Just sharing some pictures of what is about to come in my shop

Yesterday I spent all day doing this and I was royally pooped. I had 12 oz of goats milk and wanted to use it. I made 2 of these creams the other day - and the rest 5 scents yesterday.

I made the cream with shea butter, goats milk, zinc oxide, cucumber peel extract and green tea extract.

My next project would be to use my new fruit extracts - custard apple (rich in natural AHA) and papaya extract....let the creations begin! I just dont know which butter to use with them - shea, mango or mowrah....I like them all :-)






ACCAI BERRY & SATIN Body Yogurt











STRAWBERRY JAM Body Yogurt











PAPAYA PASSION Body Yogurt











BLUE RASPBERRY Body Yogurt











PINEAPPLE SLICES Body Yogurt











LEMON BLOSSOM Body Yogurt











MOROCCAN SANDS Body Yogurt







Weekend time now, hopefully wont have to do anything and will be able just to relax :-) Happy weekend everyone!!!!


MeaCulpaBodyandBath.etsy.com

Whipped Body Icing with Shea Butter

I am so sorry that I havent been around much lately. I see that I lost followers too...:-( I got new fragrances and new extracts - papaya and custard apple...so I was in the kitchen formulating new things. This is one of the new formulas I came up with.


The whipped body icing is light and creamy. I made it this way so its easy for me to add scents to it. The thicker and greasier ones - like the Vanilla Hazelnut with Mango I got, are hard to add fragrances to because of their velocity.



The main ingredients in this one are Grapeseed Oil and Shea Butter with the mineral Zinc Oxide. I just love it when something is so beneficial for your skin, without the harsh additives as the commercial creams have, and it smells divine!

Shea Butter has been used for generations in African cultures as a moisturizer, health aid, and healing balm. In its purest forms, it is a solid fat with a high skin absorption rate. This makes Shea Butter a high ly val ued product for almost all skin types. It does not have a scent or smell, but today’s products offer a variety of aromatic scents and fragrances added to it. This high-fat butter is choc k full of naturally occurring Vitamin A, E, an d F. Many women can apply megadoses of Vitamin E to reduce stretch marks, wrinkles, and skin cracks.

Shea butter w ill p revent bumps from shaving, razor irritation, rashes, and even eczema. Use it sparingly during the summer months as it is very high in moisture; however, winter calls for a different regiment in most states! Shea Butter is a fantastic moisturizer for the outdoor enthusiast who suffers from chapped and cracked skin. Even sunburn in the summer can be soothed and reduced considerably with regular shea butter application. Shea butter has a high level of cinnamic acid, which is a naturally occurring sun screen; it will absorb easily into the skin and pores without clogging.

Grape seed oil is high in procyanidolic oligomers (PCOs); the same antioxidants found in berries, green and black teas, and red wine. According to some experts, PCOs are more powerful antioxidants than vitamins C and E. In fact, berries, green and black teas and red wine are known for their health-giving properties.

Using the grapeseed oil in skin care products, helps to tone and tighten the skin. Grapeseed oil contains a high amount of linoleic acid, which is a fatty acid essential for the health of the skin and cell membranes, and is the reason it makes such a wonderful moisturizer, as it truly nourishes your skin.

It is known for its ability to lock in moisture, leaving your skin feeling more supple and smooth, and it does not leave a greasy feeling, which makes it ideal to use on all skin types.

So, now that we know what each ingredient do....look at the pics to see what fragrances I have made with this formula for now....there will be many more to come!

You can find these and more at the DEEP MOISTURZIERS Section at Etsy:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6254361&section_id=5928068

In awe with the goodies I recieved in mail last week :-)

Well, we usually play games of giveaways at Etsy and we trade goods for goods :-)


From a recent giveaway - to which I was late to offer my products for free and couldnt participate - Laura from lauraly send me a nice print of an oak tree. The awesome thing is that me and her talked about it months ago and I told her that in my country the oak is sacred. Its a place where the Samovila's live and people used to bring offerings there for their mercy. Laura is a wonderful artist and a most amazing person that glorifies nature in her art. She remembered what I have said about the tree and send me the print. I was sooooo happy and a huge smile showed on my face when I opened the envelope. Placed it right at my computer desk, so I can look at it at all times!



From the recent trading game, I got some soy tarts from Luanne, an etsy artist that makes some strong scented candles, tarts...she send me blackberry, mullberry soy tarts and a goodie bag that she chose the scents and now I cant wait to burn them!


Klamathriverfinest is another favourite of mine! She makes some awesome soaps and she send me some tarts too! Her Mayan Gold and Sedona tarts blew me away and my husband fell in love with the Sandalwood and Vanilla scent...her lip balms are also one of a kind. Dont miss out on checking her out!

Results of the hair and scalp serum for dry, frizzy and out of control hair

How do I start this story?

My husband took the Morning Dew body butter with him at work, because (silly him) he got sick and tired of borrowing other peoples creams so he can apply it on his elbows and dry spots. This lady tried it, loved it and gave me a call so I can send her some via hubby...wait, the story is not about the cream :-)


For the purpose of having a visual of the type of hair and skin I am trying to figure out a treatment - I will say that she is African American. As far as I know all my friends have a problem with extreme dryness and ashiness of the skin AND with managing their hair.


So....Angie asked if I can mix something up so she can apply it to her scalp and hair, because they are way too dry and out of control. She said that she usually wears her hair in a wrap and she would love to have something to keep it manageable.


Well, right away I thought of the Jojoba Oil and how it has always been used in hair treatment, such as dandruff, split ends, conditioning the hair and skin - because its not really an oil, its a liquid wax that is comes closest to our skins sebum! I put some peppermint essential oil to give it cooling effect AND some green tea extract to aid the peppermint in fighting dandruff and dry skin.


She called me yesterday and she was ecstatic! She let me know that her hair now is soft, silky, shiny and not at all greasy! Its easier to manage it and she loves the feeling of the peppermint! Wow...I was so happy to hear her say that!Its always a good feeling to hear how you helped someone :-)Angie even said that she wants to take the serum to her beauticians and let her use it. If she likes it, most likely I will supply her with some more. I made her 2oz and she said that thats a LOT and its gonna last her forever!


I hope good things are gonna keep coming for this serum. If you wanna see what I got her, its right here:

HAIR and SCALP SERUM for damaged and coarse hair


Women...we are some weird creatures....we would do anything to look good and a good looking hair is the first thing that we need to have! Its our pride, its our everything! Take care of it! Stop and think what are you doing to it with all those expensive perms, dies, relaxing it etc....stop and make it healthy again so you could be the eye stopper. Dont let your hair start looking like a broom's end with a bow on it. The bow is not gonna make it all better! This serum can be the start. Its all natural, so there is no danger of chemicals in your precious mane and there is no animal products or byproducts!

Benefits of Witch Hazel for the skin and general health

I wanted to talk a little bit about Witch Hazel. As some of you know, I use Witch Hazel in all my skin cleansing mixes and aftershaves, together with the floral waters, about which I wrote earlier.




Native Americans introduced witch hazel to early European settlers. They applied a strained decoction of the leaves and twigs to small wounds, insect bites, sore muscles and joints. They also sipped witch hazel tea to treat bleeding, inflammation, and hemorrhoids.



Witch Hazel is a valuable cooling topical astrigent for various ailments, including varicose veins, hemorrhoids, abrasions, bruises and other skin irritations. It is also good for clearing out the redness produced by eczema and smoothing wrinkles. Witch hazel is used in pads to help smooth discomfort from rectal and vaginal surgery and stitches. The bark decoction also is useful as a gargle in releiving sore throat.



Benefits of witch hazel for specific conditions include the following:



Burns, cold sores, cuts and scrapes, insect bites and stings - witch hazel helps to releive the itching of insects and poison ivy and helps to dry out cold sores. A prominent tannin found in witch hazel, hamamelitannin, has been shown to constrict blood vessels and stem bleeding from abrasions due to shaving nicks. Other tannins in witch hazel help to keep wounds clean, prevent swelling and combat infection. Witch Hazel can cool sunburns and other minor burns.



Eczema - a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical test found that witch hazel cream offered a mild, anti inflammatory effect effect for eczema without the side effects of prednisone.



Diarrhea - both witch hazel bark and witch hazel leaf teas are effective against diarrhea, but the gentler witch hazel bark tea is better for use in treating diarrhea (and stomach upset) in children.



Periodontal disease - witch hazel leaf gargles and mouthwashes form a protective lining over the mucous membranes of the gums and the mouth. These products are particularly useful for sore gums that are accompanied by sore throat.



Now that we had a little intro into witch hazel, let me say this:


Witch hazel bark teas are intended for treatment of acute rather than chronic diarrhea. If diarrhea persists, contact a doctor.


Do not use the commonly available witch hazel water. While it has been approved by the FDA, its healing benefits derive from the alcohol rather than the witch hazel itself. Do NOT use commercially prepared witch hazel water internally!!!


Distilled Witch Hazel sold in drug stores and pharmacies typically contains no tannin (which is useful). Essential oil of witch hazel is not sold separately as a consumer product. The plant does not produce enough essential oil to make production viable. However, there are various distillates of witch hazel (called hydrosols or hydrolats) that are gentler than the "drug store" witch hazel, which contains alcohol.







You can find my products with witch hazel here:

Etsy witch hazel section


Artfire witch hazel section

LIMITED TIME SALE

SPEND 30$ AND GET 5$ OFF

SPEND 75$ AND GET 10$ OFF

GO THROUGH WITH PAYMENT AND I WILL REFUND VIA PAY PAL

THANK YOU FOR LOOKING AND HAPPY SHOPPING

****************************************************************


Sale is good Monday Feb 16th till Friday Feb 20th midnight


Etsy

ArtFire

Get ready for summer and for the UV Rays by moisturizing with natural products!

The sun is one of the factors for pre mature aging, for nasty looking skin...yeah, I said it! All that tanning might look good now, but imagine what your skin is going to look like down the road! You know, sometimes I think that the arabic women have a lot to teach us! The covering of the face and head has a practical reason too - they protect their skin from the sun, they use floral waters and they take care of themselves. They do!


Yesterday I spent all day making this cream and I was way too exhausted to write about it even today!


I packaged it in a jar and in a bottle - just for convenience. Some people dont like getting their fingers in a pool of cream....lol


Some of the natural UV ray protectors are Green Tea, Cucumber, Zinc Oxide and Rose Floral Water. To aid these ingredients I added Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Sesame Seed Oil, Safflower Oil, Coconut Oil, Orange Blossom Floral Water, Colloidal Oatmeal and Milk.


There is NO bad natural ingredient. All these work together to keep the skin moist, so it doesnt get THAT damaged from the suns rays. That way you can avoid a bad sunburn. It can help with a relief of a mild sunburn, but dont expect a miracle! The oatmeal and shea butter can sooth, and the cucumber peel and green tea extract can cool it off and aid it with vitamins and anti oxidants.


Zinc Oxide is also here and I havent been stingy with the ingredients - its a mineral that the body requires for the synthesis of collagen, which is a requirement for the healing of skin wounds. Zinc is also a component in the proper functioning of enzymes that are required by the body to repair skin wounds. Another benefit of zinc for proper skin care is that it is a natural insect repellent and a natural sunscreen (zinc oxide effectively blocks the sun’s ultraviolet rays).

Shea butter is extremely therapeutic, helping to heal cracked, aged and damaged skin. Shea butter penetrates the skin and leaves it feeling soft and smooth. It has vitamin A, E and is highly compatible with skin. Shea butter has antimicrobial and moisturizing properties and provide protection from the UV rays of the sun while repairing cellular degeneration.Using Shea Butter is a great way to prevent your skin from sagging by using this natural oil to keep it moisturized. Shea Butter can help prevent the formation of free radicals as well as keep the skin's connective tissues supple and strong. It can also help bring back a youthful appearance by dissolving dead cells on the skin's surfaces


Coconut Oil is widely used in Indonesia for its moisturizing properties and keeping the skin look young.


Scheherazade was the first person to give the sesame superhuman powers when she held her Arabian caliph spellbound for one thousand and one nights with her tales of intrigue and adventure. Because sesame pods readily burst open at the slightest touch when they are ripe, Scheherazade provided Ali Baba with the magic words, "Open Sesame" to instantly open the cave, a robber's den, in her exciting story about "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves." Sesame oil rubbed on the skin may soothe a minor burn or sunburn as well as help in the healing process.


Orange Blossom water helps inhibit sebum production in oily skins, making this an especially useful skin care product for teenagers who often have an excess of skin oils. Great for use on all skin types, especially for oily and mature skin types as a balancing and toning facial mist. Its regenerative properties promote the production of collagen and discourage dry, wrinkled skin while stimulating the replacement of old cells and balancing the skin's natural acid. It also stimulates the circulation of lymphatic fluid to reduce puffiness, and relieve swelling in the facial area.



Rose Water is a gently cleansing and toning product for all skin types. Maintains the pH balance, stimulates regeneration processes, has a calming effect in acne and sunburns. As a result the skin texture becomes even and elastic.


Safflower Oil serves as a botanical alternative to mineral oil and other synthetic ester emollients. It is high in Linoleic acid, which is beneficial for the treatment of dry skin


Colloidal Oatmeal Colloidal oatmeal works great to help relieve dry, skin patches (Eczema), psoriasis, acne, bug bites, sunburns, and other minor skin irritations. It also helps relieve chicken pox, poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, and other itching and scratching rashes.

An excellent exfoliant, milk contains natural alpha hydroxy acids, which help to gently slough off dead skin cells. In addition, milk helps to reduce redness and soothe irritated skin.


It is best to combine green tea with zinc oxide-based sunscreens because zinc oxide is chemically inert and should not react with green tea (which some chemical sunscreens might do, especially in sunlight).

Recent research has shown that topical application of green tea extract can protect you from the damaging effects of the sun and prevent, or even reverse the skin damage that can lead to aging, wrinkles, spots and skin cancer.Green tea extract can be added to sunscreen to expand protection before sun exposure. It has also been shown to be beneficial when applied after sun exposure. So even if you have already suffered sunburn green tea extract can help to reverse the damage.

Cucumber is rich in vitamins, minerals and enzymes essential for strong cell growth and repair. In addition, cucumber peel offers a natural source for a fresh, powerful antioxidant.Cucumber Peel extract can be used to keep the facial skin soft while providing a natural sunscreen. It also acts as a skin toner and can be used in astringent. Revitalize stressed and tired skin, leaving calm, cool and radiant.


So, moisturize, moisturize and moisturize....did I say that enough? :-)


Etsy:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20954977


Artfire:

Bottle

Jar

Help me name the new cream I am about to make!

So, tomorrow I will put my new ingredient to use - cucumber peel extract and I will make a cream with that one and green tea extract.






I would like some catchy name and so far we got this:




Morning Dew

Cuke T

Cucumber Smoothie

Cu-Tea Cream

Any more ideas are more than welcome! Help a girl out please!

Benefits of Floral Waters aka Hydrosols

Hydrosols can come from any plant that is distilled. They can be Floral Waters IF they have been distilled from flowers such as Rose, Orange Blossom (Nerolli) or Lavender.


Water is a vital component for healthy skin tissue, and hydrosols are water with power! They are useful in all manner of skin and body care. Floral Waters are a powerful therapeutic agent in their own right and are valuable for skin and health particularly for babies, invalids, elderly persons and people with sensitive skin. They are cooling, anti-inflamatory, stimulating or relaxing, gentle and selective antiseptics with qualities that can be uplifting, soothing to irritated skin, gentle and balancing. Hydrosols are nearly free of all irritating components and as such are well suited for very sensitive skin.


Aromatic hydrosols can be used alone as toners or added to other toner ingredients, such as aloe vera. They are wonderful in masks and lotions.


Here are examples of hydrosols with cosmetic applications:

German Chamomile - for sensitive skin and inflamation

Lavender - balances all kinds of skin types. Soothes sunburns, irritations, psoriasis and eczema

Lemon Verbena - lemon scented and mildly astrigent for oily skin

Melissa - very gentle on sensitive skin

Myrtle - soothing and gentle, its used as an eyewash for irritations and alergic reactions

Orange Blossom - good for couperose skin, but suitable for all skin types, the delicate fragramce soothes and calms

Rose - mildly astrigent for couperose skin, but suitable for all skin types, good on cotton pads for irritated eyes

Rosemary - for sluggish, sallow, devitalized skin that needs stimulation and regeneration
Witch Hazel - astrigent for oily or couperose skin, good as an aftershave tonic

Yarrow - mildly scented antiseptic, astrigent for problem or oily skin

Help me here, lets talk - Lets pick together what the next months prize should be

I cant decide on anything, really......so lets talk!


It can be:


1. A 2oz bottle of shampoo and 2oz conditioner


2. 2oz lotion with Jojoba


3. 2oz lotion with Shea Butter, Mowrah Butter, Orange Blossom Floral Water and natural teas


4. 2oz of my Tea Souffle


5. 2oz Facial Moisturizer with Witch Hazel


6. Anything facial care with Witch Hazel


7. Something for the guys


Any other suggestions?

We have a winner for the first of many monthly drawings!!!!

First, i want to say THANK YOU to everyone that reads my blog and participates with comments! THANK YOU to all that stopped by my store and purchased some of my products, I do hope you like them!


Today is the 6th of February. As I announced a month ago - I am doing a monthly drawings for prizes each 6th day of the month. Here is a reminder of the rules:

1. Every 6th of the months (because today is the 6th) I will be drawing names of the people that have purchased from me to win a prize.

2. The more items bought - that many times your name is going to be counted for.

3. If you recommend someone to my store, let me know about the username and if they purchased - your name will be added for each person you bring to me.

4. If you liked my product and wrote a review either on your blog or at www.makeupalley.com your name will be counted extra again

5. I will have all the names on a piece of paper, fold them, place them all in a container, shake it and draw one out of there.

6. You will be emailed and asked if you want the prize or not. If declined, I'll be drawing another name.

Every months its going to be a different prize!


The prize for this month was a light lotion made with unrefined shea butter (which is superior because it retains its natural vitamins like A and E), Mango Butter, Mowrah Butter, Coconut Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Colloidal Oatmeal, Powdered Milk Bergamot Essential Oil and Rose Floral Water. Its very moisturizing and nourishing. It smells very fresh and citrusy - just like Bergamot!


Sooo......I had my daughter pick a little raffle thingy and the winner is.....ta da daaaaaa GYPSY!!!! She is a wonderful person and the Creator of Ye Olde Witches Brew Magazine and The Black Hat Society Network! You can follow her on her blog here:

http://wyldwytchcraft.blogspot.com



DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ABOUT WHAT NEXT MONTHS PRIZE CAN BE?

I am a featured blon on Writing Divas

This was a nice surprise for sure!


I am subscribed to Google Alerts and every time my business name pops anywhere on th enet, I get notified. Thats a nice thing, because I can pay respect to the person that thought of me.


So, today I open my mail and get a link to Writing Divas a web site that writes about anything you want to know - bargains, fitness, healthy living, recipies, cooking tips.....even celebrity gossip for just relaxing your brain and maybe have a laugh.


Check them out:

http://writingdivas.com

Pay attention to the labels of Anti Aging Cosmetics

Have you ever read the ingredients of the expensive anti aging creams and serums? I bet you never paid attention at the order of ingredients though! Those products do offer a solution - a temporary one....and it comes costly and with side effects. First of all - its gonna hurt your wallet, second - the active ingredients are so far down the line on the list, that they are not really having any lasting impact AND they are full of chemicals....


Natural homemade products put quality first. There is no mass production and paying off your ass for their marketing people, designers, lab technicians etc. We make the products, we test them, most of us design our our labels and market our products on our own. We care for our customers, because our products are not on every single shelf in the stores so we can afford oopsies! There is 0% of ooopsies allowed!


The big companies marketing strategies are very strong and effective. People believe that cosmetic company of that magnitude will not lie...well, they DONT, but they do mislead.


For example, L'Oreals anti aging Collagen filler is everything but helpful! Their main ingredients are Shark Liver Oil, Boswellia, Vitamin E and Collagen BioSpheres. The last is a good ingredient, but that on its own is NOT gonna make this effective! Shark Liver Oil? Really? Do we need to kill more animals for our beauty products? It is beneficial for the skin, but its far from anti aging agent! This ingredient only would make turn around and run!


Estee Lauder's Nutriv Intensive Lifting Cream doesnt even release ALL ingredients! Now how is THAT for a peace of mind for the paying customer, huh? It has more than 54 ingredients and that doesnt mean that its better. Especially when they would not disclose all of them!


Clinique's Total Turnaround....Clinique does offer a premium make up, but c'mon! Does everyone have to jump on the wrinkle fighting bandwagon? ntiAging-Reviews.com team found that Total Turnaround contains Salicylic Acid, which is an ingredient found in some of the most effective acne formula, but not one usually included in wrinkle formulas.


Dior's Capture too, it does not provide a specific list of ingredients. It lists them in a very vague way.


All this reminds me of the dog food industry. The biggest companies like Purina, Eucanuba, Iams, Science Diet....they all do not specify ingredients. They would place "animal fat" as an ingredient...well, which animal? Or fish meal. Which fish? Or they would market the food as protein high, but the protein comes from corn....hummmm...corn is a filler, meat is a protein source.


Do you get my drift?


In contrast to this, the homemade anti aging creams are nothing but natural and safe! The ingredients are all disclosed and they do NOT come from questionable source. Usually we dont even label our products with anti-aging! Why? Because almost 90% of the ingredients we use for anything - lotions, moisturizers etc are already having these properties and why jump on the "fight the wrinkles" bandwagon? Our creams have multiple benefits and no side effects. We all use Shea Butter as one of the ingredients, or Mowrah Butter...and to top it off, we use a big quantity of them so you would feel the benefits of these amazing butters! We do NOT place them at the middle or the bottom of the ingredients list. And, we use what we sell too!


Once I received a comment like this - your lotions are a little more expensive than the ones I can buy from the grocerie store. I'll tell you why its like that too. Because the cheap St Ives, Jergens etc or Avenoo, Bath and Body Works etc....they all use way too much water! Yeap, you heard me right! The beneficial ingredients are in such small percentage that they can afford to sell them for that price! Thats an IF they have beneficial ingredients - not all do.


Ok, done bitching! Maybe....

Some of the information gotten from:
http://antiaging-reviews.com

Visit to read more.

Results of the aftershave for men

Yeap, I have used my husband as a guinea pig more than one time...lol


I made my husband an aftershave with Witch Hazel, Almond Oil and some fragrance oil. I was torn between Happy Men and Bamboo and Teak. Chose the second though. The first will be next :-) He started using it in October 2008.


After he shaved he used to have very bad red bumps all over his face and neck. I really thought nothing of it. It was not until our friend noticed that his face and neck are very clean. I sure didnt pay attention to anything. Had a better look at hubbies face and sure enough - there really were not any red bumps anywhere!!! Our friend right away asked if I can make one for him too....lol....the weird thing is that I have offered many, many times to give him something for free, which he ignored in a nice way. Well, I aint gonna hold that against him, I am always ecstatic to help someone when they ask for help...lol


Probably what helped is the combination of witch hazel and almond oil. Witch hazel helps a lot with razor burns and oily skin. The almond oil is perfect for soothing irritated skin and is full of vitamin D and proteins, which is very nourishing.


I am very happy with the unexpected results of this. I sure didnt have him use it to help anything - I just wanted him to use something natural. The end result was very pleasant :-)


I am including a pic of his red bumps, I dont know if you can see them. Its just a picture that I took of him, not with the intention of following an experiment. It was taken somewhere in November. I can see the bumps, but they were worse before he started using my aftershave. Now they are non-existing.







You can find them here:

Etsy Store for Men Section


ArtFire Store for Men Section

Commercial Lotions dont work for me any more

I just wanted to share an experience with you all...



I used to buy a lot of Victoria's Secret lotions. I usually stacked them up, buying them at the huge Christmas sale. I had one left in my medicine mirror thing, just poking my eyes. I felt bad to just throw it out - I paid money for it, ya know....so, I was getting ready for the shower and shaving and all that. Walked out of the bath tub and thought to apply that little left of that lotion....oh, wow, did I ever regret it!!!! That damn thing started burning my legs so bad, that I could not bare the pain anymore and had to wipe it off really quick and use one of my creations.....it felt like applying a honey to a wound....


Why are people willing to shell out money for products full of chemicals? And no, I am not talking about the emulsifiers and preservatives! They are paying for the big name and for the marketing and they are not really getting all that good of a product. Why would you want to put that on your skin? And spend 70$ for some things too?


Our ancestors were very, very smart people and used what they had around them for everything! Coconut oil was used in Indonesia for its anti aging properties. Yarrow was used in my country on the Balkan for healing wounds. My grandma used St Johns Wort infused oil for wounds and burns, she used calendula infused oil for ear infections etc....since when did we go so far away from nature, from our own, from us?


The homemade creams and lotions would never hurt you! They are natural and in most cases even edible! You can cook with Coconut Oil for Gods sake! You can drink chamomile tea AND it can do good for you topically too - just place a tea bag on your puffed up eyes...the natural butters and oils nourish your skin and until one tries it - one wont believe it.


I will never, ever use anything commercially done and sold. I started buying soap from the wonderful soapers on Etsy and ArtFire, I am trying to buy whatever possible from people that make it themselves.