Manuka & Chickweed Cream

Most mainstream eczema products are based on petroleum derivatives which don’t allow skin to breathe. This cream, made of all natural ingredients, is perfect to treat any symptoms of eczema and psoriasis: chickweed is very good at taking the heat out of itchy skin while manuka honey is ideal at repairing damaged skin.

Ingredients
30 ml chickweed infused oil
2 teaspoons of beeswax
50 ml wheat germ oil
2 teaspoons of cocoa butter
½ teaspoon of emulsifying wax
2 teaspoon of chickweed tea
1 tablespoon of manuka honey

Preparation
Firstly, you need to infuse the oil – take a sealable jar and pack it tightly with chickweed, then pour over a good quality vegetable oil. Leave in the sunlight for up to 2 weeks, strain and store in a dark glass bottle.

Now let’s make the cream base – first, pour 30 mls of the infused oil in a glass bowl, then add 50 mls of wheat germ oil (or Vitamin E oil), 2 teaspoons each of beeswax and cocoa butter.

Put the glass bowl over a saucepan of boiling water for 5 minutes, or until all the ingredients have melted.

In the meanwhile, prepare your chickweed tea infusion. Add two teaspoons of dried chickweed to 100 ml of hot water – use a tea strainer (or an unbleached tea bag) to make sure you don’t have any chickweed bits in the finished products.

Then add half a teaspoon of emulsifying wax, and when the water has cooled down a little, add a teaspoon of manuka honey and mix all together. Never put honey in hot boiling water, as this will destroy its good properties.

Take the glass bowl of the pan and slowly add the chickweed infusion to the oil mix. You need to do this quite quickly so the balm base doesn’t set. Whisk it with a fork until it turns into a creamy consistency.  

Store in a glass jar and keep for up to two months. Use as often as you want on any dry and itchy patches of skin.

Click here to watch Annelie preparing this remedy*
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Warning
Never eat chickweed raw, as it can be poisonous.