Meadowsweet Herbs

It’s springtime again! Get ready to dig through your drawers and pull out those shorts and tank tops that you couldn’t even fathom wearing all winter. When did it ever get that warm? It’s finally time to get your skin ready for summer — the natural way!

Exfoliate! Lavender Almond Body Scrub

A gentle way to remove dead skin and rid the skin of impurities without being too drying.

• 1 cup white clay
• 1 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup dried roses
• 1/2 cup dried lavender
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• Juice of 1 fresh lemon
• 20 drops lavender essential oil
• 10 drops lemon essential oil
• 10 drops orange essential oil

Grind up the almonds and herbs in a blender, making sure they are uniform and a little gritty. Mix with the white clay. Add the lemon juice, yogurt and essential oils. Add water as needed to get a consistency that you like. Sitting in an empty bathtub, use a circular motion, massaging the scrub into the skin from the extremities towards the torso. Sit for 10 minutes and let the mixture dry and pull out any impurities from the skin. Shower and enjoy the feeling of soft and radiant skin, naturally!

Hydrate! Moisturizing Rose Body Cream

Once you’ve exposed that fresh new skin, take care of it with a rich, natural moisturizer. Making your own lotion can be fun and rewarding, as well as costing much less that a store bought version. This recipe is excellent for dry, sensitive or mature skin.

• 1 cup grape seed oil
• 1/3 cup jojoba oil
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup mango butter
• 2 teaspoons lanolin
• 1 tablespoon rosehip seed oil
• 1 ounce beeswax
• 1 1/3 cups distilled water or rose or lavender hydrosol
• 2/3 cup aloe vera gel
• 30,000 UI’s Vitamin E
• 400,000 UI’s Vitamin A
• 30 drops rose geranium essential oil
• 20 drops sandalwood essential oil
• 10 drops rose essential oil

In a double boiler, melt the beeswax. Add all fixed (not essential) oils mango butter and lanolin and heat gently until everything is melted. Pour mixture into a glass measuring cup and let cool to room temperature. Add the essential oils to the oil mixture. Make sure water and oils are all at room temperature before blending. Place water, hydrosols and aloe gel into blender and turn it to high. Slowly drizzle the oil mixture into the blender. When the oil stops incorporating into the mixture, stop blending. Sometimes you can mix a little more oil in by hand. Put the lotion into clean jars and store in the refrigerator.

Primp! Sparkle Body Power

An amazing smelling, natural body powder with no talc in it.

• 1 cup kaolin white clay
• 2 cups arrowroot powder or cornstarch
• 1/4 cup powdered dry roses
• 1 tablespoon powdered mica (to add sparkle!)
• 40 drops rose geranium essential oil
• 10 drops sandalwood essential oil

Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight glass jar. Use liberally and shimmer like a summer day.