Our Magical Ingredients

“Magic is just science we haven’t studied enough to understand, and science is just magic we’ve figured out.” -The Enchanting Bee

In creating our magical balms, we’ve attempted to combine traditional ethnobotanical and magical uses of herbs with available modern science. Below are the ingredients we use, and some of the reported benefits those ingredients have in different applications. This is intended as a jumping-off place for research of your own; published studies and research are linked with claims so you can investigate it yourself, if you’d like. We are bees who like to research information, but we are not medical professionals or medical researchers, and all health claims should be investigated and discussed with your health care professionals. This is especially true for the active herbs, as bioactivity can also cause side effects and allergic reactions. Nature has a way of working toward balance; she’s never just good or just bad, but generally both in equal measure.

Magical Healing Oil Base

Everything we make starts with our magical healing oil base. It’s made by infusing organic oils with magical plants. Studies have found that plant oils can be anti-inflammatory and wound healing, and can help fight oxidation, skin aging, and skin cancer.

Sweet Almond Oil: Sweet Almond oil has anti-inflammatory properties, and high levels of Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Zinc, and Omega-3’s. One study found the application of sweet almond oil helps heal dermatitis, and another found it be particularly helpful for healing the itchiness associated with eczema.

Cherry Kernel Oil: Cherry Kernel Oil is rich in oleic and linoleic acids and Vitamins A and E. These make it excellent for moisturizing dry skin, relieving itchiness, and reducing inflammation.

Coconut Oil: Coconut oil has a wonderful smell, and texturally it’s luscious. It is solid at room temp, but melts as it meets the body, helping the balm slide into skin. Scientifically, coconut oil contains Lauric Acid, which has anti-microbial properties and has been shown to kill bacteria and fungi. It is also an emollient, helping the skin retain moisture and assisting the epidermal barrier’s functioning.

Yarrow: Yarrow is a native PNW perennial that has been used by humans around the world for millennia. It has a long history of ethnobotany. It was found at Neanderthal burial sites from 60,000 BC, and shows up in Greek mythology, where it was given to Achilles by the centaur for use on the battlefield due to its ability to slow bleeding and stave off infection; hence the Latin name, achillea millefoilum. Recent scientific studies have found that it did indeed speed wound healing, and had anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties. It is a plant whose magic has been verified by science.

Calendula: The bright oranges and yellows of our calendula plants are not only cheery, but exceptionally good for the skin. This is what gives our healing oil it’s orangey-yellow color.

Plantain: Plantago Major (and Plantago lanceolata) is a weed (not the banana cousin!) that has traditionally been used for bee stings, wound healing, and inflammation. Its biologically active compounds include polysaccharides, lipids, caffeic acid derivatives, flavonoids, iridoid glycosides and terpenoids. Other biological activities that may come from its plant extracts including analgesic, antioxidant, weak antibiotic, immuno modulating and antiulcerogenic activity.

Purple dead nettle: Lamium purpureum (unrelated to the more famous stinging nettle) is part of the genus Lamiaceae, and has long been used for healing salves in folk medicine. One reason for this might be its antioxidant activity, possibly due to its high levels of butanolic extract. Lamium have also been studied for their antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-nociceptive activity, and pain therapy and cytotoxicity and cytoprotective activity.

Self Heal: Prunella vulgaris is also known as “all-heal” due its multitude of traditional healing uses, particularly in Asia, where studies have isolated over 200 active compounds in it. It is another highly antioxidant and anti-inflammatory herb that may have usage in fighting the effects of skin aging. One study found it to have an immune-modulating benefit, and another study found it inhibited a cortisone-mediated decrease in collagen content in skin that suggests beneficial effects in maintaining skin integrity. It’s also been found to reduce skin lesions in guinea pigs with the herpes virus. We harvest at the full-flowering stage, as a study has determined it to have the highest concentrations of bioactive compounds during that stage.