Every Wednesday a cost effective workshop covering a different topic each week.
No experience necessary, and you may take home your creations.

• All included in the price of $45 per class
• Simply bring a notebook and pen
• Bookings with deposit
• Workshops limited to 8 students
• See list and dates to book your place
• Each workshop costs $45, inclusive of all materials. Take home your creations

Wednesday April 18th – Creating Herbal Infused Oils

This workshop explores the herbs, fresh and dried that form the basis of almost all medicinal and skincare products. Creating your own herbal oils gives you the edge when it comes to superior herbally active products.

Take home two x 100ml bottles of oil

Wednesday April 25th – Herbal Tincture Making

Making your own tinctures is easy when you understand the basics. Tinctures may be used as effective medicinals, they may be added to skincare, hair care, creams, lotions, ointments etc, or used as washes, disinfectants, compresses and in many other much needed everyday household products.

Take home two class produced tinctures.

Wednesday May 2nd – Herbal Salves & Chest Rubs

Salves are wonderful for eczema, skin problems and wound healing. During this workshop you will also make a chest rub from pure natural ingredients to assist bronchial and respiratory problems.

Take home a skin healing salve and a chest rub.

Wednesday May 9th – Gorgeous Lip Balms

Create herbal healing lip balms and delightfully fragrant chocolate, strawberry and vanilla lip balms in pots and tubes. Move away from chemically based products to pure, natural ingredients that are ideal for everyone, from the kids, to the husband, to gifts for friends.

Take home a selection of six different lip balms.

Wednesday May 16th – Hand & Foot Creams

During this informative and fun workshop, you will learn to create superior chemical free hand and foot creams for various skin problems, through to badly cracked and split conditions of both hands and feet. If you or your family have a problem in this area we can create a cream to suit.

Take home a specialised hand cream and a nourishing, healing foot cream.

Wednesday May 23rd – Moisturiser 101

We take a look at different skin types, the ingredients most suitable for each skin type and formulating for various skin needs and conditions. In this workshop you will make two moisturisers – one for day and one for night use. These, you will take home.
 

Wednesday May 30th – Scrubs

These gorgeous scrubs can be made for any part of the body, although we need to change the ingredients to suit various areas of the body. We look at just what is suitable to use in scrubs for face, body, hands and feet and scrubs suitable for both men and woman.

You will make and take home your choice of two types of scrubs during this fragrant and fun workshop.

Wednesday June 6th – Bath Bombs & Bath Fizzies

Once you know how – these most popular products are easy, cost effective and lots of fun to produce, we will create a selection of fizzies and bath bombs during this workshop. Because of the drying time required in the moulds, you will need to collect your creations a few days later. You will make at least six mixed bombs and fizzies to take home.

Wednesday June 13th – Creating Perfume

A very popular workshop, where you will make cream perfume and roll on perfumes. We will make two of each type for you to take home. This is a wonderful workshop for those of you interested in cost effective gifts or possibly a new business idea.
 
 

Wednesday June 20th – Gel Making

Learn how simple it is to make wonderful cooling gels, skin tightening eye gels or skin treatment gels. You will make and take home a cooling foot gel, a spot treatment gel and a great anti-wrinkle eye gel.
 
 

Wednesday June 27th – Cleansers

Create your own totally chemical free cleanses and learn how easy it is to make a cleanser just for your skins individual needs.

You will make and take home one cream based cleanser and one oil based cleanser
 
 

Enrollment Details

Click here to download an enrolment form or email Donna for further details

Fee: $45.00 per workshop
Time: 10:30am – 12:30pm
Venue: Cottage Hill Herb Farm, Birchville, Upper Hutt. Click here for driving directions

• Bookings are essential.
• Class numbers limited to eight.
• Workshop fee is the same for all classes.
• Please book early to ensure your place.
• Workshops are not interchangeable and will not be repeated this year.
• A deposit of half the class fee is required along with the enrolment form at the time of booking.

Note: Please book early. Class numbers are strictly limited with places usually booked out early. Enrolment form and deposit required to secure your place.

A two day basic intensive workshop designed to show you how simple, easy and cost effective it is to create your own superior, chemical free beautiful skincare products.

Over the course of two days you will learn to make your own base creams, herbal infused oils etc. study which herbs and natural ingredients are the most effective in rejuvenating, healing and improving the look, texture and health of your skin.

You will learn how to make over fifteen unique, specialized natural skin and body care products worth hundreds of dollars and you will take these home with you at the end of each day. No experience is necessary – we set you on a new and exciting path to formulating all of your personal skincare products free of any chemical contamination, and customized to suit your skins unique needs.

During the workshop you will make and take home:

• Base creams – Two types
• Herbally infused oil
• Healing hand cream
• Skin and body oil
• Moisturiser
• Cleanser
• Body scrub
• Facial masks
• Exfoliater
• Lip Balm
• Body Butter
• Nourishing face cream
• Shampoo
• Conditioner

Click here to download an enrolment form or email Donna for further details

Click here to view details of this course

This beautiful and richly coloured oil has an unsurpassed level of carotenes and vitamin A and E and is second only to rosehip in its vitamin C content. An extremely high level of essential fatty acids, vitamins B1, B2, K and P and Flavonoids.

Because of the high content of nutrients essential for the metabolism of skin cells, Sea Buckthorn oil is used to combat wrinkles, dryness, aged skins, sun damage, wound healing of injuries to skin, such as burns, eczema, ulcers, sores and lesions.

Sea Buckthorn is both medicinal and anti-ageing, restorative and revitalising in both skincare and skin healing products.
 
 

Shea Nut Butter Oil

This is the oil form of our very popular shea nut butter. The oil form is similar to our liquid coconut oil where the fatty solid portion has been removed, keeping the product in a liquid state rather than solid form.

This oil contains all of the wonderful properties of the solid form, but is able to be added to other oils for use in massage oils etc. it contains some ultra-violet protection in either form and is added to all products where a sun screening effect is needed. It also assists in healing of bruising and pain and is considered a warming, penetrating and very emollient oil.
 
 

Tamanu Nut Oil

This fantastic oil from Madagascar was considered to be a sacred gift of the gods according to the ancients and is widely used by native peoples for its amazing healing effects on the skin and body. Research has shown a 70 – 75% success rate in alleviating rheumatic pain when used daily.

Bioscience laboratories conducted studies on its ability to improve the appearance of scars over a 9 week test period, scars were rated for roughness, length and width and degree of skin appearance.

The oil was applied twice daily over the 9 week period. There was a significant improvement after just 6 weeks and improvement continued in the further 3 weeks of this trial.

Tamanu oil fades stretch marks dramatically. It was also applied during the 1920’s by a nun in Fiji – a sister Marie-Suzanne to leprosy victims with positive results.

Tamanu oil promotes new tissue formation, accelerating healing and healthy skin growth. It is an analgesic oil helping to relieve the pain of sciatica, arthritis, burns, post-surgical wounds, skin allergies and is powerfully anti-inflammatory. It is also effective for gout, for fungal skin and nail problems, like athletes foot, ring worm etc. also utilised for insect bites, acne and acne scars, psoriasis, diabetic sores and ulcers, anal fissures, sun burn, eczema, herpes, diaper rash and even to reduce foot and body odour.

Tamanu nut oil is truly remarkable.
 
 
Additional Cold Pressed Oils We Stock Are:
Aloe Vera Oil
Almond Oil (Sweet)
Apricot Kernel Oil
Avocado Oil
Borage Seed Oil
Camellia Oil
Castor Oil
Coconut Oil
Evening Primrose Oil
Grape Seed Oil
Hemp Oil
Jojoba Oil
Macadamia Oil
Neem Oil
Passionflower Oil
Pumpkin Seed Oil
Rosehip Seed Oil
Rice Bran Oil
Sunflower Seed Oil
Sesame Seed Oil
Turkey Red Oil
Walnut Oil
Wheatgerm Oil

We also have a huge range of herbally infused oils.

This is an extremely effective method to open stuffy and thickened passages in the head.

Once the water cools, the menthol will crystalize again – the water may be poured off and the process repeated using the same cup and the same menthol.

NOTE: Menthol crystals are extracted from the pure essential oil of peppermint and are available in our store.

• Menthol flakes may be ground finely and added to toothpowder for a refreshing breath freshening effect – approximately ¼ teaspoon menthol to 1 tablespoon of toothpowder.
• Menthol flakes are extremely cooling, penetrating and effective as an anti-inflammatory in ointments and salves for pain relief. (Recipes in this issue)

Very gently simmer the dried herbs in the water for 20 minutes with the lid on the pot. Then strain and place liquid back into the saucepan. Add Cider Vinegar and half the sugar, simmer, stirring frequently – adding more sugar if required until a syrup is formed and taste is acceptable.
 
 
This may be as thick or runny as you prefer – simply add more sugar till the mixture is acceptable, taste wise.

Pour into sterilised bottles and store in the fridge. This mixture will keep at least a year. Take as required for coughing, congestion, bronchitis and asthma.

Very safe for all ages, including small children.

Oatmeal’s ability to relieve dry, itching skin was first documented during the 1930’s. The recognised clinical benefits of finely ground oats are due to their remarkable chemical composition and the fortunate coincidence that compounds essential for the natural development of oats may have beneficial effects on humans.

Oats have the highest protein and lipid content of any cereal grain, as well as a high fatty acid content and provides soothing, non-irritating cleansing for inflamed skin conditions. It is a highly effective antioxidant, performing as a skin protectant in skincare for infants, sun exposed skin and those with sensitive, itchy, reddened and dry skin.

- Colloidal oatmeal contains 10% to 18% protein, 60% to 64% polysaccharides as well as lipids, enzymes, saponins, vitamins, flavonoids and prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors.

- Oatmeal can help restore skin PH, assisting in the maintenance of a healthy skin barrier.

- The moisturising properties of colloidal oatmeal are created by a hydrophilic film that forms at the skin surface, consisting of humectant and water-binding constituents and lipids.

- Colloidal oatmeal provides gentle cleansing without loss of the skins moisture content. It helps prevent skin dryness, scaling, roughness, flaking and itching after only one day of use.

- Oats soothe, calm and regenerate all skin types and conditions.

- Oats are rich in antioxidants, vitamins (B6, Folic Acid, E), minerals (iron, manganese, silica, zinc), anti-inflammatory phyto-nutrients, the plant growth hormone auxine and the immune-protective beta-glucan.

- So how does this work? The anti-inflammatory phyto-nutrients (known as avenacosides) reduce inflammation and have strong anti-fungal properties. Silica strengthens the body’s flexible structures (skin, hair, nails, vessel walls, tendons), hasten their repair and reduces their waste and toxin load. Auxine promotes new healthy cell production. Beta-glucan helps the immune system fight infection, cancer and the side effects of chemotherapy or radiation exposure. Oats directly benefit the skin, nourish the whole body when eaten and improve the digestive, immune and nervous systems.

- There are no contra-indications to the use of oats.

So how to use colloidal oatmeal?

• May be used mixed with water, your favourite hydrosol, honey or French clay to make a gentle exfoliants or a mask that soothes, heals and repairs the skin.
• May be added to baths either alone or mixed with bath milk ingredients like goats milk powder for a soothing skin softening anti-itch bath. (When added to bath water, colloidal oatmeal forms a viscous hydrocolloid gel on the skin surface.)
• We carry both colloidal oatmeal and oatmeal infused apricot oil.
• Oatmeal infused apricot oil is superb when added to creams, lotions, salves, hair care products, nail, hand and foot products. This oil makes for a proven skin softening anti-itch massage oil that is safe for babies, the elderly and anyone who is in need of oats soothing, calming, anti-inflammatory benefits or its regenerating highly moisturising properties.

Colloidal Oatmeal and Colloidal Oatmeal oil available in store.

OATS AS FOOD
It is highly recommended to eat oatmeal regularly, either as the traditional porridge, in breads and muffins, muesli bars and any other form of cooking desired. Oats eaten often will reduce cholesterol and improve all functions of the body.

Oats are very filling, have a low GI, which means they provide sustained energy over a long period, are high in nutrients, containing eight vitamins, several minerals, unrefined carbohydrates, thiamine and iron. They have a slightly higher kilojoule content than other unprocessed grains. The oils present in oats are mostly polyunsaturated and monounsaturated, a further advantage for those wishing to keep cholesterol levels in check.

Oat bran provides a more concentrated supply of fibre and therefore has a greater effect in reducing cholesterol levels than do rolled oats, although these have been shown to have a significant impact, it slows down the rate of digestion and therefore it takes longer to feel hungry again. High-fibre foods tend to require more energy in their digestion, so increasing the rate at which kilojoules are burned up.

One study has shown children who had oats for breakfast had better spatial memory, short-term memory and listening attention than those who ate ready-to-eat cereal or no breakfast at all.

Oats are also anti-inflammatory and good for digestive problems as they form a gel-like substance in the gut which encourages beneficial bacteria.

Oats are also one of the most economical foods!

• 95mls Vodka (38 – 40% proof)
• 12 Drops myrrh tincture
• 3 Teaspoons peppermint – dried
• 12 Drops peppermint essential oil

Place dried peppermint in vodka and leave to infuse for at least 3 weeks. Strain dried leaves from vodka. Place peppermint infused vodka into 100ml amber glass bottle, add peppermint essential oil and myrrh tincture and shake thoroughly before use. Works well with a dropper in the bottle. This mouthwash is excellent for mouth ulcers, soft, spongy and bleeding gums and to freshen breath. Use daily

• 20ml Organic cold pressed castor oil
• 1 Teaspoon shea nut butter
• 1 Teaspoon coconut oil (solid type)
• 10ml Organic rosehip seed oil
• 10ml Oat infused oil
• 8 Drops geranium pure essential oil

Melt shea nut butter and coconut oil in a cup placed in hot water. Once melted remove from hot water and cool well. Slowly add to the other oils, stirring briskly to prevent clumping. Add essential oil, place in a pump bottle and shake well.

Makes a rich silky anti-wrinkle oil blend that is very effective at removing makeup, eye shadow and mascara, whilst enriching delicate eye tissue in this sensitive area.

• 200mls Vodka (38 – 40% proof)
• 2 Tablespoons juniper berries

(Infuse these two together for at least 3 weeks or more if possible. Strain the juniper berries from the alcohol.)

Place the alcohol extract into a large bottle or jar. To this add 100ml witch hazel extract, 40 drops cedarwood essential oil, 10 drops juniper essential oil, 12 drops sweet orange essential oil. Shake vigorously and bottle into a spray bottle or suitable aftershave container.

This recipe makes enough for 3 x 100ml bottles of aftershave. It has antiseptic and astringent properties plus a deep woody and masculine fragrance without any nasty chemicals for the man in your life.