Herbal Creams and Lotions - Moonwise Herbs

Herbal Creams and Lotions
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Presented By :
Linda Conroy – Herbalist
www.moonwiseherbs.com

Greetings
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Linda Conroy – Herbalist &
Wild Forager

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Applying herbs topically is one of the safest
and effective ways to bring herbs into our
lives. Making creams and lotions is fun and it
is a practical way to apply herbs for nourishing
and healing the largest, often unappreciated
organ: the skin.

Lotions and Creams
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In her book Nature’s Children Juliette de Bairacli Levy talks
about taking a wet washcloth and placing a little infused oil
on the cloth. She used this as a lotion for her children. I like
this very simple method and it keeps my infused oils from
spoiling in a cream because they have been mixed with water.
I do make creams and lotions for my business as well as for
ease of transport. One of my favorite creams is made with
elderflower oil. I also add the tincture of elderflowers, instead
of water.
One can also take the infused oil and simply mix it with a
tincture for topical application. This works really well when
you are wanting the oil and tincture to absorb quickly.

The Herbs
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There are so many wonderful herbs that we can
add to creams and lotions.
We can add herbs to our lotions for specific
applications.
- Moisturize the skin
- Tone the skin
- Provide pain relief
- To heal cracked hands
- To heal burns
- To promote relaxation

Yarrow
(Achillea millefolium)
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Yarrow is a wonderful example of an
herb that stops bleeding. It is
sometimes called the nosebleed plant.
And rightly so, if you place a few leaves
of the plant in a nose that is bleeding it
will stop it almost immediately. Yarrow
is astringing or drying and it contains
salicylic acid, which is one of the acids
in willow, which the original aspirin was
derived from. Thus it is pain relieving as
well.

St Johns/Joanswort
Hypericum perforatum
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This is one of the
best herbs for
topical application. It
reduces
inflammation, eases
nerve pain and has
viral fighting
qualities.
.

Calendula officinalis
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Calendula is one of my favorite herbs to infused in oil
and thus transform into a cream. It is often added to
skin and body care products. It is soothing to the skin,
healing to burns, helps to fade scarring and is
antifungal. It is often added to baby care products and
used to heal diaper rash. It is also healing to eczema
and psoriasis. Some herbs I choose to wilt before
placing them in oil. Calendula is one of those herbs.

Elderflowers
Sambucus sp
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Edlerflowers make a wonderful infused oil that can
be applied to the skin for healing dry cracked skin.
The oil can be applied directly or transformed into a
wonderful skin cream or lotion. It is softening to the
skin and healing to eczema, psoriasis and any other
dry skin condition.

Comfrey
(Symphytum officinale)
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One of my favorite herbs for topical application. Comfrey is
a wonderful herb for healing sprains as well as aches and
pains. It can heal bruises as well as minor scrapes.
*while there is some controversy over the use of this plant internally,
there is no contraindication for using it topically.

Plantain
(Plantain sp)
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Plantain is one of my favorite herbs for adding to a salve
as well as a healing lotion. It is often called the Band aid
plant: it heals cuts, scrapes, has a drawing action, so
helps to remove splinters, glass and stingers from a bee
or wasp. I have even used plantain to extract a baby
tooth. This is truly an important plant to have in salve
form in any first aid kit.

Cottonwood
Populus sp
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Cottonwood buds are wonderful additions to herbal
preparations. One of my favorite salve combination
combines plantain, comfrey, st johns/joanswort and
cottonwood oil. This combination covers many
possibilities. It is healing to cuts and scrapes. Relieves,
pain, cold sores, softens the skin, stops bleeding and heals
chapped skin..

Chickweed
(Stellaria media)
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Chickweed in my opinion is one of the most underused herbs for topical
application. This herb is cooling and is healing to any hot, dry skin condition. It is
the best herb for healing eczema and is wonderful when combined with
Calendula . Chickweed is very moist and so when infused in oil needs to be
wilted as previously mentioned. It is a herb that many gardeners pull out and
are surprised to learn of it’s healing qualities and edibility.

Roses
Rosa sp
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Roses have been a part of skin
.
care for centuries. One of my
favorite lotions is made with
rose infused oil, rose tincture
and rose water. This
combination helps to hold in
moisture. It is slightly
astringing and so can help to
heal cuts and scrapes in
addition to being a wonderful
lotion for normal to oil skin.

Infused Oil
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An infused oil is made by chopping fresh
plant material and placing it in a jar. Once
you place the plant material in a jar you
pour a base oil (I prefer olive oil) over the
plant until it is covered and leave it sit to
macerate or soak for 6 weeks.

Different Approaches
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You will find different approaches to making an infused oil. I
prefer the cold steep method as it offers the best
extraction. In a pinch you can use dry plant material and
warm it for a short period of time.
I find that heating the oil compromises the integrity of the
oil and it will spoil more easily.

Emulsifying Agent
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When making a cream or
lotion you will mix water
and oil, which don’t
normally stay together.
Emulsifiers help them to
stay together.
My favorite emulsifier is
beeswax.
Other options include algin, carrageenan, and agar and/or
lecithin.

The Liquid
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• Water (Plain or Herbal)
• Tea (Short Steep 5-10
minutes)
• Infusion (Long Steep 4-8
Hours)
• Tincture (Alcohol Extract)
• Witch Hazel Extract
• Hyrodosol

The Oil
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• an oil (i.e. olive, grapeseed, jojoba, sweet
almond, apricot, avocado, coconut, cocoa
butter, shea butter)-my preference is olive oil.
I prefer to use herbal infused oils.
Essential oil extracts are optional as are coloring agents. I do not add either. If you add
essential oil extracts add one drop at a time until you like the smell.

Ingredient Review
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• Water
• Oil
• An emulsifying agent

Supplies needed
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-electric stick blender or whisk
-mixing bowls and pots (glass or -
stainless steal only, do not use
aluminum or Teflon)
-spatula
-measuring cups and spoons
-storage containers for the
lotion (this is the perfect
opportunity to repurpose those
glass jars from the kitchen).
-Of course if you are gifting or selling
them you may want to use a fancier
container. wide-mouth glass mason
jars

Lotion ~ The Recipe
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Ingredients
-6 ounces Herbal-infused oil or plain
oil. You can use a single oil or a
combination
-2-4 ounces filtered water, infused
tincture, herbal infusion or other
floral water
-4 heaping TBS of shredded beeswax

Measure and Melt
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• Measure out the oils and beeswax. Add them
to a glass measuring cup. Using a makeshift
double boiler method, place the measuring
cup in a pot. Melt oils and beeswax over low
heat, stirring occasionally.

Cool and Blend
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• Remove the cup of melted oils and beeswax
from the pot and transfer to a cool measuring
cup. Add your water, tincture or other liquid.
Blend immediately

Continue to Blend
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• Throughout the cooling process, blend the oil
mixture with a stick blender in order to
produce a smooth texture.

Storing Your Lotion
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• Pour into storage containers. This
recipe will produce approximately 6-8
ounces of high-quality lotion. These
lotions will easily last for 6 months to a
year. I have found putting them in
smaller containers so that you are not
opening and closing them on a regular
basis helps to keep them longer. Also
you can store them in the refrigerator.

What This Means
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This presentation is not meant to be the herbal medicine
compendium. This was assembled as a way to show you some of
the bounty that mother nature has waiting for us and inspire you
to consider how you can apply herbs topically. We hope that it has
inspired you to…
Make your own medicine!!