D.I.Y - Lavender Infused Oil and Soothing Lavender Balm

Possibly one of the easiest natural recipes ever!

I had a bunch of Lavender that dried pretty quickly quite naturally when left out in a sunny spot. It still smelled gorgeous so I didn't want to throw it (or make scented drawer sachets !) so I decided to infuse the dried lavender in some oil - with the intention of using the infused oil for some home made soothing lavender balm. 

 

Steps:

 

1. Take off the lavender flowers and crush them or bruise them to allow the scent to be further released. It doesn't matter if you accidentally get any of the dried stems - although avoid the woodier bottoms of the stems.

 

2. Sterilise an old glass jar.

 

3. When this is air-dried, add the crushed lavender to the jar and fill the jar (leave a space between the oil and lid) with a carrier oil - I used Sweet Almond Oil.

 

 

4. Leave the oil and lavender mixture in a sunny place for 3 weeks or more.

 

 

5. When you feel your lavender has infused good and proper, it's time to strain the flowers. Muslin cloth (or a muslin flannel) is best for this job.

 

6. After having sterilised your container that you want to store your finished oil in, grab a funnel and place the muslin cloth over the top of the funnel. Then carefully tip the oil and flowers from your infusion into the muslin that is over the funnel.

 

 

7. When the oil part of your infusion has stopped dripping through the cloth, you will be left with a sticky mass of flowers and debris. Carefully wrap the muslin cloth into a bundle and squeeze out the lavender flowers over the funnel and into your bottle.

 

 

8. Ta-Da! Your finished bottle of lavender infused oil.

My oil was quite delicately scented with lavender and so I decided to add 10 drops of Lavender Essential Oil to ramp the scent of lavender up a bit.

 

Lavender Soothing Balm

 

My oil measured up to approximately 1 cup, so I decided to use just half a cup of oil to turn into some balm.

 

Ingredients:

Half cup of infused Lavender Oil

Half Ounce of Beeswax Pellets

 

That's it! Just two ingredients (or three if you want to add some extra Lavender Essential Oil).

 

Steps:

 

1. Most recipes call this a 'double boiler' - which is essentially heating a pan of water on the stove and placing a ceramic or glass bowl over the top of the pan.

 

2. Add the half cup of infused oil and the half ounce of Beeswax Pellets into your ceramic bowl as your water starts to boil in the pan and let them melt. I use those wooden coffee stirrers that you get from coffee shops to stir the melting mixture.

 

 

3. Add the melted mixture into the pot you want to keep your balm in - again, this must be sterilised first. At this point, if your finished balm isn't smelling strong enough for your tastes you can add a few more drops of lavender essential oil to the mixture before it starts to set.

 

4. The mixture turns from a liquid into a balm quite rapidly and is fully set after about 20 minutes of being left on the side at room temperature.

 

 

 Here's the finished balm:

It's a very basic balm and quite oily when it contacts with warm skin. I probably wouldn't use this on my face as it's quite heavy but it makes a great 'rescue' soothing balm because of the lavender. I've got to say - it does have the consistency of the Neal's Yard Remedies Wild Rose Beauty Balm (albeit a Lavender version!) - and that costs £40 for 50ml!
 Use it on dry patches of skin - elbows, feet, heels; as a cuticle balm and as a soothing balm for cuts, scratches and sore bits!