Runner's companion: After sports massage oil (guest post)

Hello lovely formulators,

Today's blog post is submitted by our lovely Jilly who is an amazing formulator, a beloved tutor by Formula Botanica and a passionate runner.

She has run the 5K and 10K Disney run in Paris in September this year and has been training hard for the run. Well, as you all now, a runner needs pamper her muscles and her skin with safe and effective products. According to my understanding, although athleisure is a big trend in clothing and accessory, there are not much skin and body care products on the market that specifically target athletes, let alone organic and natural products.

Jilly has been working for months on some specialty products for runners and since she is a great networking talent, she has been able to let her formulations being tested by a broad spectrum of runners around Europe.

In this post, she is sharing a special massage oil she has created and tested for a long time.

I pass the word to Jilly and wish you much fun

Hello everyone,

It’s me again! I’ve got a new and exciting sports themed product I’d like to share.

This past year I have been training for a running challenge: a 5K evening run and only a couple of hours later at the crack of dawn a 10K run. All of this magic took place past September at one of the happiest places on Earth: Disneyland Paris! It was an amazing event and I have made many happy memories (next to lots of sweat and tears)! Not too bad if you know I am not the sportiest type of person.

When you are regular runner and/or preparing for a race, injuries are never far away. Foremost it is essential that you listen to your body, to take enough rest, to stop when necessary and to follow a trustworthy race plan. And when you do all that, this potion can help you to ease aches, stiffness, cramps and even minor strains. In preparation for this crazy/magical/amazing event, I have been running 3 to 4 times a week, on average 25K per week, and this massage oil has proven to be one of my best friends ever since!

Isn’t it awesome when you are into making your own skin care products, you can apply all of this knowledge on other areas of your daily life too?!

So yay, we are going to make an after sports massage oil with the amazing arnica! This is the number 1 first aid ingredient in case of bruises, muscle pain, cramps and sprains. It has analgesic (pain relief), antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Which means that even if you are not into sports, this bottle can be very helpful for lots of different daily life and chronic pains and ailments too.

Please keep in mind that arnica is very potent, and that it is ONLY meant for EXTERNAL use. So please do not apply this on broken skin, open wounds, nor around the area of the eyes/mouth.

About the formula (which will look extremely simple, but do not underestimate the power of the combination of these ingredients !) :

• We are going to combine the very potent arnica CO2 extract with an arnica macerated oil. This is because on themselves they cannot carry all active ingredients. So we are going to be smart and use a CO2 extract and a maceration, this way we are going to grab as much of the active compounds as possible and make a beautiful synergy.

• You can play around with other foundational oils of your choice, accordingly to what you prefer to massage/rub it in with. I am going for a mix of macadamia (‘vanishing”) and camelina oil.

• German chamomile CO2 is mostly known in products to pamper delicate and sensitive skin. Next to all this loveliness, it also has anti-inflammatory, sedative and spasmolytic (gentle muscle relaxant) properties; so it’ll work miraculously well in our muscle aches and pain-relaxing blend.

• St. John’s wort oil, because for its anti-inflammatoiry properties, it will fortify and revitalise both your inner and outer strength.

• For my essential oil blend I have chosen to work with pine, lavender, and ginger.
   

• Pinus sylvestris has a very beautiful airy & woodsy scent, and is most commonly known for its respiratory beneficial benefits. It is also an amazing oil to add in a massage blend for aching muscles and/or pain.

• Zingiber officinale root for its stimulating/warming effect, analgesic, anti-inflammatoiry properties, and joint relief.

• Lavandula angustifolia remains one of my must have EO’s. In this case it is used for its analgesic, calming, muscle relaxant and restorative (makes you feel better) properties.

Instructions for use of product: Massage (or rub gently when too painful) the affected area for a couple of minutes for an intensive energising relief. A little goes a long way.

Formulation:

Easy-peasy procedure:

1/ Our chamomile CO2 extract is paste like; so we need to warm it up a little bit (below 40°C). I prefer to do this in the macadamia oil since this is the most stable oil of the formula. Stir gently, and remove when the blend is completely homogenous.

2/ In another beaker add all of the ingredients of phase B, one by one.

3/ Add beaker A to beaker B, blend gently until completely homogenous.

4/ Pour the finished product into a suitable container. I am using a handy spray bottle. And label.

Just by chance and since I have cracked hands and didn't want to apply the oil with my hands (no arnica on damaged skin), I filled the oil in a roll-on glass and I loved the effect of the glass. It applies a kind of additional massage over muscles. Maybe you like to try it.

Be magical,

And wish you a happy run

Jilly

Disclaimer: SkinChakra is responsible for the content of this blog post. Please send your comments and questions directly to SkinChakra and don't try to contact Jilly in private or via any other online forum/platform. Jilly or one of our team will happily come back to you.