By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
The Needham Free Public Library (NFPL) hosted a body balm event to teach attendees to make their very own all natural body balms.
This free event was sponsored by the Library Foundation of Needham (LFN) and hosted Kulina Folk Art Founder Gariné Arakelian to teach the class. As attendees filed in, they could find a double-walled plastic container, a popsicle stick, essential oils and a recipe card at their seat.
Before everyone created their own body balm, Arakelian gave a brief explanation of the ingredients they would be using as well as a detailed demonstration on how to create the balm.
She explained that since she is a potter, she found her hands becoming very dry and irritated. With other balms not working for her, she decided she wanted to make her own. After conducting research for over six months, mainly from her local library, she created some recipes that ended up working wonders for her.
For this specific recipe, they would use a tablespoon of beeswax, a tablespoon of coconut oil, a tablespoon of shea butter, one and half teaspoons of olive oil, five teaspoons of cornstarch and 15- 20 drops of essential oils. Arakelian indicated that these measurements were not an exact science and things could be adjusted. She suggests testing different things themselves to see exactly what they each like.
To make the class go a bit quicker, Arakelian melted the beeswax, coconut oil and shea butter ahead of time for attendees to use. They would add this melted mixture to their cornstarch and olive oil combination that they had mixed together in the jar. Once that was all combined, it was time for attendees to pick the essential oil they wanted to include. Arakelian had brought lemon, whole wood, lavender and geranium essential oils and encouraged participants to even use two or three of them if they wanted to.
After stirring that all together, they just had to let it set and their body balm was complete. If attendees were not going to use it right away, Arakelian suggested they keep it in the fridge to prolong its shelf life. She explained that as long as water is not added to the jar and they use it without sticking fingers into the container, it would last a very long time with no mildew.
Attendees were able to leave this event with their very own body balms and the recipe to continue to make it at home. For more information about upcoming events like these happening at the NFPL, please visit their website at www.needhamlibrary.org.
