Put the dried arnica flowers into a jar and cover with the jojoba oil.
Cover the jar and let it sit to infuse for several weeks.
Yarrow Flower Infusion
Combine the yarrow flowers and boiling distilled water.
Let steep for 20 minutes covered, then strain with a fine mesh sieve.
Arnica and Yarrow Skin Cream
Measure out 1/4 cup of the yarrow tea and add the aloe vera gel.
Place the arnica infused oil, mango butter, and beeswax in a double boiler over low heat (or a glass bowl over a saucepan of simmering water) until beeswax and mango butter have melted.
Stir to blend.
Remove from heat and transfer to a blender or a bowl (if using an immersion blender) to cool.
Once oil mixture has cooled to room temperature and looks creamy and semi-solid, add vitamin E oil.
Turning blender on low-medium setting or using an immersion blender in a bowl, slowly add yarrow infusion mixture to the oil mixture while blending. The mixture will begin to emulsify and become creamy. Avoid over-mixing. Cream will set up a bit more as it cools.
Stir in the preservative if using.
Pour the cream into sterilized glass jars, label, and store in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks (if using a preservative, shelf life will be longer).
Notes
Note that 1/4 cup is the amount of finished herbal oil to include in the recipe - you may need to start with more oil when making the herb-infused oil, as the herbs will soak up some of the oil.
If you forget to do this, just top off with some plain oil as needed for this recipe.
If using a natural preservative that needs to be added to the water phase, add it to the yarrow tea/aloe mixture and stir well: otherwise wait until after cream has emulsified to add the preservative.