How to Prepare a Salve
Ingredients:
Lard, Petroleum jelly, castor oil, or coco butter - this will be your
base, so use something without pesticides or chemicals.
Your chosen herbs.
Vitamin E - this is your emulsifier and your preservative.
Beeswax - this is your thickening agent.
Process:
1. Place about one-half to one pound of herb(s) in just-boiling water. Simmer
for 20-30 minutes, strain out the solids (or don’t*), and then add fresh
herb to the same water. Repeat this step once more.
2. Add desired amount of base (perhaps one to two pints, depending on the
desired concentration, etc.) to the water on the stove. Heat to just under boiling
and let the water steam out, leaving the essence of the herbs in the base.
3. Turn off the stove after water is boiled off, as well as you can tell.
4. Add about 3-4 capsules of Vitamin E.
5. Add beeswax to desired
consistency. Let cool (this is when the beeswax will really harden).
6. Store in clean glass jars in a cool dark place. Use as desired.
A Second Option for Processing:
This is quicker, but somewhat less concentrated. However, it is still
effective.
1. Put herbs and base in a pot. Simmer until herb is well wilted, strain
or not.*
2. Add Vitamin E and beeswax as above.
3. Store as above.
*Straining is not necessary, though for a clean, smoother salve you would
want to remove the solids. However, the solid plant matter really won’t
hurt anything. Like with cooking, the only way to learn is to
practice.
Some Possible Combinations:
---General cuts, scrapes, burns: witch hazel, plantain, lavender, chickweed,
calendula.
---Chest cold: mullein & mint.
---Sore Muscles: witch hazel, peppermint, calendula.
---Headaches: lavender, rosemary, peppermint.
---Chapped Skin: calendula, chickweed, lavender. This is best used in a
moisturizing type of base like olive oil or coco butter. The idea is for it to
soak into the skin for healing. If your goal is to protect chapped skin,
use something more like petroleum jelly which will not soak in very
quickly, and can work at the same time as a windbreak for your skin.
