The right hands

When @traisto told me that she had learned how to make beeswax balms, I didn’t really know what to expect. I’m not much into cosmetics, and I’ve never been the kind of person who keeps a row of creams and lotions on the bathroom shelf. So I smiled politely, listened to her describing the process, and thought it sounded nice. But I wasn’t exactly counting the days until I tried it.

But that changed the moment I opened the first jar of her calendula balm.

The scent was the first thing that struck me. It wasn’t overpowering as it has no artificial perfume. Instead, it was gentle, carrying the faint sweetness of drying plants. I applied a little on my skin and instantly understood why people become almost obsessed with this kind of thing. It felt so friendly, so right, so needed.

Watching her prepare a batch, was an experience in itself. Although it didn’t last too long, it felt like a quiet ritual. And an excellent opportunity to take a few photos :)

The beeswax itself has its own story. Golden blocks from a local beekeeper, @traisto’s cousin, and someone we can trust completely to deliver 100% pure beeswax from his latest harvest. The olive oil, organic, extra virgin, harvested by our own four hands, had been infused with calendula in a slow process that takes days, as the flowers release their properties into the oil. A procedure that deserves a post of its own.

We stood in the middle of the workspace as the beeswax slowly melted, turning into liquid gold. The evening sunlight lit the scene brilliantly making the calendula oil glow. When the two were finally combined, along with organic cocoa butter, the air filled with a scent that was both earthy and delicate. I admired her as she stirred patiently, until it melted completely. It was less like making a product and more like preparing a delicacy for someone you love.

The balm cooled quickly once poured into small, round jars. Each one looked simple, but I now understand how much care had gone into it, not just in the making, but in the gathering of ingredients, the patience, the knowledge.

And once it was done, I found myself using it more than I had expected, all over my body. From chapped lips to cracked heels, on my hands after gardening, on dry skin after a couple of hours under the hot sun, on mosquito bites. It’s strange, something I thought I’d never use has now become part of my everyday life.

What surprised me most was not just the balm itself, but the procedure of making it, too. It made me think about how many small things we overlook simply because they don’t shout for attention. And maybe that’s what makes it so special. It’s not trying to be more than it is. It’s just the right ingredients, the right hands, and enough time to let nature do what it does best.

_{The camera that I used is a Canon EOS 850D with an EF-S 18-135mm lens attached. I edited the photographs in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic}

All the pictures and the words are mine.

Thank you for reading and if you want to know more about me you can check out my introduction post.

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