All natural Bug Repellent Balm

As summer in the White Mountains of NH starts to bloom, so to do the bugs and bitey things come back to plague our outside activities. 

So I did some digging and found a great recipe for an all natural bug repellent balm and thought I'd give it a try.

You Will Need:

8 Oz of oil- Jojoba, coconut, sweet almond, sesame-

1-2 Oz beeswax (grated or broken into small chunks)

.4 Oz Citronella Essential Oil

.2 Oz Eucalyptus Essential Oil

.2 Oz Lemongrass Essential Oil

.2 Oz Cedarwood Essential Oil

Small jars, tins, or tubes to hold your salve

Start by gathering all of the ingredients. Possibly the longest (and most demanding) part of the whole project is grating the beeswax. You want to get it as small and loose as possible..the theory there being the more surface area, the easier to melt.

A quick note on your oil of choice...

Choose a good carrier oil like jojoba, coconut, grape seed, sweet almond, or sesame. 

Combine the Oil and the Beeswax in a double boiler or small sauce pan over LOW HEAT. Patience is needed for this so make it low and slow.

 Now that your wax is melting into your oil, be sure to stir gently often. Should take no longer than 15 minutes depending on how small your beeswax is broken up. I like to use a glass swizzle stick because its easy to clean.

 

Once completely transparent and smooth, remove oil from heat and allow to cool slightly before adding the essential oils. 

Before the mixture begins to turn opaque again, add the essential oils to the pot and give it another good stir.

Pour the warm liquid into containers for cooling and storage. I used a large metal tin and a small mason jar. Im a re-user as much as possible. The tin originally was a martini rim sugar container...so upcycle as much as you can!!

Now time for clean up. The easiest way Ive always found to clean up salve making messes is to boil a pot of water. The soft wax is easiest to clean when warm. Most of my utensils that got used got a good thorough dowsing with boiling hot water, then a thorough soaping and a final rinse. You can always feel the equipment your cleaning to make sure all oily residue is removed before putting it back in the cupboard.