Lemon balm is often loved by herbalists for its antiviral action. It is often utilised for cold sores, shingles, & chicken pox. Topical use of lemon balm on herpes cold sores has an improved healing time, and Pizzorno et al. (2016) state it can also reduce the recurrence of cold sores! The lemony scent also is really good for insect bites and repelling insects. 🍃So I have created the simplest balm recipe to share how to make your own balm! ;) 🍃Harvest some fresh Lemon Balm (or use dried!) cut into small pieces and cover with an oil of your choice (I used cold pressed nz sunflower oil @thegoodoilnz , because sunflower oil absorbs easily into the skin and it’s easily found in your local supermarkets!). Put the bowl of oil and herb matter onto a low heat double boiler situation for 1-4hours. The Lower the heat and for longer the better! You will see a colour change in the oil and the herb matter will look like it has nothing else to give and that’s when you know it’s done ! Stain through a cheese cloth. 🍃Now adding the oil to “hard stuff” (by this I mean ingredients that are solid at room temperature like wax and/or shea butter! I used bees wax but a vegan alternative is ok! And you can just use a wax but I really enjoy the shea butter to make the balm more creamy). The ratio for balms is 1:4 oil to hard stuff. I used 1 cup of my infused lemon balm oil . So I add 1/8th cup of bees wax AND 1/8th cup shea butter to = 1/4cup of “hard stuff” 🍃Tips: You can play around here! You can use a kitchen scale and use your 1:4 ratio by weight if you want exact measurements. If you like a harder balm do a 1:3 ratio and add more hard stuff. 🍃Add everything into a warm water bath to melt the beeswax and shea butter. When everything is clearly melted through pour into your containers ! Leave to fully set before moving and there you have it! A simple clean natural homemade ointment for cold sores, bug bites, and repellent treatment ! 🍃Try some our dried Lemon balm , home grown organically, processed by hand, and exclusively available on our website www.kimihanaarts.com #lemonbalm #herbalmedicine #herbalism #coldsores #herpes #insectrepellent #nzsmallbusiness #nzlife #herbalmedicine #naturalremedy #witchtok - @kimihana.arts