Lavender Pomatum
Inspired by a post from Two Nerdy History Girls on big 18th century hair and the book 18th Century Hair & Wig Styling by Kendra Van Cleave I decided to make my own pomatum and fashion a period hairstyle for an event.
The recipe calls for 2 ½ pounds of Hogs-lard, 10 pounds of flowers and ¼ pound of Virgins Wax. Firstly, that is a staggering amount of lavender. I got a fraction of the requested amount. Better then to use ratios instead. 1 part lard to 4 parts lavender and 1/10 of a part Virgins wax. Secondly, since I did not know what virgins wax is, I used ordinary beeswax. Internet sources say Virgins wax is either produced by the first Swarm put into a new Hive or is bleached by exposure to the elements. Thirdly, maybe the lid to my Bain Marie was not tightly sealed enough or maybe the mixture was not strained properly, but I had to use a larger portion of fat than described above.
Knead one fifth of the picked Lavender flowers with the Hogs-lard into a uniform paste. Place in a sealed container over a Bain Marie for six hours. Strain trough a coarse linen cloth, ad pressure so that as much of the fat escapes as possible. Discard the flowers and replace them with fresh ones, half of what is left, while the lard is still in liquid form. Repeat the process with the remainder of the flowers. Let it set in a cool place. Pour off any reddish brown liquid and wash the fat in several waters, stirring it with a wooden spoon, until the water is colourless. To remove any remaining water, put the pomatum once more in a sealed container over a Bain Marie for an hour and leave to congeal. Repeat if necessary. Do this one last time when adding the wax. Store in an airtight jar. Lavender flowers can be substituted with orange blossoms, jasmine or any other fragrant flowers.
Source: Buchoz 1772, p. 165