(Photo courtesy of Appleseed Media.)
Dry, cracked skin not only hurts, it harbors germs, too. Nowadays, there’s more reason than ever to care for the body’s largest, most protective organ, and DIY salves and lotions can play a big role.
The best part about this rich, thick lotion is that it can easily be whipped up at home using basic ingredients. You can get fancy and add other things, but with these simple techniques and fairly minimal cleanup time, this recipe will give you a shelf-stable product that packed with antiseptic and vulnerary (wound healing) properties, and scented like the high-desert forest. Because it is rubefacent (increases circulation by dilating capillaries), pine resin is also sometimes used to treat rheumatic joints.
I’ve chosen a pine-infused olive oil for this post, but the recipe is endlessly flexible. You can make the same lotion using an infused oil of any kind. I usually use EVOO because it’s readily available in large quantities, but sunflower, jojoba and apricot oil are all very nice for the skin. Try adding yarrow, mullein or cottonwood-infused oils to harness even more botanical healing.
TO MAKE:
Gather an ounce or so of clean, semi-soft resin. (Doesn’t have to be ponderosa pine.) Take what’s dripping down the tree rather than from the tree’s open wound. (It’s the tree’s way of forming a “scab.”) Try to find some that is solid enough to handle but soft enough to melt with gentle heat.
Take it home, put it in a 16 oz jar and cover with 5 oz of EVOO or liquid oil of your choice. Add 1 oz beeswax. Place jar in a water bath on stove or burner on medium heat. When the oils have melted and combined, remove jar from pan and stir or lid & shake to mix. Remove lid and allow mixture to cool to almost room temperature.
As soon as it begins solidifying into a salve (watch the bottom of the jar), use an immersion blender, a hand mixer or whip attachment to whip in 3/4-1 cup of room temperature water, a little bit at a time. The lotion will continue to cool as you add water and whip, scraping the sides and the bottom. Once the water is incorporated into the oils and the lotion is smooth, pour it into smaller containers or just leave it in the jar you made it in and let it cool to completely while you rinse your mixer and tools. When it’s room temp, put a lid on it. It will keep for months. If you’re concerned about spoilage, store it in the fridge.
NOTES:
If you have rosewater and/or aloe vera, try adding a tablespoon of one or both before incorporating the regular water.
For a slightly heavier product with even more softening potential, melt .5 oz shea butter in with the beeswax or add a teaspoon of glycerin to the water before whipping it into oils.
Distilled water is best to ensure shelf life, but this can be made with tap water.
To achieve a lighter lotion, try using a little less beeswax and/or a little more water.
***Always research new herbs, interactions, warnings and precautions before working with them. Use your new lotion on a small patch of skin to ensure compatibility before applying it liberally.
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