DAISY BALM RECIPE
What's in a Weed?
In truth a weed is simply a plant or flower that you didn’t plant yourself. But i like to think of weeds as the rebel warriors of the garden. The underdogs who survive despite it all. Your common garden weed doesn’t need to be tended to thrive or flourish. They pop up in unexpected places, through cracks in the walls and emerge overnight in your perfectly tended flower beds. These little guys persist through adversity, and there is a lot to be admired in that.
Now some of them can be detrimental to the health of your garden; we can admire the tenacity of the bind weed but still want to rid it from our veg patch. Whereas some of them exist as more of an untapped resource of skin loving properties.
The common garden daisy, for example, was used for centuries to treat bruises, swelling and digestive issues - essentially the affordable alternative to arnica. But it also contains antioxidants, helping to plump the skin and reduce signs of aging. It’s also used as a brightening agent, as it helps prevent the emergence of dark spots and improves skin pigmentation.
Dandelions Too!
Dandelions too are thought to reduce skin inflammation + irritation, making them a potent healer as well as an excellent addition to salad (they’re packed with vitamins + minerals)
All this means that, while you might not want these little guys on your lawn, we most certainly want them in our skin care. So next time you’re giving the garden a good weeding, take a little basket with you and pop them in for later.
They need to be dried out before we use them in the balm anyway, so you can stash them on a window sill until you have enough to infuse. Alternatively, if your like us and have a garden covered in them, you can use a dehydrator to get it all done in one go
Plantain
Plantain (not to be confused with the banana growing Plantain) is arguably less attractive than the Daisy and the Dandelion, but it too comes with its own array of beneficial skin properties. It is thought to reduce inflammation, promote wound healing and aid in digestive health. Used for years in traditional medicine, this garden ‘weed’ is also perfectly edible, making it a multi-purpose plant that you’ll want to have at least a small stash of.
Plantain
Daisy Balm Recipe
The recipe is as most things are; pretty simple. Below is a quick list of the bits you’ll need.
100g of a base oil for the infusion, you can use sunflower or olive oil if you have it to hand, or use an almond or safflower oil if your feeling fancy. Most oils will do, just check their relative health benefits to decide if it’s what your looking for
A Kilner or screw top jar - it’s important that your able to close it so you can avoid any cross contamination. Give them a wipe down with alcohol spray to sterilize or healthy rub down with your household washing up liquid
Your plant of choice, here we’ve chosen Daisies, Dandelions and Plantain.
25g of Beeswax - you can substitute this for soy or your choice of vegan wax. Feel free to change the ratio of wax you use to make a harder or softer balm
A few drops of any essential oil you might want to add. We kept these balms essential oil free, to let the plants emit their own subtle fragrance.
Method
The first step is to let your plant of choice dry out on a window sill or cupboard, away from any damp or steam from cooking. This is because we need to get all the water out of your plant before we mix with the oils, or they will separate and wont preserve as well
Once your plants are fully dried, steep them in your base oil and leave them to infuse for two weeks in a sunny place, giving them a daily shake.
When the oil is ready, measure out 100g + 25g of your wax into a sterilized bain-marie and allow them to melt until fully mixed together.
Add in your essential oils and give it all a good stir
Pour out into sterilized tins or jars, and leave to set for 24 hours (or you can speed this up by popping them in the fridge)
Et Voila! You have you very own home made balm. Perfect for problem areas of skin that need a little tlc, or as a general purpose body moisturiser.
How did you get on? Let us know in the comments!
All the plants together