Thursday, January 21, 2010

Interesting Tidbit about Natural Preservatives


I don’t how many of you make your own body lotion or lip balm but I thought this item was interesting. I use vitamin E when I make body lotion, but according to this I should consider using rosemary extract. It is fascinating to me that rosemary extract is a better preservative that some commonly used chemical preservatives (according this study).

21 comments:

  1. Interesting! And oh, how I love the fragrance of rosemary! It's one of my favorite scents. So how nice that rosemary is a natural preservative!

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  2. Thanks for that tidbit. My mom makes her own soaps, lotions, lip balms. She may already know this, but I'm going to pass it along just in case.

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  3. How nice to hear that the wonderful herb has even more uses!

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  4. Lalo,

    I LOVE the fragrance of rosemary too! We planted a bush near our front sidewalk so I could brush by it each time I leave the house. Rosemary is also very healthy to consume.

    Heather,

    I would love to see some of your mom's recipes if she is inclined to share. I have only be dabbling in this recently but it is a lot of fun. Last week I made a lotion with extra virgin olive oil, green tea and vitamin E for my hubby to use.

    Alicia

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  5. Blessed mama,

    Isn't it interesting how many things are available in nature that "we" have made chemicals to replace? And all in the name of progress.

    talk to you later,
    Alicia

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  6. I love making and using natural and herbal remedies. I use lavendar essential oil in my hand cream, but may try rosemary next time. Rosemary smells wonderful!

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  7. Janet,

    I love to see a post from you regarding making hand lotion if you have a recipe or formula you follow. Since I am fairly new to this process I am still learning and trying to gather all the info I can.

    Alicia

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  8. alicia, i am so happy you are having fun dabbling in new things:) cool! this is very good info for several reasons. it has come to my attention that vitamin e might not be a good preservative for folks with a wheat intolerance/allergy. i use slippery elm as a good preservative also. of course, rosemary... marvelous info! who doesn't love rosemary? thanks for sharing:) big herbal and honey hugs to you

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  9. Leslie,

    Thanks so much for the tip on vitamin E. Definitely news to me that it could be an issue.

    I must come do a little poking around your blog. I know you must have a few recipes for hand lotions there. I will be by later this afternoon for a little research.

    talk to you later,
    Alicia

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  10. Oh, I know Alicia - I love herbs (and other plants) like rosemary that are pretty to look at, lovely to smell, and healthy to eat! We have a couple of rosemary plants in our sun room for both culinary and aromatherapy purposes. :-) I love the idea of planting something fragrant like that in a spot where you'll brush by it regularly...

    That's interesting about the slippery elm being a preservative. Comfrey Cottage, do you make a decoction to use for that? I have to decoct a batch of slippery elm now and then for one of our dogs who tends to get an urpy tummy early in the morning when her stomach's empty. The slippery elm really seems to help. I don't make my own lip balms and lotions, but someday I would love to shoehorn that into my routine! :-)

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  11. i am sorry to say i just have not had time to do very good with my blog:( so don't bother looking! i actually have not made a hand creme yet! just the salves, which can be made very "loose" and creamy like:)
    laloofah, yes i will use it decocted but actually i prefer to try and shred it and then just put it in with the other herbs that are simmering in whatever i am making as i generally strain before adding the beeswax or whatever:) i use slippery elm with my cats just like you do!! cool! i am sure it was slippery elm gruel daily given to a little starving near death kitten i acquired last year, that saved him!

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  12. Lalo and Leslie,

    Now you both have me wanting to do research on Slippery Elm. I feel so out of the loop and it sounds like something I need to know about. ;) I am off to do my research so I understand what you two are talking about.

    talk to you both later,
    Alicia

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  13. Very interesting post! I'll have to add rosemary to my garden herbs very soon, thanks for the link, Alicia!

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  14. Oraphan,

    Rosemary is very easy to grow. Even with my black thumb of death it thrives in my yard. My plant is approximately 4 years old, and 4 foot tall.

    talk to you later,
    Alicia

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  15. Comfrey Cottage, I've only met one other person who has given slippery elm to their critters to help their tummy troubles! Willow loves the stuff (and I love the wonderful maple-y aroma of it when I'm decocting it). I first found out about it here and then learned more about it from a friend who used it for her dogs, herself and her husband. Since it helps skin wounds and conditions, it sounds like a perfect skin lotion preservative. Did you find some good stuff on it, Alicia?

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  16. Lalo,

    Most of what I read related to soothing the stomach. The most interesting tid bit was that it has no known interactions with meds (which I liked). Do you harvest your own or is it something that you purchase?

    Alicia

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  17. Hi, Alicia,

    I buy mine at the natural foods store. It's cheap ($1.75/oz, and it weighs almost nothing). I grind it up a bit at a time in a coffee grinder and decoct it. The decoction is a pretty red color, very viscous, and as I said, smells rather maple-ish! :-)

    This is the page where I got a lot of info about the variety of slippery elm uses (in addition to helping digestive system issues) for people.

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  18. Lalo,

    Thanks for the link. Slippery Elm seems to be good for many things.

    I appreciate knowing this is something I should be able to buy. I am not the kind of girl that is going to be harvesting my own. Wilderness and me don't mix, as I have shared with you.

    I hope my local health food store has it so I can try it.

    talk to you later,
    Alicia

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  19. lalo those are great links! i even like the taste of slippery elm and use it to roll homemade cough drops in sometimes:) no biggie if someone and the great outdoors don't mix. with all the great resources we have now we can still enjoy things can't we?
    alicia, you can always ask your store to stock it if they don't carry it:)
    hugs to all

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  20. Leslie,

    Thanks for the tip on asking the store to get it if they don't carry it. I hope to get to the healthfood store later this week to look for it.

    Alicia

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  21. you're welcome alicia. i know i have to pre order some things through mine, so thought you might have to also. :)

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