Beauty Treasure Chest: Herb Infused Oils

Hopefully this turns out to be a beauty treasure chest.  I infused my first oils the other day.  My better half is concerned about the concoctions sitting out on our kitchen table.  He thinks I've turned into a mad scientist and am trying to poison him... between this and my "hippie vitamins" (what he calls my whole food vitamins).  Anyhow...   The first two are herbal standards.  Comfrey and Calendula.  A couple notes--I'm using dried herbs.  Make sure you use completely dry mason jars and keep the herbs submerged to prevent bacteria growth.  Here's a youtube link to a How Make Herbal Infused Oils video from Mountain Rose Herbs.  I used a mixture of Macadamia Nut Oil and Hemp Seed since that's what I had on hand and I like the consistency of both oils.  I added a little Tamanu to the Calendula oil for its scar reducing and healing properties.

Comfrey Infused Oil

1/2 C dried Comfrey

1/2 C Macadamia Nut Oil

1/2 C Hemp Seed Oil

Calendula Infused Oil

1/2 C dried Calendula

1/2 C Macadamia Nut Oil

1/2 C Hemp Seed Oil + 1/8 C (to submerge calendula completely)

1/8 C Tamanu

Infuse 3-6 weeks.  Shake daily.

The next one is an experimental concoction of Licorice Root and Lemon Peel.  I've seen some natural skin lightening products that contain licorice root extract or lemon peel and thought I'd give this a try for some scaring and hyperpigmentation.  I added Tamanu oil for its scar reducing properties.

 Lemon Licorice Infused Oil 

1/2 C dried Lemon Peel

1/4 C dried Licorice Root

1/2 C Macadamia Nut Oil

1/2 C Hemp Seed Oil

1/2 C Tamanu Oil

Infuse 3-6 weeks.  Shake daily.

Labeled and dated day of infusion and "due date"

The last two are based on Crunchy Betty's Coffee Infused Oil recipe for her Nutty Butt Bar for Cellulite Reduction.  The second batch is a smaller version I'm hoping to use as an eye cream since eye creams containing caffeine are really popular right now to reduce puffiness (Dr. Oz recently featured 100% Pure's coffee eye cream on his show).  I added coffee to some great skin  loving oils known for their anti-aging/wrinkle properties.

Coffee Infused Cellulite Oil

1/4 C Macadamia Nut

1/4 C Sweet Almond

3 tablespoons Tamanu

3 tablespoons Argan

2 tablespoons Rosehip

1 C organic ground coffee

Coffee Infused Eye/Wrinkle Oil

1 tablespoon Argan

1 tablespoon Tamanu

1 tablespoon Rosehip

1 teaspoon sea buckthorn

approximately = amount of organic ground coffee

Crunchy Betty suggests infusing these 1-2 weeks and shaking daily.

Coffee Eye Oil & Calendula Oil up close

After the herbs and coffee has infused their six and two weeks respectively, I'll strain them through a cheese cloth and post an update!  Now I just have to wait... Here's the oils!  Left to right: Coffee Cellulite Oil, Coffee Eye/Wrinkle Oil, Calendula, Comfrey, and Licorice and Lemon Oils.  Not everyone has the desire or time to infuse their own oils.  

So here's some links to ready made products:

-100% Pure's Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream (they also have a smaller size for $10 if you're not ready to invest in the full size)
-100 % Pure also has a skin brightening line.
-Etsy seller Rainwater Botanicals has a Brightening Facial Cream too.  It may not be listed because it was recently purchased.  If you're interested but don't see it, convo the seller to re-list.
-There's tons of listings for anti-cellulite potions and scrubs on Etsy containing coffee.  But here's an easy and inexpensive alternative--mix some coffee, olive oil, and sugar and you've got an easy homemade coffee scrub.  Check out this coffee scrub recipe on Melissa Whitman's blog.