My summers are spent conjuring up ways to stay cool. Middle age has caused a heatwave in me that needs as much chilling as possible. I have a few standby tried and true remedies I use including cucumber water, violet tisane, mugi cha (Japanese roasted barley tea) and an evening bath followed by a delicate dusting of body powder.

Most commercial powders are made with talc, a mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate, a known carcinogen. There are other materials which are far less toxic and also have great absorptive properties. Corn starch is often used but bacteria can grow easily in corn so the less noxious alternative is arrowroot powder, a starch obtained from the rhizomes of several tropical plants.

Another alternative base for dusting powder is clay. Kaolin is often used but I use bentonite (simply because it's what I have on hand). Clay is absorptive so it's perfect for homemade powders.

My Herbal Body Powder

Scenting the powder is a matter of choice. You can simply add essential oils to your powder base and mix them up, either in a blender or carefully spraying the oils over the powder and shaking it up. I prefer to use powdered herbs to scent mine. I started with powdered orris root and was using an equal amount of that and arrowroot. Powdered roses and sandalwood are also big favorites of mine. Some other choices are chamomile, calendula, orange flowers, lavender or just about anything you can manage to grind up. I buy some things already ground (roses, orris root, sandalwood) and other things I grind myself in a coffee grinder I use specifically for herbs.

Swan's down is the traditional material used for making powder puffs. I'm opposed to animal cruelty and I'm not sure what the effect is for the swan. Another alternative is lambswool. Far less expensive than down and quite a bit larger, you get quite a whomp of powder from one of these beauties. Otherwise it's synthetic polyester, not even an option in my book. There are also vintage down puffs available on Etsy and Ebay, some are quite beautiful.

We have a bit of summer left before the cool autumn blows in. Pamper your heatstricken self with a little fragrant dusting.