 cup of sugar = 1 cup of water. If you have another good method of making strong syrup with different measurement ratios, feel free to apply it. This is classic water: sugar ratio. I believe that absolutely precise measurements aren't the essence of cooking and canning. For long-term preservation and storing in the cellar I would advice to stick to the classics.

Now, herbs. For restful sleep and winter colds I've made meadowsweet syrup (read about meadowsweet here)- it has a slight hint of bitterness to it, but, oh, it's gorgeous. For sore throat and colds nothing beats calendula syrup (read about calendula here), but for refreshment, alertness and refreshing drinks in summer season the one you would appreciate the most would be peppermint syrup. Those are not the only herbs to use for making your own syrups. To choose your herbs for syrup think of what goes well with sugar or honey. Think of a tea cup. Lemon balm, lavender and lemongrass are popular herbs for making syrups. Basil, rosemary, thyme and fennel are used in making syrups as well. So far, I'm sticking to meadowsweet, peppermint, peppermint-lemon balm

and calendula. Of course, you can make fruit and berry syrups as well, but this time let's stay with herbs. Basically, if you have an access to plenty of any herb you love, you can make syrup with it - it's as simple as that. 

How much of herbs you need? To be honest, I don't know what's the best ratio. Every recipe tells something different. In this case I have to say more is better. and it's even better if you have harvested or grown more herbs than you need. The sweetest way to process them.  Classics ratio 1/4 of the amount of sugar. So,  if you are using 1 cup of sugar (and 1 cup of water) for syrup, use 1/4 of a cup of chopped herbs. You will have to pour the syrup over your herbs and let them steep in the syrup for a while, so it's better if they  syrup covers all your herbs. To prepare your herbs for making syrup clean and finely chop the herb material. 

The other disputable question is for how long your herbs should sit in the syrup before straining it. Some recipes say 2 hours, other recipes advice to leave the herbs in the syrup for 24 hours. I say, depending on how much time you have and how strong you want your syrup. I don't mind my herbs sitting in the syrup overnight. Just rise the lid of the pot with mixture and check how it smells and tastes. (Rise the lid of peppermint syrup and your eyes will widely open from the freshness!) 

Preparation

Step 1: combine water and sugar in a bowl, heat it up to dissolve the sugar. Stir occasionally until the syrup is ready and gives you the first few bubbles. 

Step 2: when the syrup is ready pour the hot syrup over the chopped herbs. Add in chopped lemon, or lemon juice.

Step 3: put the lid on and leave your herbs to steep for 2 - 24 hours (you choose what works for you and brings the results you are satisfied with). 

Note: ants love syrups. Take a special care covering your syrup if you have issues with ants entering your kitchen in mysterious ways trying to steel your sweets. 

Step 4 has two options: 

1) Strain the liquid, discard the herbs and bring the liquid to boil.

2) Put the pot with herbs and syrup back on fire, bring it to boil and then strain the liquid discarding the herbs. 

I put on fire my syrup together with herbs and pour the liquid into bottles through metal strainer placed over funnel with wide upper part. It's kinda messy, but works for me. 

Step 5: 

(You can leave it out if you are planning to store your syrup in the fridge)

Pasteurize your bottles for about 15 min in the oven or placing your bottles or jars in a large pot half-filled with hot, but not boiling water (around 80°C) for 15 min. (I have an old oven that is heated by firewood. So, without an option of getting exact temperature. Works well.) 

Step 6:

After your syrup bottles are pasteurized, close the lids well, let the bottles cool in the room temperature and then bring them to the storage. 

That's it. You have prepared your own syrup. Congratulations! It really isn't hard. :) 

I hope you found my method and comments useful! Let me know if you have tried making your own syrup following my method! 

All things Calendula Officinalis: Between the Garden, Kitchen, Medicine Chest and Pure Magick

Calendula officinalis – Pot Marigold, Poet’s marigold, Marygold, Sunbride, Drunkard, Marybud, Summer’s Bride, Bride of the Sun,  Gold-bloom, Holigold, Bees-love, Ruddes

If you are growing your own medicine cabinet, don’t forget calendula that in medieval times was considered a cure for almost anything. The bright orange or yellow heads of calendula flowers are beloved in herb, flower and even vegetable gardens. Besides the bright, decorative flowers and low maintenance calendula offers great medicinal properties. It’s a popular home remedy for skin issues widely used in cosmetics and dermatology nowadays just like it was used to rejuvenate skin by Ancient Egyptians.  It is also an edible plant that is used fresh and dried.

This gentle, yet strong herb that tolerates poor soil in many cultures is related to the Sun, fire element and Virgin Mary. There is another flower that is also called marigold – it’s tagetes (African, Mexican or Aztec marigold with scientific name tagetes erecta) – not less magickal flower and also from the same Asteraceae family, but it’s not the marigold we are talking about here. Referring to the hero of this page – calendula officinalis – eccentric Wiccan Scott Cunningham writes: “If a girl touches the petals of the marigold with her bare feet, she will understand the languages of the birds.”

Calendula in the garden

Calendula is an annual plant that is cultivated from seeds and grows around 30-60 cm/1- 2 feet tall. Growing calendula is easy as it doesn’t ask for much except the full sun or partial shade and some water. Poor soil isn’t a big issue for this plant that pleases the gardener with yellow to bright, deep orange flowers all summer long.

Calendula is a healer not just for humans and animals, but also helps in the garden. It’s a garden tonic and nutrient accumulator that repels asparagus beetles and tomato hornworms, it is planted as a helpful neighbor also next to chard, radish, carrots, parsley and thyme, and basically there is no plant around the garden who wouldn’t enjoy the company of calendula.

If left to sow the seeds at the end of the season, it often successfully comes back the next year even in regions with harsh winters. In autumn the seeds can also be gathered from dying flower heads and successfully sown back in the ground on spring the next year.

All parts of faded calendula plants can be embedded into the soil as it is observed to work as a soil fertilizer and sanitizer freeing it from disease causing elements.

From garden to pantry

Calendula flowers are harvested in the peak of the bloom, usually harvesting whole heads and after drying taking off the petals or harvesting only the petals gently pulling them off the center disc of the flower, then dried for culinary and medicinal use. After drying, keep the petals in a paper bag, well sealed wooden box or a jar. It can also be grind in a powder for adding to food.

One of the ways of preserving calendula is making infused oil with fresh or dried petals. Such oil can be successfully used for different skin conditions and for making calendula ointments for healing purposes, of course, it can also be added to baked goods and salads.

 Around the house

Traditionally calendula flowers have been used as a yarn and fabric dye producing bright yellow to khaki green color.  

Dried calendula petals are often used in homemade soaps adding to the soap sunny color and gentle abrasives.

Fresh calendula flowers are also popular for flower arrangements and used in decorative garlands.

Calendula infused oil is used for making skin creams, beeswax lip balms, lotions and salves. It is also used to heal the skin irritations in cats and other pets.

 Calendula in the kitchen

Most of us know calendula from the use in different herbal tea mixes, but it has some other culinary uses as well. The whole plant actually is edible – young leaves can be used in salads, but bright petals make excellent décor for any bowl of green salad.

Dried petals are used in cakes and for decorating any dish before serving. They go well with egg dishes, are used in butters, soups, cheeses and breads to add some color and flavor. You can also prepare calendula syrup and preserve it for winter season. 

In some dishes it can be used instead of saffron, for example, when preparing rice, calendula petals can dye the rice yellow just like saffron does. If fact, it’s even sold as a fake saffron. When buying saffron powder, it’s good to know where your saffron comes from because often, especially in powder it is sold mixed or even fully substituted with other herbs, for example, calendula petals that look similar to saffron when dried.  It really has some saffron-like qualities and is used in culinary as a cheaper substitute for saffron.

Calendula in the medicine chest

For healing and medicinal purposes usually calendula is used brewing herbal tea of dried flowers, making tincture or calendula infused oil for topical applications and using in homemade calendula creams and other ointments. Only the flower petals are used for medicinal purposes. Skin-healing, anti-ulcerous, tumor growth inhibiting, oxidation and inflammation stopping and spasm-relieving properties of calendula have been researched and observed by modern science providing satisfying results to suggest this herb for medicinal use.

This is one of the most popular herbals for all kinds of skin issues – from soothing skin, treating minor wounds, cuts, scrapes, bruises, insect bites, skin negatively affected by sun and wind, and other kinds of skin irritations and swelling, to using for curing acne, dermatitis, psoriasis and eczema. Due to the skin healing properties calendula is widely used in commercially produced skin creams and also homemade cosmetic ointments.

To soothe skin you can take a bath with calendula flower infusion or you a can also massage your skin with calendula infused oil. It also aids in alleviating hemorrhoid bleeding. 

Creams containing calendula extracts are used for healing cracked nipples after breastfeeding.

Calendula extracts are often used in pharmaceutical preparations for sore throat and swollen glands. Fungi, bacteria growth and inflammation stopping properties of calendula have been observed, so, calendula infused water is used as a throat gargle and mouthwash to treat mouth sores and speed up the process of healing gums after tooth extraction.

To treat conjunctivitis calendula infused water is used to rinse eyes or applied as a compress.

This is also one of “women herbs” as it can aid in normalizing the menstrual cycle, promoting menstruation, easing the menstrual pain and PMS symptoms. It’s not advised during the pregnancy, but can aid in labor gently promoting contractions.

Calendula tea or tincture are used to aid in healing digestive tract issues, promote food digestion, relieve constipation and abdominal cramps, expel toxins from the body and reduce swelling.

In folk medicine calendula ointments, creams or infused oil are suggested for treating varicose veins and hemorrhoids. Not very popular is the use of calendula for curing ear infections and stopping bleeding nose. It might have helped some people as it is a part of folklore, but successful use of calendula for these problems isn’t really reported.

Calendula infused vinegar is used in place of commercially produced hair conditioner to add shine to your hair, but it can also be added to foot soaking water for gentle care and reducing fungal issues. Those who don’t like using vinegar for hair, can also use calendula tea as a hair mask or rinse. It is especially advised for naturally light hair to highlight and brighten it.

Tea frozen into ice cubes can be a great facial tonic for mornings – while a light facial massage with ice cube will be refreshing and help to wake up, the healing properties of calendula will soothe skin and both together they can delay skin aging. 

It is recognized as generally safe herb for internal and topic use for adults and children, negative side effects haven’t been observed, but theoretically they are possible just like with any other substance existing in this world. Probably one of the safest home remedies to use without worries of negative consequences.

Esoteric calendula

As the flower of the Sun it is used in all kinds of festivities and rituals for honoring the power of the Sun and expressing the gratitude for the prosperity and beauty it brings. This simple flower that is one of the sacred herbs in Celtic traditions, can also be used in all kinds of love and admiration attracting magick. Added to the bathwater calendula might not only soothe the skin, but also make you respected and admired by others.

The modern spirituality seekers consider this a flower of sacral chakra – the 2^nd chakra located below the navel – the center of feeling, pleasure, passion, creativity and emotion. Modern folklore suggests using calendula to bring comfort to people who have gone through traumatic experiences, struggle from nervous tensions and fears.

Garlands of calendula flowers can be placed on the doorposts to protect the house from evil energies entering it, and as the herb of the Sun it is also used to consecrate magickal and ritual tools to remove the negative energy from them.  The cup you use for drinking calendula tea should be safe and sound! Modern folklore also tells that calendula can activate your inner self-healing abilities and enhance the energetic protection.

It is also used in helping to develop psychic powers, for example, the bright petals of calendula scattered under the bed or added to dream pillows might bring prophetic dreams.

Celtic folklore tells that if the flower petals of calendula are rubbed on the eyelids the liquid that comes out of the petals will help to see faeries, but Norse mythology reveals that if calendula flowers are picked on the full moon and used in incense or infused in water for washing your face and body, it will help to see elves and dwarves. I guess it depends on where in the world you live and what mythical creatures might live around you.

Using Beeswax: for Health, Beauty, Home and Gifts – Everything DIY (and a few words about saving the bees)

Beeswax in my home is irreplaceable thing, one of my favorite materials not just for candle-making, but also for home-made remedies and beauty care products. It has many amazing uses even if you have it in very small amounts, so, let me share what I know. I hope you can use this knowledge in your home as well! Here is your little guide to using beeswax – cleaning it, mixing it with other ingredients to DIY your own products and gift ideas! Do not throw away any piece of beeswax – it’s usable, even if it’s just leftovers from a burned out candle.

The most natural form of beeswax is yellow/brownish beeswax – it’s just like honeybees have created it – unbleached and aromatic. Rarely bees make also white beeswax, but don’t get fooled – white beeswax you can find in shops is bleached, not found naturally made by bees. Support your local beekeepers - buy from them and you will be sure you get the best possible option of beeswax!

Properties of Beeswax

It’s the best material for candles – these candles smell nicely without artificial additives and without filling the air in your home with dangerous chemicals that can come from paraffin candles, chemical candle colorants and aromatic agents. I have heard that beeswax candles cleanse the air in home when you burn them – if you have a link to research data that proves this, let me know! One thing I know for use about beeswax candles - they are made from a renewable, natural material.

Beeswax also has been proved to be superior to other natural base materials for skincare products. It has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anti-allergenic properties. It helps to protect the skin from stressing environmental factors and keeps the moisture in your skin. It nourishes, protects and softens the skin.  

In medicine it is used to lower cholesterol and relieve pain, for inflammation and ulcers, and even for polishing pills. I use it only externally, although nothing bad will happen if beeswax from your lip balm gets in your mouth. It’s generally safe taking internally or applying on skin externally. For internal use you have honey, for everything else – beeswax J

Cleaning and Melting Beeswax

In case if you get dirty beeswax, you don’t have to throw it out. Taken right from the bees, wax is mixed with honey, bees pollen, little pieces of dirt, sometimes other insects get trapped in it, or if it has been left somewhere for some time, it can be covered in dust. You can clean it: melt beeswax and strain it through a cotton cloth, a piece of clean tights or a clean sock. You can also strain it 2-3 times – as much as you need to get it clean. It’s a bit messy process, but not a difficult one.

The best method for melting beeswax is doing it in a water bath or double boiler. Pour water in a pan or pot , place it over the heat and put in it an empty heatproof  bowl.  The fire will heat up the water, the water will heat the bowl and beeswax in it will slowly melt, ensuring that it doesn’t boil or scorch to the bottom of the bowl. You can check beeswax melting methods here on WikiHow http://www.wikihow.com/Melt-Beeswax  .

Remember that overheating the beeswax might result in discoloration – it will lose the bright yellow tone. As soon as it gets liquid, stop heating and use it.

So here is what you can do with beeswax:

DIY Lip Balm

Making your own beeswax lip balm is the easiest thing on Earth. You need just beeswax and oil of your choice – olive or almond oil are great because of their properties, but you can check the properties of other natural oils to use in your lip balm. Melt a teaspoon of beeswax, mix it with a teaspoon of oil of your choice, pour it in a lip balm container and wait until it gets solid. That’s it. (Beeswax alone is too hard, so you need to add oil about 1:1)

DIY Beard Wax/ Bear Balm/Styling Wax

For bearded men in your life – making beard wax to give them as gifts is easy. Read here (opens in a new tab).

DIY Sunscreen

This probably isn’t for everyone, but for me – a person whose nose is always the first one to burn so that the skin is peeling off, this is a great sunburn remedy and sunscreen. Mix beeswax with lavender essential oil + some other healing natural oil to make your sunscreen softer and easier to apply.

Make Your Own Healing Salves

Any kind of them, including Tiger balm. For essential oil users: mix beeswax with essential oils to

make salves that are safe and easy to apply any moment without caring for diluting oils every time you want to apply them. Second option – make herb infused oils and mix them with beeswax for additional healing benefits, for example, calendula salve – with beeswax you can easily make this at home.

DIY Solid Perfume

Basically, it’s the same as making healing salve just without adding oils, except essential oils – mix beeswax with essential oil of your choice – the one you truly enjoy aroma.

Make your shoes waterproof

Polish your shoes with solid beeswax, then heat them using hair dryer and let them rest for some time. While heating the beeswax will melt covering your shoes with tiny, even layer and then solidify to stay in place.

 Make candles

Of course, you already knew it. I’ve previously posted about candle-making here (but not about beeswax candles): read here (opens in a new tab) Well, some time has passed and I have learnt a lot more. Now I make candles only from beeswax, and they look stunning (yeah, I’m bragging a bit now J ). 

Here are a few of my hand-sculpted beeswax candles made without silicone molds or plastic containers:

You can check my hand-sculpted beeswax candles on my freshly opened Etsy shop - SiltiCrafts

... or follow my latest creations my Facebook page here: SiltiCrafts (opens in a new tab)

I haven’t tried it all yet, but you can find some other uses of beeswax here:

http://www.naturallyloriel.com/17-cool-and-unusual-uses-for-beeswax/

A few words about saving the bees

As a beginner beeswax candle seller (and maker) I’ve faced people who are genuinely sad that I’m using beeswax – animal produced product. The main argument in this case is “The bees around the world are dying and you are taking from them the last they have… You are encouraging killing the bees.” Huh, I don’t know where to start explaining from… Let’s start from the beginning. Why bees are dying? Mostly because of using chemicals in farming. What can save the bees? First thing, of course, the world should stop poisoning the Earth with chemicals. Secondly, the greatest bee saviors and protectors are beekeepers. Beekeeping is doing exactly the opposite of endangering the lives of the bees:

Firstly, caring for bees has nothing to do with animal cruelty. Bees aren’t tied down or locked up into small chambers without a freedom to go. They are free to go and that’s what they do every day gathering honey. They also have a freedom to leave and never come back to the hives beekeepers provide, yet they return.

In the world where forests are cut down and meadows turned into fields for farming with chemicals it isn’t easy to find a place for bees to stay. Beekeepers are offering home for the bees.

When the family of the bees is getting too big for one living place, bees kill a part of their family to get more space. When a responsible beekeeper sees bee-family growing too big, he/she offers another hive for the bees, so a part of bee family can move to another hive. Isn’t that ensuring the living of the bees?

As beekeepers earn money or use for their own needs the honey and beeswax, they are really interested to take a good care of their bees. Both involved sides are benefitting from the beekeeping. Bees aren’t left without food and what is especially important in the North, beekeepers take care of the bees surviving cold winters, because not always they actually survive on them own.

Beekeeping is a long-term process and beekeepers often are those who are taking quiet actions to save the bees and care for the nature without loud slogans. They plant trees that will flower for their bees, they seed flowers for their bees and they plan where they are putting the beehives to make the work for their bees easier shortening the distances bees have to travel for gathering honey. And bees don’t run away, they survive, reproduce and live if they receive genuine care. I don’t think that beekeepers are taking too much for what they are providing and doing for the world. The key is into giving to nature we are a part of and taking respectfully. 

If you meet people who are protesting beekeeping, please, be kind and tell them what beekeeping is and why it’s important for all of us. Support your local beekeepers!

How do you use beeswax? 

Microgreens, sprouts and germinated seeds. In the spotlights: Garden Cress

Microgreens - the shoots of salad vegetables, picked soon after the first leaves have developed

Sprouts - young shoots of recently germinated seeds

Germinated seeds - sprouted seeds

There are some differences, but I put these all 3 in the category of microgreens - those small, aromatic, tasty greens that are packed with vitamins.

Sprouting radish seeds - already edible,
but can be kept to develop more

There are a few good reasons to grow microgreens and sprouts:

• It's easy. Even if you are not a gardener and have never tried growing anything, you are going to succeed even without any special equipment.
• Some of them require just a few days from starting until getting on your plate.
• Many sprouts and microgreens successfully grow even without soil - perfect solution for urban gardeners in small apartments.
• If growing a big plant takes time and often requires some basic knowledge of gardening to keep it alive and healthy, growing microgreens happens fast enough that you are not going to kill them if they get enough of water. You don't need fertilizers, you don't need to know when and how to replant them because they don't live that long to need it all.
• You can grow them in pots, in plates even in plastic containers that get into your home - they don't have to go directly to the trash, because you can use them for seed germination and growing microgreens.
• Microgreens are packed with vitamins and nutrients. They literally are vitamin bombs, because each seed contains everything a plant needs to grow and develop. This is the most nutrient-dense version of any plant.
• Delicious and fresh greens - yes, that's what the heart is longing for and body is thanking for after long winters!
• Oh, and they look good!

The best seeds for growing microgreens are: cress, beets, radish, coriander, basil, dill, carrots, spinach, cabbage, sunflower seeds, mizuna, mustard, kale, kohlrabi, celery, clover and others. It's also a great use for leftover seeds that simply won't have a place in your garden.

Arugula - Day 3 and Day 5

In the spotlights: Garden Cress

Day 1

Day 2

Garden cress (Lepidium sativum) sprouts are one of the first plants for indoor garden when the winter is still outside, but the spring already knocks on the door of your heart.

Growing these microgreens is fast and easy. Garden cress leaves are great source of Vitamin A and C, calcium, folate and iron. Basically, what can be better than adding some natural vitamins to your meals?

Growing Cress Sprouts indoors

Day 3

It truly doesn’t need much. You can even grow

them without soil. Just lay out in a dish, tray (or a plastic box that somehow managed to get into your home buying food, or even egg container can be a great place for cress sprouts) a few layers of paper towels or napkins.

Sprinkle the towels with water, lay the seeds on the towels (you can also cover the seeds with another (thin!) layer of napkin - it helps to keep warmth making seeds to germinate faster) and that’s it!

Day 5

Basically, you need just moist paper towels/napkins, water and seeds. For growing cress sprouts you can also set the seeds on a thin layer of soil and cover them with another thin layer of soil.

Cress seeds need water, so, you need to keep the soil or paper moist. The best option is lightly sprinkling it with water. Do not allow the seeds to dry out!In the right conditions the seeds will start sprouting already the next day. You can use the sprouts already about a week later (depending on the growing conditions). Cut them to add to your meals when microgreens have 2,5-5 cm long stems(1-2 inches).

If your home or windowsill is not warm enough, try to find a mini-greenhouse solution!

Here are a few ideas: 

To the left - mini greenhouse from the store, to the right - plastic cake box

Egg container

If you make indoor mini greenhouses, remember that your plants need to breathe and those "greenhouses"need ventilation to prevent mildew. Don't just leave your plants covered! 

If I use "greenhouses"  I usually open them during the day and place on a windowsill, and close (or leave open  depending on what and how is growing) and put closer to the source of heat (radiator). 

By the way, I found online this nice website dedicated to growing and using cress: http://cressinfo.com/

Sprinkle with cress sprouts potatoes, add them to your salads, soups and sandwiches, make pesto and wherever else the culinary imagination can take you!

#DIY Nurturing Beard Balm-Styling Wax: Keep that Beard Shiny, Healthy and Gorgeously Smelling in Cold Winters!

I will keep this post short. Making nurturing beard/mustache balm is easy. Giving a pleasant scent to any beard is easy as well. Keeping it healthy and shiny in cold winters when it gets to freeze with ice, isn't hard as well. So, I made one for my beloved bearded man about 2 months ago, and he is still using it. We both are satisfied. He is happy that the beard shines and the beard balm-wax helps keeping it together, I'm happy for the gorgeous aroma of his beard. This isn't a beard wax for extreme styling, just for getting a slight hold, but mostly for nurturing, shine, health and scent. 

So, here it is: 

Ingredients: 

• Beeswax - you need it if you want to make "beard wax". Without wax, you can make beard oil that will be as nurturing and aromatic, yet without getting a slight hold. Besides that, beeswax smells good, blends well with essential oils and heals the skin and beard helping to keep it moisturized. 
• Cold-pressed Extra-virgin Olive oil (but you can take also any other natural oil of your choice). Olive oil has great moisturizing properties. It's good not just for beards and hair, but for skin as well. You can also use herb-infused oils!
• Essential oils add aroma and healing properties. Here you have to take in account that you need to create manly aroma - the one a man would enjoy (or he is not going to use it). My choice was a combination of cedar-wood, birch and orange. 

Cedar-wood essential oil is warming and uplifting, it strengthens hair and is often used in male cosmetic products. It also helps with itchiness, psoriasis and rash. I chose it as the main scent. 

I added just a drop of Birch essential oil as it has a pretty strong aroma, yet it fits well into cosmetics for men. Birch has antidepressant, uplifting aroma, and it also has skin healing properties. 

The third one I added was Orange essential oil - another warming, uplifting aroma, that helps keeping cold away. 

So, this had to keep him full of energy and happy in cold, dark months of the year! (We really need it, when we get just a few hours of daylight in December!) I wouldn't add orange essential oil in a beard balm for summer season, because it is a sun-sensitive oil. 

I made 30ml of beard wax and added 6 drops of cedar-wood, 2 drops of orange and 1 drop of birch essential oils. 

The ratio of beeswax:oil is what makes the density of the beard wax. Too much of beeswax will make the beard balm too thick and it will be harder to apply it without chunks etc. Too much of oil will do the opposite - make it too liquid. My ratio is about 1 part beeswax and 2 parts olive oil, but you can experiment with this. Probably, the perfect recipe for one exact man is something you have to discover on your own. 

The Process of Preparation: 

1) Melt beeswax in a water bath. (I set a pan half-full of water on the stove, put in the pan heat-proof metal bowl, and the beeswax goes into the bowl)

2) When the beeswax has melted, add olive oil. Let it warm up. Stir it well. 

3) Pour the beeswax-oil mixture in the container where you will store it. Add essential oils and stir it well. 

4) Let it cool...

... and it's done! 

It's easy, right? 

Skincare Without Chemical Store-Bought Cosmetics:

Natural skin care, personal experience with homemade, chemical-free cosmetics

When I started going shampoo-free, I also wanted to get rid of other beauty-care products in my home. I've never been a keen user of beauty-care products, but like almost any woman, I sometimes enjoyed shopping for something "special" for myself and applying it on my skin. And, of course, I thought that this is the way to care for myself. As I got interested more and more into everything homemade, I also learnt the ugly truth of "beauty-care" industry. "Skin-care" and "beauty-care" isn't always health-care as well. In fact, the word "care" shouldn't even be there... To me it was the eye-opener: I was one of those women who put on herself creams and lotions doing more harm, than good. That simply wasn't beauty care or skincare as I thought. I was blindly following what advertising industry told me and what other women, influenced by the same enormous power of professional advertising, advised. 

It wasn't a change I made in one day. I didn't throw out those few bottles of creams, skin tonics and lotions I had. I slowly started moving to a change - away from store bought cosmetics. Since childhood I knew some natural skincare/beauty-care ways, now I had to learn more. What a wonderful world I discovered!

These are my main discoveries so far: 

Water

Yes, I guess you already knew it... I knew it as well, yet I never acknowledged that my skin felt happy with plain water. Forget about chemical skin tonics and cleansers, water does it all. Yes, I also heard many times that sink water isn't good, that water might be too hard and whatever else, so it's better to use something crafted by beauty industry. How exactly chemical packed skin cleansers are supposed to clean your skin? If you think the water that is  available to you isn't good enough, there are two very simple methods to make it better: boil or freeze. These both old methods of processing water helps improving the quality of water. Of course, depending on the season and your skin itself, it might sometimes feel too dry if you go with water only. It doesn't mean, the best way to solve the issue is running to the shop for some kind of cream! 

Skin icing

The best skin tonic ever - ice cubes. I love them on mornings. Massaging my face with an ice cube wakes me up much better than a cup of coffee, and it truly feels great. And, by the way, you can freeze coffee in ice trays as well - another great skin tonic for mornings. Coffee itself is a tonic, and icing your skin with frozen coffee cubes is like having energy drink - just a much better version of what you can buy in a shop. You can also experiment freezing different herbal infusion with skin healing properties, for example, chamomile tea. 

Essential oils

Plenty of them, each of them with many skin and health benefits, you just have to find what fits you and what you need. A huge plus - you always smell nicely using essential oils! I even mix my own essential oils to make perfume that's uniquely mine. 

Essential oils might seem costly when you just start using them, but it's a long term investment. One bottle of essential oil might last from several months to a year, of course, depending on how you use them, because you don't pour essential oils on yourself, but use just a few drops each time. 

Beeswax

Beeswax seems to be "the best kept secret" in beauty-care. A natural ingredient for making your own creams, especially beneficial for dry skin and for protecting your skin from wind, cold and even sun. Oils can be messy, but beeswax creams - never! You just have to make them: combine beeswax and any oil of your choice (almond, olive oil or any other natural oil with skin healing properties), and that's it! The softness and density of your cream depends on how much of oil you add. My usual ratio is 1:2 (beeswax:oil). Melt beeswax, add oil, stir well, pour into a container, let it cool and it's ready to use! It smells nicely without any aromatic additives, but you can also add essential oils to make your skin remedies. For example, lavender cream is a treat for skin, especially for minor sunburns and skin irritations. Taking in account that lavender essential oil is advised for headache, relaxation and stress removal, it's a great  facial cream!

With beeswax, oil and essential oils you can make creams, healing balms and solid perfume. You can also use it as a sunscreen (take in account, some people say it's too heavy for a sunscreen) and it makes the best protective lip balm (ratio 1:1, without essential oils). By the way, my bearded boyfriend who has never voluntarily used any beauty-care and skincare products, loves the nurturing beard wax with essential oils I made for him. That shiny, soft, gentle beard smells gorgeous! 

If you don't want to use beeswax, you can also use cocoa butter or coconut oil for making your own creams and balms. 

Body Scrubs

I already wrote about them here: 

Guide to Home-made Body Scrubs: create your own body scrubs (and masks) that meet your needs and abilities!

Facial masks

From oats to Aloe Vera leaves, from massaging your face with a slice of cucumber to applying fresh, mashed strawberries. Less ingredients, makes it easier to understand what's for you and what you should avoid. 

Herbal Infusions

Stinging nettle - for allergy irritated skin, chamomile - to soothe and calm your skin, peppermint - for refreshment and so on. Brew some tea, let it cool and wash your face with it or spray it on your skin and let it stay there, or soak a cloth in the liquid and enjoy facial mask. 

If you want to use natural cosmetics and start making your own, remember, less is more! Don't put everything you know together. I try to mix together not more than 3 ingredients, with an exception for making body scrubs where I love adding abrasive substances that make the body scrubs look nicely (for example, oatmeal, oil, honey, sugar, poppy seeds and a few drops of essential oil - all together). Sometimes the leaf of Aloe Vera is all you need. Homemade skincare and beauty care products don't need long lists of ingredients. Keep it simple! 

Another thing to remember: your skin needs cleanliness every day, but it doesn't need creams and "deep-cleansing" every day. To get the best results, you actually have to pay attention to how your skin feels, because it tells what it needs. And, yes, your skin knows what it needs much better than any beauty magazine. You don't have to put a cream on your face several times per day just because a friend says that's what you should do. What works for one person, doesn't work for another one. The food you eat affects your whole body, including your skin. The weather, your activities and your lifestyle affects your skin. When you start observing and really feeling your skin, you will learn what it needs. After a few months without chemical cosmetics I discovered that my skin has been pretty numb - I just didn't feel many things I'm able to feel now. For example, as your skin gets alive and smarter, you can easily tell the difference between natural cream and the one with chemical additives   - apply just a little bit of it and your skin gives a clear signal. Honestly, I didn't know it's possible. Just like clearly distinguishing between chemical and natural aromatic agents in cosmetics - you feel it. 

Warning!!!

Oh, and at the end, I want to warn you - it's not just roses (although rosewater is a really great skincare product you can make!). Well, the stinky part is dealing with people who think that natural skin and beauty care is the wrong way to go, unfortunately, those usually are other women. In fact, I never really speak about my skincare and beauty-care, if someone doesn't bring up the topic. I'm not the one who would preach that my way of doing things is the only right way. The problem is that sometimes women love chatting about their new-cool-products and they want you to check-out and try-on their products and products samples, and I refuse doing it. That's where I have to explain that I prefer simple, natural cosmetics. 

Firstly, they ask: "How do you know what's good for you? Aren't you afraid to experiment on your own body?" 

Excuse me, but how do you know that some specific cream is good for your skin and health just walking into a store and choosing without understanding what's written on the labels or relying on sales assistant's opinion? Aren't you experimenting with your body desperately trying to ignore the fact that these creams are often packed with harmful chemicals? 

I do experiment with what I know won't harm me. Can you eat your store bought lotion? Why do you think it is good to put on your skin something that might cause health issues if you ate it? Why is that more acceptable to you than using natural beauty care products you can make on your own? Why knowing all ingredients seems scarier than not knowing at all what you put on your skin? If I can put it in my mouth without worries, I  can put it on my face as well. 

Secondly, I get to hear this: "You have to take care of your skin. You have to nurture your skin. A woman has to take care of herself!" 

Well, what can I say... I just don't see packing myself with harmful chemicals a way of caring for myself. Caring for myself for me is listening to my body, learning from it and for it. Being aware of myself and the natural world I live in. I guess, it's a lifelong learning process and I want to keep walking this path. 

I hope this somehow helps you! Le me know in the comments your experiences and advises related to natural, home-made  skincare products! 

P.s. For me the next step is discovering natural decorative cosmetics and, of course, making them at home! I'm already on that way, but not ready to speak yet. From times to times, I love applying red lipstick, but my efforts making it at home so far have been unsuccessful. Well, I guess I just have to find the right substance to combine with beeswax and oils. I'm on a lookout! :) 

No-shampoo Challenge: Recipes, Personal Experiments... and more than baking soda.

I don't think I still have to tell anybody that saying "No" to shampoo is an option.  "No-poo" revolution has started around the world, more and more people are going away from wasting money on things that they don't really need. I was reading about people who quit using shampoo, and I can't say I was immediately convinced that's the way to go, but cancer causing chemicals sounded scary... Unfortunately, everything that's marked as BIO and 100% natural often isn't like that at all, and you really have to read and understand everything what's on labels, and not everything is written on those labels... I had already moved away from store-bought cosmetic creams and lotions, I had stopped dyeing my hair, and reading about people who quit using shampoo challenged me. 

So, I accepted the challenge and started experimenting to discover the truth. Oh, that really was a challenge and it wasn't just a short walk. Not a month or two, but the idea of breaking the circle of the look and feel of my hair being dependent on shampoo, natural detoxification and natural living in general pushed me to move on. Skeptics are laughing at no-shampoo movement while more and more people are rising up their hands to quit using shampoos - and not all of them are hippies. It seems that nobody takes a neutral position, so I had to check what's in it. 

I started my no-shampoo days and asked myself: are these people, who have given up on shampoo, really satisfied with the results or that's just what they say because they are supposed to be satisfied? Is their hair really clean and fresh, or that's just their position, the attitude they want to demonstrate? 

Baking soda

What's the first thing to try? Of course, the most popular one - baking soda. I dissolved two spoons of baking soda (I have pretty long hair) in a cup of water, massaged it in my scalp, left there for a few minutes and then washed out. Sometimes I simply massaged baking soda in my scalp without dissolving it in water, and then washed out. Baking soda here and there. The results - clean hair, but not a nice feel. My hair felt dry and hard, no shine at all.

For a few months I was going with baking soda, trying to combine it with other ingredients to find the right combination for me. 

Baking soda + Apple cider vinegar

The next popular option is baking soda with apple cider vinegar. You wash your hair with baking soda, rinse it, then leave in your hair apple cider vinegar + water (half/half) for a few minutes, and rinse it off. Apple cider vinegar works as a conditioner. 

After the first time it definitely felt better than just with baking soda. I thought I had found my perfect option, but sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn't. I'm not sure why. Sometimes after washing my hair was simply greasy and heavy - not a good look, and not a good feeling, but sometimes it really was great. Just in case if you are worried about the smell of vinegar - no, it doesn't stay in your hair. 

Soap 

For a few times after washing my hair I just didn't feel clean, and especially when I had to go somewhere, I needed a solution... I didn't have shampoo at home anymore and I had promised myself to resist the urge to buy it. This is where soap comes in - as a savior for the period when every day was my "bad hair day". My boyfriend already for a few months had washed his long hair with soap or water only. He already had his observations made. We usually buy biological soap base with 100% natural ingredients to make our own soap bars and liquid soap, but sometimes we have some conventional soap bar at home. "Normal soap" gets you clean, but dry, hard hair, that's impossible to control, while soap with BIO soap base and a few drops of essential oil really makes my hair clean and a bit softer. Still - that wasn't an option for me. I wanted to say proudly that my beautiful hair is the result of no-shampoo experiment, but soap didn't leave comfortable feeling.

Herbal infusions and essential oils

From times to times I rinse my hair with herbal infusions already for years, and, of course, this period wasn't an exception. Some ideas for that you can get in my previously published post here: Herbs and Oils for Healthy Hair and Scalp

I mixed baking soda with water, herbal infusion (tea) or soap water and essential oils in one old shampoo bottle and apple cider vinegar with herbal tea and essential oils in another bottle. So, I had shampoo and conditioner in many different combinations. 

Baking Soda + Lemon juice

Baking soda experiments had to be continued, and I discovered a combo that was almost perfect for me: baking soda + lemon juice. Clean and fresh hair, not dry anymore, no need for vinegar anymore. Basically, I could have lived with that if I didn't notice that my hair brush after every usage was dirty. This is where I almost lost my hopes. I had tried to find the best solution for about 4 months. Sometimes my hair was just perfect, but sometimes after washing it was a disaster. I had tried many options and discovered that one day the same thing works well, and the other day it doesn't work at all. Baking soda and lemon juice together seemed to work very well, but greasy hair brush wasn't really inspiring. 

Egg Mask

So, maybe I needed some nurturing mask for my hair. I've read many stories about people nurturing their hair with egg masks. One fresh, whisked egg and a teaspoon of honey was supposed to help my hair. I left it in my hair for about an hour, and after rinsing it off and drying my hair... it was still there. My hair definitely wasn't dry, but it wasn't clean as well. I washed my hair with soda and got it out, once again without happiness in my face. 

Baking soda for me was kind of ok, but I wanted my hair brush to be clean as well. My hair after washing sometimes was dry, sometimes oily and sometimes fine. Clean, fresh, light and hopefully shiny not heavy and greasy or dry hair was the goal.

My friend who used baking soda + apple cider vinegar was satisfied with the results, but encountered dandruff issue she never had before. Probably long-term use of baking soda for hair works well, it just isn't for everyone and definitely not for me. So, I moved on with baking soda hoping that the transition period will be over soon. Turns out my hair didn't really need that much of baking soda...

Rye Flour

Imagine a stream of light coming from the sky and embracing you accompanied by heavenly music - that's how I felt after washing my hair with rye flour for the first time. I brushed my hair and the hair brush was clean. After 2 days my hair was still clean, and after 4 days it was still ok, then I washed my hair again and it still was nice. Then I washed it with water only, and it still was nice. 

When you wash your hair with rye flour, it even kind of foams in your hair, gently covering all hair. You can't really rinse all little pieces of flour out of your hair, but when your hair is dry, they don't stick in, but scatter out, really leaving your hair clean and light-weight, and your hair doesn't have any specific aroma. After washing with rye flour or rye flour with a bit of baking soda I also don't need any kind of conditioner. 

In my country rye flour is cheap as the most popular bread is dark, rye bread. Now my shampoo is a tablespoon of rye flour with a dash of baking soda (really just a dash of it!), sometimes without baking soda, and sometimes it's water only. I have no idea if I had got great results if I started to use rye flour from the same beginning. Probably it worked well for me now because my hair already had restored the natural self-conditioning mechanism, but probably I needed long recovery time because my hair has been dyed. That's how it looks now (click on to enlarge): 

Here is what I want to tell: 

• It took 5 month for me to get the hair I wanted without shampoo. I didn't have "stinky hair phase", but had to go through "dirty hair phase". 
• During these months I spent less money for hair care than I could have spent on shampoo and conditioner. 
• It takes time. Your hair and scalp needs time to restore and revive, and it might take time to find the best option for you. Some people need as less as two weeks, others need half a year. Don't stop, because the results are charming.  
• After the transition period, you don't need to wash your hair every day, because it stays clean for longer and even if you wash it with water only, it is clean. Once or twice a week is totally enough, and, no, it doesn't stink or look dirty, of course, if you don't have any activities that make you sweat. (Basics rules of hygiene applies to everyone, with or without shampoo.) No-shampoo is the only option to really get your hair clean. Nature has given to us a lot more than we actually see, until we start looking for it. 
• Hair washed without shampoo doesn't have any specific aroma. Shampoo gives the aroma to your hair because of chemical fragrances (no, the rose aroma in most of cosmetic products doesn't come from natural roses) that stick to your hair because you just don't get the shampoo out of your hair ever. If going clean you are still longing for a nicely smelling hair, put a drop or two of your favorite natural essential oil in your hair! 

Now I know that finding the right no-shampoo option really brings satisfaction. It makes you to want others try it. And it really convinces you that you will never go back. I'm not going back to using shampoo, but I'm also not done with experiments. I will keep checking natural options and sharing them, so more people could find what they are looking for. 

Just in case you are looking for more options of natural hair care, here is another post from 2014: Herbs and Oils for Healthy Hair and Scalp

Feel free to share your thoughts, questions, experiments and discoveries in the comments!