Essential Oils & Herbs – Eirene Archolekas

Essential Oils, Herbs, & Natural Beauty Workshops

Greece has had a long tradition of herbal medicine and herbal infusions. For hundreds of years villagers have cured ailments, alleviated symptoms, and elongated their lives by unlocking the healing, vivifying nature of herbs and plants. During your retreat, you will learn about the rich herbal tradition of Greece through our daily nature walks through the countryside. You will collect and create your own herbal infusions and teas based on locally-grown, naturally wild, hand-foraged plants and herbs. Using traditional recipes, you will learn about the properties of some of the most important herbs of the area and use them to create herbal teas, tinctures, and natural cosmetics–all made from natural ingredients– extra virgin olive oil, goat’s milk (even donkey milk), sea salt, figs, lemons, cucumbers, pomegranates, wild-flower honey.

With the knowledge of herbs and essential oils, you will expand your knowledge to create natural beauty products. You will learn to create your own bath bombs, foot fizzies, lemon-honey moisturizing cream, pomegranate sugar scrubs, and Aegean sea salt daily cleanser. These make perfect gifts to bring home to loved ones. Relax tired muscles in a bath infused with organic wild-foraged herbs from the countryside.

Some of our past soap and natural cosmetic creations include:

chamomile — **Chamomile hair & skin tonic**: a gentle hair lightener and astringent toner for after-sun care spray

**Helichrysum cream**: the powerful energy of the summer solstice is captured in this unique flower, the immortale blossom or helichrysum, making it the cure-all of any skin problem, for a natural skin cream that eliminates wrinkles

**Lemon spritzer**: Lemon goes not just on fish and salad but in our face wash that we make on the spot under the olive trees in our hands-on workshops

pomegranate suga — Pomegranate Sugar Scrub: made with all natural ingredients and the super oxidant fighting power of pomegranate, the fruit of the goddess Persephone, you will take home an elixir for your skin that will make it immortal!

**Turqoise Wave Bath Bomb includes a soul-lifting blend of bergamot/sweet orange/lime/ lemongrass/tangerine oils that rebirths you into a goddess of the sea.**

**Aegean Salt Soap: using the salt and sand we pick up from the beach nearby, we create a salt bar full of the soothing minerals found in the Mediterranean sea**

You will use the herbs and sand you forage from the Cyclades to make your own natural beauty products. What a better way to bring back the summer? These make perfect souvenir gifts to take back to family and friends as keepsakes of your stay in the sun-soaked Mediterranean.

Essential Oils/Herbs of Hellas Workshop

Natural Beauty Products Workshop

Objectives: to learn about the most common herbs of Greece, their history, medicinal properties and uses; to formulate your own herbal tea infusion

Cost: $50 (in person or $40 on Zoom)

Duration: 1 1/2 hours

When: May through August in the Cyclades, Greece

September through April in Astoria, NYC

all year round via Zoom

Workshop includes:

-all herbs/essential oils including containers, bottles, vials, distilled water, beakers, pipettes

-sanitized workshop space

-customized handouts, recipe cards, brochures

-services and facilitation of a native herbal enthusiast, professor and teacher

Objectives: using knowledge of the medicinal and health properties of the most common herbs of Greece, formulate one natural beauty product

Cost: $60 (in person or $50 on Zoom you provide your own indregients)

Duration: 2 hours

When: May through August in the Cyclades, Greece

September through April in Astoria, LIC

(all year round via Zoom)

Workshop includes:

-all ingredients for the making of ONE product of your choice (bath bomb/foot fizzy, lemon face wash, pomegranate sugar scrub, chamomile hair tonic, helichrysum moisturizing cream)

-all containers including receptacles for combining, utensils, bottles, glass jars and burners

-sanitized workshop area

-educational materials including handouts, recipe cards

-demonstration and facilitation by a licensed teacher, herbal enthusiast