Welcome to our first newsletter for the holiday season.

We are getting started with an herbal gift for the men in your life.

I know men can be hard to shop for and sometimes it’s even harder to create a homemade herbal gift that they’ll actually like. But don’t worry, we’ve got it covered!

In this newsletter we’ll be making a scented aftershave. Aftershaves typically have a strong scent, but they do more than act as a cologne.

Typically, when a man shaves, warm water is used to open the pores and soften the facial hair, making it easier to shave.

Aftershaves can be used after the shaving process to tighten and tone the pores on the face. This can prevent dirt and oil from entering the pores.

The recipe we’ll be making today is also anti-microbial, which can keep any razor cuts from becoming infected.

Let’s take a closer look at our ingredients.

Witch Hazel Extract

Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is a native shrub to the eastern US and Canada and has been transplanted to the west coast of north america and Europe as well.

It has a long history of use for sores, wounds, hemorrhoids, and other external abrasions.  It was used by a variety of north american tribes and was a part of the US official pharmacopeia from 1882 to 1955.

Witch hazel is primarily known for its astringent properties. Astringency is the ability to tighten and tone tissues. It’s also anti-microbial, meaning that it helps to keep cuts clean, thus preventing infection.

Orange Peel

Many of us are familiar with this fruit.

Did you know that the orange tree originally comes from China?

In Traditional Chinese Medicine the orange peel is used medicinally for digestion and expectoration (mucous congestion). We use citrus peel in this recipe for its fresh scent.

Spices including cinnamon, allspice and clove

Each of these spices add their own unique smell to this aftershave, but they do more than just smell good. All of these spices have been used for thousands of years to aid digestion and even preserve food.

At one time in history cinnamon used to be more valuable than silver. Today it is used for colds and flus, diarrhea and to help balance blood sugar levels.

Whole cloves are actually dried flower buds and are especially high in antioxidants. Clove essential oil is commonly used today to alleviate toothaches.

Allspice (Pimenta dioica) is the fruit of a myrtle tree that commonly grows in Jamaica. It’s called allspice because it is said to taste like the combination of various spices including cloves, juniper berries, cinnamon and pepper.

Rum

Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from molasses, a sugarcane byproduct. It’s believed to have originated on the island of Barbados and is an important beverage in the Caribbean.

Bay West Indies Essential Oil

This essential oil is distilled from the Bay Rum Tree (Pimenta racemosa). It is a common scent in men’s aftershave products.

For this recipe you will need...

• 2 cups of witch hazel extract
• 1 ounce of rum
• zest from one organic orange
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3-5 cloves
• 3-5 whole allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon glycerin (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon aloe vera (optional)
• Bay West Indies Essential Oil
• Pint Jar

Of course, you can get many of the above items at Mountain Rose Herbs
(iWantHerbs.com).

Begin by grating the orange peel to get its zest. I use the tool you see in the photo but you can simply use a fine cheese grater. You want the orange part of the peel, not the white beneath. This usually yields about two tablespoons of orange. It’s fine if you have more or less than this.

Once you have the zest put it in your pint jar along with the cinnamon stick (you can break it up if you would like), the cloves and the allspice.

(note: Make sure you use the amounts in the recipe and not in the two photos above)

Next add the optional glycerin and aloe vera. These are great additions for men with especially sensitive skin.

Next add the rum. You can buy a small one ounce bottle from the liquor store.

Next fill the jar with witch hazel distillate. This will be just under two cups.

Finally add 25-40 drops of the bay west indies essential oil.

Cover the mixture with a tight fitting lid and shake well.

Shake it well every day or so for 4 - 6 weeks.

Once it’s done, strain off the ingredients and put it in a dark colored bottle. This makes enough to fill two 8 oz bottles.

Attach a label and now you have a wonderful holiday gift for the men in your life.

To make this present especially easy we even have a label you can download and print. You can simply print this out on normal paper and attach it with clear packaging tape.

For men who don’t shave this also works well as a cologne. If they have especially sensitive skin this mixture can be diluted with a little water just before application.

We hope you enjoyed this newsletter. It’s the first of six that we’ll be releasing for the holiday season. In the coming weeks we’ll have recipes for health, more gift giving ideas and even yummy recipes for the holiday feasts.

Stay tuned!

-Rosalee

P.S. Remember to support you local herb shops this Holiday Season. If you do not have one, then you can get many of the above ingredients and bottles at Mountain Rose Herbs.