Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Herbal Infusions...


Everything happens in cycles... I could get all philosophical about this as my dear close ones know, but I will keep it strictly business here! 

I manufacture organic products, including lip balms, body balms even a dreadlock range, jaTaa. Amongst them all is a range I feel a very close connection to - Pilgrim's Ointment. For those that have been following my blog for some time would have noticed, I did a post about the Camino de Santiago. It is a pilgrimage across Europe to the north west edge of Spain. It is very loooong. It was during my 550+ km walk, that I damaged my feet. Both arches fully collapsed, pretty much on the first day! So needless to say I was in pain and agony every step of the way... I came across an ointment called, Unguento Tradicional, which did wonders for my feet - rich in arnica and aloe, it made it possible to keep walking day in, day out. 

When I came back to Australia, I couldn't get hold of this ointment. I was rather put off by it's petroleum content anyway, so I decided to put my manufacturing skills into making my own, natural and organic 'unguento' or ointment. This is how I came up with Pilgrim's Ointment! Today I have a healing lip salve, and a warming liniment and soothing ointment, each containing 17 plus herbs, all designed to relieve pain and promote healing.

So back to cycles, earlier this year, I was madly busy with my Nilla Nilla Pout Balm range. I could not produce enough, then out of the blue, I received order after order for my jaTaa dreadlocking products. I just caught my breath, when the Pilgrim's Ointment orders started creeping in. It was subtle but nevertheless, raided my stock and now I have only 2 ointments left!

"Make some more!" did I hear you say... yes I am, but there's a catch. The oil I use to make Pilgrim's Ointment, is a herbal infused certified organic jojoba oil.
The process takes 3 weeks in total as I only infuse my oils via the cold process method. This method takes time, but nothing great was made in a day! I pack all my herbs into a glass jar and pour on my oil. I only use certified organic dried herbs and certified organic jojoba oil. It is an incredibly pricey option, but the results are worth every penny! Jojoba is my choice because it doesn't make your skin feel greasy or oily - so important! Jojoba is actually a liquid wax at room temperature and is the closest substitute for human sebum, so this is why it sits so well on our skin!

Anyway, the sun was peeping through the clouds and I was in awe of the simple beauty in front of me. I get a kick out of the colours and the beauty of the infusing process. I just hope my camera captured it for you to enjoy...

2 comments:

  1. You are so darn clever, gosh I'd kill someone if I tried that.

    By the way Miss A, Welcome to my place, we'll have fun xx

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  2. Sounds like you know exactly what you are doing and all sounds good. I'm sure it will be worth the wait for everyone.

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