Daisy Balm
Daisies will always remind me of childhood. I once collected a family of ladybirds and tucked them into my lunch box on a bed of daisies, strapped it onto the back of my bike and pedalled it to the park for a picnic together. Only, I got half way and wanted to check on how the ladybird family were doing so tried to get off my bike and promptly toppled into a patch of nettles. The ladybirds on their bed of daisies were fine, the top popped off my lunchbox and they all flew free. Aaah, childhood memories.
The daisy has always been a symbol of youth and beauty, it’s Latin name is Bellis Perrennis which translates to “everlasting beauty”. Gorgeous right?! The beautiful humble little daisy really does pack a punch for something considered a weed. It has antibacterial properties and is a great bruise balm. It’s been used for its brightening and soothing effect in salves and lotions amongst its many uses.
This is a recipe I’ve used for a while now, inspired by a wonderful friend who gave me some magic balm, I was hooked! Be sure to look out for the daisies coming through (here in the UK) from March/April time, opening in the day time and closing at night.
Materials Needed:
1 cup of freshly picked daisies
Olive or sunflower oil
1/8 cup beeswax
1/8 cup shea butter
essential oils of your choosing (we like classic lavender)
We sometimes add vitamin E to the blends too but not essential
A jar
A piece of cloth to cover the jar
An elastic band
A double burner or a saucepan and glass jug
Containers to pour your balm into
We don’t have any pictures of the daisy balm or even making the balm for that matter. Funnily, it’s one of those things we absolutely take for granted in our house so just make it and use it. Poor, under appreciated daisy. Next time we make a batch, I’ll show the process. For now though, here are some of our daisy pictures instead.
Pick a whole cup of daisies, making sure to leave enough for the fairies.
Leave them somewhere to dry out for a week or so. Leaving them to dry helps reduce the water content in them so they’re less likely to mould when steeping in the oil.
When they’re dry, put them into your jar and cover completely with the oil of your choosing. Make sure all the daisies are poked under the surface of the oil. Cover with a piece of cloth and leave somewhere light but out of the sunlight for a week. Give it a little shake occasionally.
After a week, drain the oil into a glass jug/double burner, adding the beeswax and shea butter. Gently warm until the beeswax has melted completely.
Take off the heat and add your essential oils and vitamin E if you’re using it.
Then pour into your containers. Wait for your daisy balm to cool then use as you like.
This method produces THE. BEST. LIPBALM! Just an FYI.
Note
If you find the mixture is too loose, you can re-melt with some extra beeswax. Likewise if the mixture is too hard, re-melt with a drop more oil.
“Come to me and play with me,
I’m the babies’ flower;
Make a necklace gay with me,
Spend the whole long day with me,
Till the sunset hour.
I must say Good-night, you know,
Till tomorrow’s playtime;
Close my petals tight, you know,
Shut the red and white, you know,
Sleeping till the daytime.”
