With the holidays rapidly approaching, we thought you would be interested in some herbal gift ideas. It has become our tradition to give homemade herbal gifts to our families each year. Putting them together in our kitchen is so much more fun than shopping at the mall! We’re sending this year’s gift ideas a bit in advance so you’ll have time to order supplies and get them made and sent in time for the holidays.

This year, I was inspired by a beautiful book entitled Earthly Bodies and Heavenly Hair by Dina Falconi. (Dina will be interviewed on HerbMentor.com in the future)

She includes many amazing and simple recipes for natural personal care products. On one page she has a list of items that you could include in a gift basket. I chose two of those on the list to experiment with and to share with you.

The first is an Herbal Sea Salt Scrub.

To make it you will need:

• 1 large handful of a dried herb of your choice

• 2-3 Tablespoons of sea salt

• ½ teaspoon olive oil

• about 4 Tablespoons of water

A note about choosing herbs:

I chose chamomile. It is relaxing and astringent. Falconi also says it is great for “healing nervous and inflamed skin conditions.” You might also choose comfrey roots or leaves.

Both are mucilaginous and so will be good for dry or irritated skin. Rose flowers would make a beautiful gift scrub and they are stringent and toning for the skin.

Choosing a mint would create a refreshing, stimulating quality to your scrub. You get the idea. A little bit of research on the properties of the herb will help you choose the right one for each person on your gift list.

To make the scrub, put one large handful of your herb of choice into a mortar and grind it into a powder with the pestle. Add the sea salt, and grind a bit more. Add the water and stir. Finally add the olive oil. This makes enough for one treatment.

Use it by massaging it into the skin and allowing it to stay on for 10 minutes before rinsing.  It will have a crumbly texture. If bits of herb fall off in the application, simply reapply.

I imagine the shelf life of this scrub is fairly short, so you probably want to make it just before sending it off and include instructions to use it fairly soon.

Another possibility is to make a basic salt clay scrub by mixing 3 tablespoons of clay with 2 tablespoons of sea salt. Include instructions to mix it with 4 tablespoons of water before massaging it into the skin.  For this one, leave it on for 5 minutes or until the skin feels tight. Without the water, the shelf life will be longer.

You might also leave the liquid out of the herbal combination and just include instructions with your gift if you would like to make it further in advance.

Buying supplies...

Of course you can get Sea Salt at the market, but Mountain Rose Herbs DOES carry salts in case you are already purchasing herbs there.

You can also get containers there.

My second gift idea for you is making an Herbal Body Splash.

I tried out the Spearmint Blend. Falconi describes it as “an invigorating, cleansing and hydrating splash for all skin types.”

Ingredients:

A combination of spearmint, nettle leaf and fennel seeds (crushed with the mortar and pestle prior to use) equaling one ounce. (The more spearmint you use in your combination, the stronger the spearmint aroma will be.)

• 16 oz. of water

• about 12 oz. 80 proof vodka

First, make an infusion with the herbs and water by pouring the 16 oz of water over the ounce of herbs and allowing it to steep for four hours. Strain.

Pour the strained infusion into a measuring cup and add an equal amount of liquor. Pour the mixture into a jar or bottle, cap and shake well.

If you have a spray bottle, you can spray it onto your skin, or you can pour a bit into the palm of your hand and splash it onto your face.

If you would like a stronger blend or a more intense aroma, you can add ½ teaspoon of spearmint essential oil and ¼ teaspoon of fennel essential oil.

For an even more basic body splash, add 40 drops of essential oil of your choice to 4 oz. of distilled water or sparkling spring water. The spring water will give it a tingling sensation and more stimulating effect. Adding 2 teaspoons of vodka will help to preserve the splash and also make it more astringent and cleansing.

Now, just tie a nice ribbon around your bottles and you’re all set to present your homemade herbal gifts!

Once again, for essential oils, herbs, bottles, etc...just get it all at Mountain Rose Herbs.

Get yer Holiday Herbal Gift supplies right here...