Dr Croft’s Lotions and Potions

Reminded not to take myself too seriously ! A friend sent me this today. Can you guess which friend?

I use this in salad dressings and bolognese sauce but actually capsicum has incredible painkilling properties. So I am going to start using it in my hot muscle rub and roll on. Because it desensitizes nerve endings which is a different effect than most painkillers!

Calendula has such soothing properties and is one of the only infusion I would put on open wounds. This calendula infused olive oil rested in the crock pot on warm over night to draw out the chemicals without burning or creating too much oxidation. Thanks to Christine and Cedar for all the flowers this year as my calendula did not come back from last years self seeding. This oil will be used for salve and my scent free soap.

Wrapping up the natural products internship for the summer with some creative soaping!

This is Chouaib , he is going into his second year of a biomedical degree at University of Ottawa . During the summer he studied the sugars in the nectar of milkweeds and the aroma of the flowers that attracts the monarch butterflies . So if you saw me with scissors in the car park of the Independent it was for a Chouaib research project! 🤪😊😂 The awful smell that drifts profusely off of milkweed, that the monarch butterfly 🦋 loves so much is ocimene! It’s the same molecule, a tiny little terpene molecule, with a huge smell, that makes lilacs smell and attracts lots of pollinators like 🐝’s!

Why are essential oils sold in amber bottles?
This is Yitong she is going into her second year of a biomedical degree at University of Ottawa . This summer as part of our Natural Products Internship, she studied the effects of sunlight on the essential oil of star anise. In particular she recorded the transformation of trans anethole into cis anethole due to uv light. Cis anethole is irrating to the skin and has an unpleasant smell ! It is also 30 times more toxic. Amber bottles prevent uv light penetrating the glassware and degrading the oil.

This is Keanna. She is sharing her research into Ding Quai root and supplements at the Canadian Mass Spectrometry Conference near Kingston Ontario. She is part of our natural products summer internship.

Introducing the Dr Croft’s Harvest Heritage Candle — a slow‑burning beauty with a softly crackling wooden wick, poured to capture the warmth of the season.Each candle is set in a handcrafted Village Potter pot, made exclusively for The Harvest Café in Wi******er.Rustic, thoughtful, and designed to be reused long after the flame fades.
Available only at Harvest Café 🤍
Wi******er