Yearly Archives: 2018

Frankincense resin oil 1

 in Aromatherapy / Distillation / Healing Herbs / Natural Skin Care / Products  tagged fair trade / frankincense / resins by

This is Dalzielii Frankincense resin extract, after the tears have been hydro distilled for their essential oil, and after the water soluble gum has been removed.  The aroma is pure and regenerative, just what I need right now!  This is a resin extract dissolved into oil and the result is full of aroma and the healing properties of Boswellic acids.

frankincense resin in oil
Frankincense resin dissolving in hot oil.

After about 1/2 hour, it’s dissolved and there are a few bits and pieces of bark floating about.  I filter out about one tablespoon and this goes on the wood stove, where as it warms it continues to fill the house with wonderful aroma.

dissolved resin of frankincense
Dissolved resin of frankincense with bits of bark
bark and resin bits
Bark and resin bits

Now I have a 1:3 ratio of pure oil to use as-is, as a base for salves, or in other new creative ways I might find to share with others. This is another amazing gift provided to us by nature.

We use only the finest fair-trade frankincense resins, sourced directly from Dan Riegler at fairtradefrankincense.com. Dan deals directly with local harvesters in Africa, ensuring that the local communities, whose people are the true caretakers of these botanical treasures, are fairly compensated for their work.

I encourage you to read Dan’s posts to learn more:

https://fairtradefrankincense.com/2015/07/26/tapping-into-frankincense-and-its-boswellic-acids-an-easy-extraction-method/
https://fairtradefrankincense.com/2018/02/28/frankincense-as-medicine-truth-myth-and-misinformation/

Almonte Farmers’ Christmas Market December 8th and Cheerfully Made Saves Christmas December 21-22!

 in Aromatherapy / Distillation / Healing Herbs / Markets / Natural Skin Care / Products / Wild Harvest  tagged holiday / markets by

Yay!  The time is here for Holiday Markets and I have some extra special items to make everything smell and feel good!!

The Almonte Farmer’s Christmas Market is this Saturday, December 8th  from 9-2 at the Almonte Community Centre.

Special Holiday Gifts: Lotion Bars, Frankincense, and Diffuser blends

In addition to our regular stock, I have created really nice gift packs, sets of diffuser blends, and a new luxurious lotion bar with Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, and Palmarosa essential oil that is great for dry skin and excellent for cuticles!

I love working with the resins of evergreens and yesterday we hand-harvested our own Spruce resin and combined this dissolved traditional remedy with some of our own steam distilled essential oils, along with sustainably harvested fir and cedar oils to create our Winter Woods Salve, a favourite among our customers, family, and friends!

Ancient Gifts Salve
Ancient Gifts Salve: Frankincense, Myrrh, and Cinnamon Bark

The resin of Frankincense has been a special remedy and joy for me and this year I have some extra special infusions just for the holiday markets!  Ancient Gifts oil and salve are each their own unique aromatic treasure.  No need for potpourri as these are rich, warming holiday treats!

Cheerfully Made Saves Christmas

Two weeks later, on December 21st and 22nd, we are very excited to participate in the Cheerfully Made Saves Christmas market at the Bell Sensplex!!  Tickets for the night market on the 21st must be purchased in advance, and can be bought here.  We (and many other vendors) will be offering some specials for that night only, and everyone who attends the night market will receive a tote bag and two raffle tickets.

frankincense, Myrrh, and Cinnamon bark
Frankincense, Myrrh, and Cinnamon bark
Almonte Farmers Harvest Market, November 10, 2018
Almonte Farmers Harvest Market, November 10, 2018
Cheerfully Made Saves Christmas


Winter Woods Salve for the Cedar Hill Christmas Tree Farm

 in Aromatherapy / Biodiversity / Distillation / Food / Products / Wild Harvest by

Our neighbourhood is called Cedar Hill, and there are many Eastern White Cedars (Thuja occidentalis) all around us. Also there are Eastern white pine, spruce, and balsam fir, and we are fortunate to be able to sustainably harvest and distill needles and greenery from the various evergreen species.

Cedar essential oil and hydrosol

My Winter Woods Salve is made using Canadian spruce resin dissolved in safflower oil, with added essential oils, many of which are from our own distillations, in a base of beeswax. Apply it to the neck and chest area for a cooling decongestant effect.

Winter Woods Salve

Winter Woods Salves – just poured and now cooling!

Winter Woods Salve is one of my most popular products at markets, and this holiday season we are happy to say that it will be for sale at the Cedar Hill Christmas Tree Farm. The farm is a wonderful local business and the perfect place to find a Christmas tree, but it also features a great sledding hill, horse-drawn sleigh rides, and Cafe Claus, which always features a warm fire and delicious homemade food. Run by the Martin family, the farm is an ideal place for a day of winter fun.

Cedar

Eastern White Cedar, ready for distillation

Upcoming Markets

 in Aromatherapy / Distillation / Healing Herbs / Markets / Products by

Holiday Markets are coming!!!  We hope to see you there!

Upcoming Markets

We are excited to share with you some really special new products that we have been preparing for upcoming markets!   I will have diffuser blend sets, gift sets and small batch infusions.  As always, everything is handcrafted using our own herbs, roots, and essential oils whenever possible.

For more information on the process see you at:

Laine Herbals Facebook and Laine Herbals Instagram

Creative Co-distillations

 in Aromatherapy / Distillation / Gardening / Healing Herbs / Markets / Products by

This warm weather has been such a gift to gardens.  I’m not used to such a long growing season and it has allowed me to harvest and process so much more than usual.  The shelves are full with many infused oils, dried herbs and family medicines; many are available at the Almonte Farmer’s Market and If you are looking for something particular please feel free to contact me via email.  The seasonal abundance has given me the opportunity to be creative with the co-distillations for hydrosols.  Last week I distilled a version of the the 4 Thieves blend, based on folklore that thieves who robbed the dead during the black plague protected themselves with these 4 essential oils. To make my new “5 Thieves” hydrosol,  I added lemon balm (anti-viral, and aromatically pleasant) to the traditional recipe of sage, rosemary, thyme and oregano to create a room spray to steal away the germs in the air.  The hydrosol is safer than the very concentrated essential oils, yet very effective.

tulsi and spearmint distillation

tulsi and spearmint in the 5 ltr bubble

Today’s co-distillation will be spearmint and tulsi!  I was sure of it as soon as the harvesting began.  The two plants will compliment each other and become a cooling and uplifting mist, perfect for waking up or after meals.  This one will be a bit astringent for the skin and so may be good for acne or a midday freshen up.  The oil content halfway through this distillation is higher than normal and that is due to the summer’s heat and the lack of rainfall (I have not been watering the mint!).  The oil will be nice in a diffuser this winter.

3 levels of separation

3 levels of separation. Oil and Water do not mix.