This particular massage oil is a type of oil infusion.  It is made by steeping plant matter in oils for several days or weeks in an attempt to extract the properties of the plants.  This is a great excuse for planting more herbs and healing flowers in your home garden.

In a pint jar add two handfuls of freshly picked rose petals.  Rose petals tend to take up a lot of space because of their shape.  If you have to, press the petals down firmly with a wooden spoon.  Don’t worry about crushing the petals in the process – this will actually help release some of the skin loving oils into your massage base oil.

Next, add a teaspoon of lavender buds, a teaspoon of calendula petals and a teaspoon of comfrey leaves.  Double check that you are using real calendula and not plain garden marigold.  While calendula is sometimes also known as pot marigold, they are two different plants with different properties.  Plain marigold, usually bordering gardens to deter rabbits, is also known as Tagetes.

The comfrey is an important ingredient for a massage oil.  Comfrey is known to help with pains and aches as well as bruises.

Now that all of these ingredients are in your pint jar, add 1/2 cup jojoba oil then top off the rest of the way with your oil of choice.  Some great oils for massage are sweet almond and grapeseed but its also perfectly acceptable to use oils found in your kitchen cabinet such as olive or canola – perhaps even a blend of the two.

Put the lid on the jar and give it a good shake.  Place the jar in a warm place, possibly beside the kitchen stove.  Every morning, shake the jar well.  Do this for the next two weeks.  After that, strain the oil through a fine mesh sieve and discard the plant matter.  You may have to strain a few times to remove all the plant particles.  At this time, you can use your new herbal massage oil as is or even add a few drops of your favorite essential oil.  Lavender is a good option for this particular blend of herbs and flowers.

Note – the reason why we use jojoba oil in this recipe is that it helps to prevent the other oils from going rancid.  Without the jojoba, the jar of oils which were kept in a warm place for weeks will have an off smell after a while, a sure sign of rancidity.  Jojoba helps with this.  Additionally, you can add the contents of four or five vitamin E capsules.  Final step, trade massages with your sweetie and try out your new herbal massage oil.