I made this Saturday night, and it made three jars about 7.5. oz each.
2 cups oil -- I put a few tablespoons each of lavender oil and apricot oil in a measuring cup and then filled it the rest of the way up with olive oil
2 tbsp comfrey root
2 tbsp chamomile flowers
2 tbsp dried lavender OR a few drops of lavender essential oil
1/2 c. beeswax
I put the oils and the herbs in the top part of a double boiler, and let it warm up for 30-45 minutes, stirring pretty frequently. After that was done, I strained the oil through a coffee filter into a jar.
While the oils were heating up I shaved about 1/2 cup of beeswax using a vegetable peeler. I actually may have done a little bit more than 1/2 a cup, but I'm not sure. Once all the herbs are out of the double boiler, put the beeswax in and melt it. Once it's all melted, pour in the oils. Because the oil has cooled the beeswax will start to harden, so I let it cook for a bit longer until it was all melted clear again, and then I poured it out into jars.
It smells lovely (lavender + chamomile = relaxing!) and the comfrey really helps with sore muscles and bruises. Calendula would make a good addition, but if we have any I couldn't find it so I left it out.
Homesteading monday
Where do you recommend finding/buying jars such as the one you used? I've used quilted jelly jars before but they can be difficult to get the last dregs out of, and as far as "saving emptied/washed food jars" goes... well, that's basically tomato sauce, which comes in tall, small-lidded jars...
ReplyDeleteSo I'm just curious. I've been meaning to just search and order from omewhere, but when I saw your post in Google Rreader I figued it might be better to ask first, and perhaps discover a more frugal route..