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Natural Cream Base Recipe

January 23, 2015
As promised..a natural cream base recipe on the blog! There are lots more recipes to follow, but this is a great one to do, as there are so many varieties you can try to make it perfect for you and your skin type!...Who needs chemicals on their skin which can be harmful to health, when we have these gorgeous, natural ingredients..?!

What you need to make approx 250g:
25g (6tsp) raw cocoa butter
20g (5 tsp) beeswax
135ml (7.5 tbsp) of your favourite base oil/s (I used organic almond oil & avocado oil in these photos)
135ml (7.5 tbsp) water (spring, or infused with herbs of your choice)
13g (3 tsp) plant based emulsifying wax

You'll also need a jar to store it in, glass bowl/bain marie, 2 saucepans, spoons.

You can find all the ingredients on my online store at www.CaleysApothecary.co.uk .

How to:
Melt the cocoa butter in a bain marie (or in a glass bowl over a saucepan of water), with the beeswax and chosen base oils. 
In the second saucepan, the spring water/infusion (strained, if herbs were used) should be heated up, with the emulsifying wax added. Heat until the emulsifying wax is fully dissolved.
Take the bowl with the melted cocoa butter, oils & beeswax off the heat and slowly add the water/emulsifying wax mixture; stirring the whole time.
Keep stirring until the mixture cools. It can take a while for the mix to cool, but do keep stirring, to achieve the correct consistency, as it can separate if you stop mixing too quickly!

This cream can be kept in the fridge, although I tend to add a little Vitamin C Powder to the water/emulsifying wax stage, OR add a few drops Vitamin E oil or Grapeseed Extract to act as a natural preservative, to keep the cream from going off quickly. With a natural antioxidant preservative added, this cream can keep for many months.

This cream has such a luxurious, moisturising feel to it. You can add a few drops of essential oil of your choice, or use different base oils/herb infused oils, depending on what properties you're after!..What are you waiting for..? Enjoy!

 

Christmas Fair at Chelsea Physic Garden

November 19, 2014
It's that time of year again, and The Chelsea Physic Garden in London are getting the marquee ready for their wonderful annual Christmas Fair on Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th November 2014. The fair runs from 10am-4pm. The stalls sell a variety of products on their 80 stalls, ranging from garden objects to jewellery; clothing, chocolate, and plants included!  Tickets are £5 per adult (under 16s free. Please see full details on the link below).  Proceeds from the Christmas Fair contribute to pr...
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Kew, Royal Botanic Garden, London

October 14, 2014
Kew, the world famous Royal Botanic Garden, houses an impressive 30,000 plants in it's 300 acres. Here, you will be able to view botanical drawings, galleries, beautiful greenhouses, and walk amongst the treetops, on their canopy walkway! There are ponds, lakes & cafés; and there's a fantastic Herbarium that is home to specimens of 7 million plants!

Kew is sponsored by the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and is a centre of research. One project currently being worked on is "E...
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Medicinal Herb Project

October 8, 2014
In Peckham, south-east London, there is a lovely little herb garden at the back of a Baptist church.  It has been run by Christina Borgenstierna, who has been developing the garden, adding in a great variety of medicinal herbs, for the space available, and who has organised many herb talks, relating to different systems of the body.  I led a talk recently on the Cardiovascular System, Heart Health & Herbal Medicine.  They have arranged for different medical herbalists to come in to give prese...

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Elderberry Syrup

October 7, 2014
So, here's an Elderberry Syrup recipe that I promised in the first newsletter that went out! You'll find many variations of this recipe around! Some areas seem to have berries in abundance, and in other areas, they seem to have come and gone already! For this reason, I'm providing fresh berry, and dried berry proportions for the recipe (in case you wish to make  your own syrup, but can't find any fresh, so need to purchase some dried!). Elderberries are so rich in vitamin C (amongst other vit...
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