Bulbine Skin Milk

As lockdown drags on, I have been finding it harder and harder to keep my mind active and regain some semblance of normalcy. Experts have warned of the unforeseen mental health impacts the pandemic will have worldwide. Selfishly, from the moment I started to realise we would be isolating for an extended period of time, I was concerned about maintaining my mental health. Going through a PhD I have been prone to “self-isolating periods” due to the process of doing research, dramatic dips in mental health usually accompanied these periods. My normal coping mechanisms were not an option during this time. I had surprised myself with my resilient, positive-adjacent mood for the past 2 months, but the last two weeks have been trying.

Over the weekend, I remembered my resolve at the end of February to try and look after myself and keep an eye on the signs of the wolf at the door. I had seen the signs, but I could not find my way around the wolf and could not seem to find a way to break my melancholy. I decided to focus on pampering my outside. An approach of “fake it till you make it”, mixed with “treat yo self”. Under normal circumstances this is not a constructive approach and has gotten me into even deeper trouble before, but I argued maybe it would soak past my skin into my brain somehow. So, I decided to try and recreate a recipe I had made as a child for a luxurious skin milk, made from indigenous plants. Maybe the combination of the mindfulness that is forced during the slow production of this concoction, together with some form of aroma therapy mimicking indigenous veld, would fool my brain

into another time and place with more freedom.

I am passionate about indigenous essential oils and their health benefits, and amazing scents. I am not referring to the claimed “spiritualist” health benefits of essential oils (you will encounter pseudo-scientific terms such as energising or ion-balancing on some essential oil websites). I am talking about health benefits that have been proven in clinical, scientific studies. I have deliberately not gone into detail of each essential oil’s clinical proven health benefits in this post, as I would like to save that for a future post. There is a myriad of pier reviewed articles on google scholar and research gate that are open access, and you are welcome to go read more about the oils if you are interested. I suggest sticking to pier reviewed studies and not websites that at the heart of them are trying to sell products, or at worst get you to sell them. Unfortunately, there is more than one pyramid scheme that has been developed around the sale of essential oils, and the oils have even been pedalled as a cure for cancer. NO.

My love for essential oils started with scent. Essential oils are the essence of the plant, and I have made room diffusers and perfumes with these oils that can contend with some of the most expensive perfumes (or at least have saved me from buying them). This was a good starting point for me. My interaction with essential oils was primarily guided by my subjective taste (in how it made me feel (my skin for example), or whether I enjoyed the scent). I later paired this subjective love affair with reading scientific literature to try and understand the seeming potent power these oils had. I have various essential oils (some favourites are rose and bergamot), but what is most special are the indigenous oils derived from endemic plants.

I have collected some special indigenous essential oils over the years that I keep in a special box. Just opening my box with essential oils can lift my spirit with the scents alone. These oils I often use in isolation, and I have used them to alleviate the symptoms of Eczema in my husband and acne in myself. For both of us, Rose-geranium and Kooigoed Essential oils have done wonders. Both have anti-microbial properties which helps us both, and both are anti-inflammatory, again, helps us both. These oils are potent and go a long way. A few drops are more than enough.

Together with indigenous essential oils, I have always used the gel from succulents in the Aloe family as a base to carry oils. Even as a young girl I would mix my own concoctions for my family and I was convinced they worked better than store bought. The process of making these potions, as you can imagine, was messy and experimental at best. This was the age before the internet and there were no handy you tube videos to guide the process. It was trial and error. My mom had great patience with my experiments, even though I used all her baking equipment to extract and purify Aloe snot essentially. She even allowed me to give her facials with my concoctions. But her skin still looks amazing so who deserves the thanks really hu? (No really, moms are angels with nerves of steel).

Back to present day, I planted a few Bulbine frutescens plants in my garden about 6 months ago. In those six months they have multiplied into a lush row of plants along a very shady wall in our garden. Bulbine frustescens is a commonly sold plant you can find in the indigenous sections of most nurseries. These plants are hardy, drought tolerant and produce gorgeous flowers that attract heaps of bees. So, they are a welcome addition to the most shady bits of my garden, where other plants just won’t even grow (although they prefer full sun).

(Illustrations by Hello Ruby Lou Illustrations https://www.hellorubylou.co.za/)

This plant is endemic to South Africa and is widespread throughout the Greater Cape Floristic Region and the Thicket Biome in the Eastern Cape. It has been used by the indigenous people all over its wide distribution in the treatments of many skin ailments such as wound, burns, insect bites and general skin care. Today it is farmed commercially, and the extract from the plants is used in cosmetic products and even for the clinical treatment of scars and wounds. Check out this cool patent for wound and scar treatment, that consists of a strip that is saturated with Bulbine extract daily (dope): https://patents.google.com/patent/US6159494A/en

Bulbine extract is proven to significantly increase the rate of wound closure and is proven to have anti-microbial properties. Increased wound healing seems to occur through the support of structural formation of skin fibres: “ the leaf extracts increase tensile strength by increasing fibroplasia, differentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts, and increased collagen deposition and maturation.” (Panther & Kramer, 2012).

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378874112006423

So unlike so many face creams out there that claim to deposit collagen into your skin (physically impossible) with pseudo-scientific marketing language, Bulbine extract really shows promise to really support the skin. Not only to heal quicker, but to maintain important skin structures and elements that are associated with healthy skin.

Apart from the clinical evidence, in my experience Bulbine is filled with water. I find it extremely hydrating, and subjectively my skin feels less tight and moisturised when I apply Bulbine just as is, to my skin.

The process of harvesting the gel is extremely cathartic. The plant consists of branches laden with thin, gel filled leaves. When you harvest these leaves, they immediately start producing a yellow liquid (common to all Aloes) which is a super potent medicine. This yellow liquid is actually the extract which is harvested from the indigenous Aloes: Aloe ferox and Aloe arborescens. This extract has become a common ingredient in many cosmetic products.

The centre of the leave however, the gelatinous, clear substance in the middle is what I am after. You can slowly break up the structure of the gel inside the leaf by carefully rotating the leaf horizontally, while holding the leaf upright. You move from he base to the tip of the leaf, dislodging the gel as you go. When you reach the top, you can ring out the gel from the leaf like squeezing tooth paste from a tube. I have posted a video to the facebook page if you are wondering how to do it.

https://facebook.com/EndemicCapeBlog/

This gel makes for the perfect thing for oils to be suspended in: emulsified in. I add any oils to this mixture, depending on the desired effect or scent I am looking for.

I harvested about 12 branches of Bulbine from my garden and went through the methodical process of extracting the gel. You end up with a gloopy gel.

After I had produced about a cup of gel I added Rose-geranium and Kooigoed oil. I added some Vitamen E oil that further helps with scarring, and a tiny bit of Aquas cream (the most neutral cream I had in the house) to help all the ingredients emulsify. I added some melted bees wax that is also super nourishing to dry winter skin and when it solidifies it also helps to thicken the mixture to make a beautifully textured, indulgent lotion. More creamy than gloopy.

I am truly delighted with the result. It has a beautiful silken finish, leaving a saturated moist feeling, not a greasy one. It absorbs well into my skin. For my husband who has very dry skin we had to slather him with the lotion on day one to get rid of his alligator-ness and after that he only had to apply a little each day. Every time I apply it, I get a whiff of pleasurable rose notes during the course of my day, from the Geranium oil. The Kooigoed oil gives the mixture an unmistakable “African veld” scent. To me it smells like Fynbos, to my husband it smells like his childhood in Thicket veld. Although the process of crafting this skin milk may seem tedious, I found it meditative. Additionally, the results have gone some way to fooling my brain into thinking, even for a second, that I am in the veld. Scent is a powerful sense, and evoking it was an unintended consequence that perhaps contributed most significantly to lifting my mood.

We still have a long road ahead of us in the world wide fight against the Pandemic. I am grabbing on to the idea that the things I do, that I have control over, can help me feel better. Even if only for a split second, keeping the wolf at the door at bay starts with small steps in my experience. If like me, you have been struggling the past few weeks, I would encourage you to try out this recipe, or anything methodical that takes your mind away. You can find most ingredients I mentioned on Faithful to nature, and you can find Bulbine at most nurseries (which should be open from Monday). Added bonus of planting Bulbine are manifold and even if it only remains an ornamental plant in your garden, you can pat yourself on the back for providing your local bees with some extra resources.

Ingredients:

1 cup Bulbine gel

3 table spoons aquas cream

1/2 teaspoon Geranium oil

1/2 teaspoon Kooigoed oil

2 teaspoons of melted beez wax

2 table spoons of Vitamen E oil

2 table spoons of Almond Oil/Jojoba Oil/Kalahari Melon Oil (any carrier oil you enjoy)

Method:

Squeeze the Bulbine gel from as many leaves as you need. Add all the oils and emulsify by mixing vigorously. Add all the ingredients to the container you will use and mix vigorously. The liquid will oxidise with time and become either a slight green, or in some cases purple. This is normal. In my experience no preservatives or any chemicals are needed, and the mixture is naturally anti-microbial. I apply the skin milk following a shower.