Using Roses
Dry out a rose. Purchase a fresh rose. Cut the stem off until just below the flower (leave 1 inch or 2.5 cm of stem). Place the rose in a dark corner, like in a cupboard, for five to seven days, or until it is dried. The rose should look brown or dark in color, and feel brittle and crunchy.
Remove the rosehip. Remove the rose’s sepals and petals. Once they are removed, look for a brown-colored bulb in the middle attached to the stem. This is the rose hip. Sepals are the green, leaf-like parts of the flower that protect the bud. They are located directly underneath the flower's petals.
Cut the hip in half. Before you cut it in half, put on a pair of rubber gloves to protect your hands. Use a knife or scissors to cut the hip in half. Then cut the halves in half. You should be able to see a cotton-like substance, known as cythilicus, in the middle. This substance is what causes the itching sensation.
Remove the cythilicus. Place a small cup on a table. Hold one of the halves over the cup. Use a toothpick to remove the cythilicus from the hip. As you remove the cythilicus, let it fall into the cup. Do this until all of the cythilicus is removed. The cythilicus is the cotton-like substance found within the rose hip. Avoid touching your eyes and mouth once you start this process.
Boil a cup of water. Pour a cup (240 ml) of water into a pot. Place the pot on the burner and set the heat to medium-high. Once the water starts to boil (after five minutes or so), pour the water into a mug.
Place the mug next to the cup that contains the cythilicus. Let the cythilicus absorb the steam for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until it is fluffy. The steam will help activate its itching properties. Make sure the cythilicus does not get wet.
Dry the cythilicus. Place the cup of cythilicus on a windowsill that receives direct sunlight. Let the cythilicus dry for one to two hours.
Crush the cythilicus into a powder. Pour the dried cythilicus onto a piece of paper. Use a spoon to crush it into a powdered form. Then slide the powder into a sealable plastic bag or glass vial. For cautionary purposes, write on the bag, “CAUTION. DO NOT TOUCH OR THROW AWAY.” Make sure to wash the spoon with soap and water once you are done using it.
Using Maple Tree Seeds
Collect 15 to 20 maple seedpods. Find a maple tree or a grove of maple trees. Walk around and collect the seedpods, also known as whirligigs because of the way they whirl when they fall from the tree. The seedpods look like brown wings or helicopter propellers. During the spring and summer, the seedpods are green and still attached to the tree’s branches. Pluck them from the tree and place them on a windowsill to dry out until they are brown.
Place a sheet of white paper on a table. The paper will be used to catch the silver hairs that are attached to the wing part of the seedpod. The silver hairs are what cause the itching sensation. To protect your hands, put on a pair of rubber gloves.
Remove the seed and hard spine. Use scissors to detach the wings from the actual seed. Also, cut away the spine that runs along the edge of the wing.
Rub the wings against each other. Take two wings and rub them against each other until the silver hairs begin to fall off. Do this until the majority of the silver hairs have fallen off. Repeat this process for all of the wings until you have about 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of silver hairs. Alternatively, you can use a razor blade to remove the silver hairs. Run the blade against the wings to remove the silver hairs.
Slide the hairs into a plastic bag. Pick up the piece of paper and slide the hairs into a sealable plastic bag. Store the hairs in a dark place, like a cupboard, for two to three days to dry them out further. This will increase their itching intensity. You can also store the hairs in a glass vial. For cautionary purposes, place a label on the bag that says, “CAUTION. DO NOT TOUCH OR THROW AWAY.”
Using Hair
Collect strands of hair. Find a hairbrush with hair in it. Remove the hair and place it on a piece of paper.
Cut the hair. Use scissors to cut the hair into tiny pieces. You should have a pile of cut hair.
Place the hair in a bag. Pick up the paper and slide the hair into a sealable plastic bag. You can also slide it into an envelope. Store the bag in a cabinet for later use.
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