The endless wonders of camellias....

This lovely specimen is a camellia (variety: Brushfield's yellow) and flowering in my garden at this moment. It's a magnificent bush especially when in full bloom and it started me wondering about the benefits of camellia oil. 

A little investigation was called for.

Some time ago I bought a small bottle of Camellia Tea Oil (Oleifera) - a light green oil extracted from the leaves of the camellia tea plant. It seems that this oil has been known to the Chinese since ancient times, largely due to the wealth of properties and benefits it provides. To name but a few:-

• Emollient. The oil is exceptionally high in Oleic acid (Omega 9) and thus is a brilliant moisturiser being light and easily absorbed by the skin.
• Being high in Oleic acid means that it is a good anti-oxidant which resists rancidity.
• Anti-Aging - helps protect the skin from free radical damage
• Anti-microbial - noted for its anti-fungal properties
• Astringent - mildly astringent and therefore good at treating scars 
• Anti-inflammatory - helps reduce skin inflammations

I should also add that Chinese women have been using Camellia oil for centuries on their hair and I can can see this fast becoming the new Argan oil.

However, for the time being I am using it for the products that I make on a regular basis and so far have added it to soap, a facial moisturiser and a skin treatment balm. I also plan to formulate a foot cream since its anti-fugal and emollient properties seem ready-made for this.

The soap is still at the curing stage so as yet I've not been able to test it but the formulation I've used will create a hard creamy bar with excellent cleansing and conditioning properties.

The moisturiser also contains wonderful meadow-foam seed and apricot kernel oils and is scented delicately with essential oils of rose absolute and rose geranium whilst for the balm, I've teamed camellia oil with skin-repairing rosehip seed so what a combination we have here!

No wonder I'm excited!!

STOP PRESS!

I've added a lip balm to the range. With such fantastic emollient properties it was a no-brainer.

Experiments with shampoo

Every so often I read the list of ingredients on the back of my bottle of shop-bought shampoo and heave a big sigh! Further reading on a lot of these ingredients has made me firmly resolved to make my own. I have no intention of making this commercially but I shall be happy when I can create a natural product that cleans my hair, keeps it shiny, smells good and doesn't leave me with a mass of tangles.

Last year I started to experiment. Initially I came up with a product that left my hair really clean and felt great on the scalp. The one big drawback was that it didn't condition the hair and that made it hard to deal with.

However, not to be defeated I have tried again and this time with much greater success. In fact I feel that I have made a product that is really pretty good and may save me having to buy commercial shampoo ever again.

Recently I read about a group of people with the unfortunate name of 'No Poo-ers'! These brave people have completely abandoned the use of shampoo and claim that their hair is now so much better as the hair's natural balance of oils has been restored leaving lustrous, shiny locks.

Now, whilst I'm not prepared to give up shampoo completely I'm hopeful that this move to hair cleaner with no potentially dangerous or controversial ingredients is a big step in the right direction

This is a recipe that is very simple to make and all the ingredients are easily obtainable. I'm sharing this with you.

Recipe for Homemade Shampoo

85g liquid castile soap (a natural liquid soap with no surfectants)

2g avocado oil

3g d-panthenol (pro vitamin B5)

8 drops essential oil of choice*

* I used 4 drops rosemary and 4 drops lemon myrtle essential oil. Lemon Myrtle is perhaps more difficult and more expensive to get hold of so lemon essential oil will work just as well. Mix well and pour into suitable bottle. Remember to shake well before use.

Liquid castile soap is readily available on many websites. d-panthenol similarly, although you may need to find a specialist skin care ingredient supplier.

In my next batch I plan to substitute wonderful Argan oil for the avocado oil so I'll add a note to this blog to report results.

Aloe Butter Lip Balms

This is the time of year I start thinking about lip balms and I've been experimenting with glorious, super-moisturising aloe butter. I've chosen a butter mixture of aloe vera in coconut oil which is perfect for balms and I've added peppermint essential oil for the 'zing' factor. I'm delighted with this lip balm which is gentle, moisturising and extremely re-hydrating. What more could you ask?

The wonders of avocados...

I've always had a passion for avocados, that gorgeous creamy flesh that lends itself so wonderfully to french dressing and prawns. I'm also a total believer in the power of avocado oil and this week I've been using it in both creams and soap.

My Avocado Skin Softener is a beautiful moisturiser, made with sweet almond oil, sunflower oil, and of course, dark green avocado oil. I've added essential oils of patchouli and geranium for their skincare qualities and have ended up with one of my very favourite moisturisers.

Until now, I'd never thought of using it in soap but in fact research has shown that avocado is a particularly useful oil for soapmaking since it provides excellent conditioning and moisturising properties. So yesterday I set to in the soap kitchen and made a batch of olive oil and avocado soap.

I'm sharing my soap-making photos with you:-

1. Making

2. Pouring

3. Unmoulding 24 hours later

5. Cutting

This is a pure vegetable soap made with olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil (sustainable), avocado oil, shea butter and castor oil. For any soap-makers who may read this, the INS value is 149.

I've scented this with an exotic combination of essential oils...bay, pine and rosewood.

I can always tell when a soap will be good. It's immediately obvious when you remove it from the mould. This one came out beautifully and I feel very excited about it, but... patience is a virtue!

Lavender Time Again

It's the time of year when I make my annual pilgrimage to the fabulous Mayfield Lavender Fields in Carshalton. This glorious suffusion of smell and colour almost takes my breath away.

Mayfield Lavender, Carshalton, Surrey.

I always treat myself to a bottle of their essential oil. They grow three varieties, last year I bought Grosso, this year I chose Folgate and I can't wait to use it.
As a rule I don't put it into my soap as this home-grown oil is so expensive that I feel it's a waste. Instead I save it for use in hand creams, lotions and of course my Perchance Sleep Balm.

Along with the locally sourced lavender essential oil I add essential oils of bergamot, frankincense and melissa which is the oil of lemon balm. 

Sweet Lavender Dreams!

In the same vein, I've today made some Lavender Calming Balm. This is 'bliss' in a pocket-sized tin. Along with the Folgate lavender essential oil I've also added a few drops or rose absolute. Definitely helpful for those stressful moments.

Dandelion & Honey Soap

I'm sharing a recipe in case there's any other soap-makers out there who read this and may want to know what to do with all those pesky dandelions which seem to appear overnight at this time of year.

Yesterday I collected a large bunch of dandelions both the leaves and flowers. I washed them and then poured boiling water over them and left it to steep overnight, thus making a lovely dandelion infusion.

My soap recipe consists of soyabean oil (Trex to those in the UK), coconut, olive and (sustainable) palm oils; and finally a small amount of natural beeswax.

This morning I measured the precise quantity of dandelion infusion, pouring it carefully through a strainer. It looked a very murky shade of greeny brown. I wasn't filled with confidence.

However, on adding the sodium hydroxide, it immediately brightened to a lovely mustard yellow which remained stable when I mixed the lye with the oils...

Using beeswax in soap can be tricky; it traces quickly so you have to work fast. In fact, mine behaved better than I expected and it took about 10 minutes to bring it to a nice trace. At this point I added the honey (1 dessertspoon) which I whisked in with an electric beater and then added essential oils. I used sweet orange, cassia (cinnamon) and rosemary.

So here you have the final picture of the soap being poured into the mould. It's now insulated and I shall take a peek tomorrow. I fully expect it to have lightened in colour but I can live with that. Pale yellow is better than dirty green!

Watch this space...!!

14th April 2014 UPDATE

I unmoulded the soap last night; it's beautifully hard and a dark orange colour rather than yellow. It's reminiscent of Wright's Coal Tar Soap.

I doubt if it will alter much in colour whilst it's curing so I'm fairly happy with this. However, with so many dandelions around I've tried a second experiment today infusing the flower heads only and using a colourless fragrance oil. This may lead to a lighter coloured soap. I'll keep you posted!

21st April UPDATE

No further colour change to report. I guess that the Dandelion & Honey Soap will stay this colour. The second batch using flower heads only turned out an identical colour! 

Love is in the air......

With February 14th fast approaching I thought it was time to make a few romantic and luxurious products.

I had started with the soap, which I made last October. It's a pure vegetable soap fragranced with essential oils of Vetiver, Lavender & Ylang Ylang - a rather sensuous affair!

Today I've made a super-luxurious lip balm flavoured with spearmint essential oil and a truly lovely rose hand cream which I've put into handbag-sized tins which always prove popular.

So here we have it...the Valentine's Day Trio...

"All you need is love"....well I am from Liverpool!

Happy New year!

The end of the year found me in a somewhat reflective mood as I pondered on the last couple of years and the products I've made. 2013 was an even more productive year than 2012 with a total of 105 batches of soap being made and countless creams and lotions. I got thinking about my very favourite products - the ones I'd take to a desert island and thought I'd share these with you.

Top of my list in the soaps is the lovely Rhassoul Clay bar, made with natural Rhassoul Clay from Morocco - a detoxifying soap, marvellous for the face and non-drying. It also has my favourite essential oils - patchouli, lavender and rosewood; these make a delightful combination and I use it daily.

Next has to be a facial cream and I think that my Argan Oil cream is a truly lovely moisturiser. It's beautifully light and easily absorbed and great to use after cleansing.

At this time of the year particularly I couldn't be without a really good lip balm and I have experimented with many ingredients in the search for perfection. The one I'm using at the moment is my Kokum Butter lip Balm which, in addition to the wonderfully moisturisng Kokum butter, contains Jojoba wax, beeswax, cocoa butter, apricot kernel and castor oils. It also contains peppermint essential oil. This is a great, long lasting balm for the Winter months.

No 4 on my list and another must for this time of year is my Winter Balm. I use this as an inhalant to clear my head when I've got a cold. This balm is made from a powerful combination of essential oils - white camphor, cajeput, clove, eucalyptus and peppermint plus a handful of menthol crystals which add real decongestant properties. Just a pea sized amount in a cup of boiling water makes a great inhalant but it is strong so make sure you close your eyes and then breathe in!

I've had many good reports of this from people suffering with stuffy noses!

Last but absolutely not least is my Rosehip Healing Balm. I first made this about two years ago and since then I would never be without a pot of it. It does what it says - it heals and soothes. I've used it for healing scars (Rosehip Seed oil is fantastic for this), skin eruptions and rashes, and, quite by chance, I found it tremendously effective for dealing with a scalded arm when I accidentally spilled hot tea! It's a little miracle in a jar.

So there you have it...my top five products, the ones I would never want to be without.

At the time of writing only the first two are available in my online shop but I hope to remedy this next week and make new supplies of the last three. Watch this space...and oh yes, and a very Happy New year!

Lemon Balm Healing Salve

I've been looking to create a really rich and moisturising hand balm or salve (same thing really!). After a few experiments I think I've come up with a really good recipe.

Initially I had in mind a balm for gardeners, something deep and penetrating that would nourish and protect the hands, also adding an antiseptic element by way of the essential oils.

The formula I'm most happy with contains extra virgin olive oil, beeswax, watermelon seed oil, hemp seed oil (yet again!) and Vitamin E. These have been melted and then whisked to give a softer consistency and finally I added essential oils of tea tree, rosemary and Melissa (Lemon balm). It smells divine and works a treat!

Choccywoccy lip balms!

There's nothing quite as satisfying as whipping up a batch of homemade lip balms and now I've discovered DARK cocoa butter things have reached a high point in the kitchen.

I've used cocoa butter for some time now. Unrefined, it's a pale yellow colour with a strongly enticing aroma of chocolate. Until recently I didn't know there was a dark variety and oh boy...is it good!

I've experimented with a few recipes before finding my perfect combination of ingredients.

This delicious lip balm contains olive wax, Jojoba and castor oils, shea butter, dark chocolate and of course.............. meltingly gorgeous dark cocoa butter.
Yum!

Tilly Mint comes to town!

Meet Tilly Mint and her new range...or box of tricks as she prefers to call it.

And Tilly Mint herself...

Perhaps I should explain to non-Northerners. Tilly Mint is simply a term of endearment, probably originating in Liverpool which is where I grew up and was called Tilly Mint most of the time by my Father! I didn't really give it much of a thought and went on to call my own daughter, and now my grand-daughter, Tilly Mint - at various times.

When I came across this image on a vintage postcard Tilly Mint sprang immediately to mind - I know not why!

So there you have it and Tilly now has her own range....and box of tricks!

And thanks to the photo editing skills of my clever cousin Philip, Tilly now has her own beach!

Wish you were here?

The Cat's Whiskers of lip balms.........!!!!!

I'm so excited!

Admittedly, it doesn't take much but today I think I've made my best lip balm so far.

The secret?

Hemp seed oil! According to my skincare 'bible' hemp seed oil is "restorative, soothing and healing". What more could you ask for in a lip balm? (Oh yes, it's also rich in Omega-6 and Vitamin E).

Along with the hemp seed oil I have added coconut and sunflower oils, shea butter and beeswax.
A few drops of peppermint essential oil have given it the final magic touch!

What's it called?

You didn't need to ask!!!  

Purrfect.

The fig glut!

We are fortunate enough to have a very mature fig tree in our garden. It's been here for years, since we moved here in fact, and most years has given us a glorious crop of what I think are 'Brown Turkey' figs although I stand to be corrected as to the variety. These are the latest pickings...

Having run out of people to give these short shelf-life beauties to I decided to investigate their use in soap! To my surprise figs are highly valued as a soap ingredient and when teamed with honey they act as a 'humectant' which attracts moisture to the skin, whilst the seeds make a great exfoliant.

I've made a batch this morning using an olive oil base and a high proportion of shea butter. I was interested to see that when adding the pulped fig and honey it has turned the soap a gorgeous orange colour.

However, previous experience tells me that this may well fade as the soap cures and I'll have a better idea when I unmould it tomorrow. So......watch this space!

3 days later....

It's unmoulded and cut. It looks and smells gorgeous. It has faded in colour as I expected but has an appealing look and has far exceeded my expectations largely due to the fact that when adding 'botanicals' to soap, the saponification process so often results in a rather grey unattractive bar.

Now I have to wait four weeks before I can test it!!!

Apropos of nothing....

I just had to post this photo taken today in the garden...

These beautiful flowers belong to a rogue potato plant that has seeded itself under our composting bin! Aren't they fabulous!

Making a Rose & Mallow Cream

Many people ask me how I actually make a cream so here's one I made earlier in pictorial form!

1. Infuse marshmallow root in boiling water.

2. Leave for half an hour and then strain. Weigh infusion and other ingredients (see my recipe below).

3. Place both beakers in a bain marie and bring to 75 degrees

4. Combine infusion with oils and plunge beaker into bowl of cold water so that it cools quite rapidly.

5. Whisk to combine (I use a coffee frothing whisk) and when the temperature reduces to 35 degrees I add a small amount of Vitamin E oil, a useful anti-oxidant with many other benefits for skin care.

6. After cooling further to approximately 30 degrees I add my essential oil - in this case the wonderful rose absolute (rosa damascena) - perfect for dry, mature skin..like mine!

7. By this time the mixture has thickened and is ready to pour into my sterilised pots, with a small amount into a tester. 

8. So there we have it, two 50g pots of glorious rose mallow moisturiser which will continue to thicken as it cools.