An Update to Our Baby Balm

I was 19 years old when I made my first jar of diaper cream. I wasn't a mother, was not even a wife yet, but I had found a recipe online and wanted to bless one of my friends who was expecting her second baby. That basic recipe was only "okay" to me, so I changed it to include herbs in the formula. Having studied herbalism and finding how beneficial these botanicals are to the skin, I wanted to include safe, healing herbs to the balm. Originally I infused the herbs into coconut oil over a low heat, then strained off the oil and blended in the rest of the balm ingredients. The addition of arrowroot powder came a few batches later, an idea I had when someone asked if I would make a diaper powder. Eventually, I decided I didn't like infusing the herbs over a low heat, so I switched to a slow infusion using olive oil. This was the formula I gave as gifts and sold to my friends for several years. Everyone who used it loved it, and I couldn't wait to use it on my own children one day.

Just a couple of first-time parents, bleary-eyed but joyful!

Finally, when my first baby was born, I found I didn't need to use the balm every change, but man, was it effective when needed! My first two children rarely had diaper rash, and usually only after starting solids and eating something acidic, like tomatoes or strawberries. Well, my third child has much more sensitive skin. He's had eczema since he was 8 months old and breaks out if I switch diapers or wipes. Thankfully, the baby bum cream clears up any active rashes and keeps his bottom very smooth. However, I certainly had more opportunity to use it with him than with my other children, and I began to feel like I needed to make some changes.

To begin, I opted to switch up jojoba oil for the olive oil in the herbal infusion. While I love olive oil as a carrier in many herbal salves, I absolutely believe jojoba oil is the best oil for use on the skin, especially sensitive skin! I also wanted to include calendula in the original herbal blend (lavender, rosemary, rose, and yarrow) because it has such a repertoire for healing sensitive skin. I also wanted to be able to make my infusions quicker. When infusing herbs over low heat, such as on a stove top or in a crockpot, one must be very careful not to get the oil too hot or burn the herbs. When using the slow infusion method, one must wait up to 6 weeks for the benefits of the herbs to be infused into the oil. I wanted something in between.

"Is there a reason I couldn't put my oil infusions in the sun?" I asked my mom one morning over the phone. "Of course not," she replied, "and the sun gives the infusion its energy, too!"

Now of course, we are not woo-woo about "energetic healing" like so many in the world of herbalism. We believe that God created the sun, moon, and stars to glorify Himself, and He gave us a world full of herbs and flowers for our health and beauty and enjoyment. But I think it just makes sense intuitively to believe that filling a jar with dried organic herbs, topping the jar off with a golden, organic oil, putting the lid on tight so no moisture or buggies can get into it, and setting it on a shelf in your garden for days to soak in the glorious sunshine, something about that just feels a little bit like magic. It took less than a week, and oh my goodness, the herbal oil smells DIVINE! I swear the sun added something special.

My husband built me a little shelf in our garden for my herbal infusions!

So I began to reformulate with this incredible sunshine soaked herbal-infusion as the base. The rest of the formula is the same, with a decrease in the amount of beeswax I use. The previous balm tended to be quite thick and when whipping in the arrowroot powder, had a tendency to separate and create little beads of balm that wouldn't quite mix with the powder. Not that this was bad, but it bothered me. Maybe it bothered you too, or maybe not. Either way, this new formula does not do that! It blends perfectly together, making a beautiful, smooth balm with a lovely fresh, floral scent and a soft, powdery finish. I think it's really great (and my husband approves too, after using it on our littlest after a diaper change!) I truly hope that you will give this diaper balm a try, and that it blesses you and your family! It makes a great baby shower gift, as well!

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