Making salves For a medicine chest

St Johns Wort Salve

Great all purpose salve. Use for insect bites, itching, wounds, burns And on fungal infections.

1 part St. John's Wort
1 part Calendula
1 part Comfrey leaf
1 part Plantain
Olive Oil
Beeswax
Tincture of Benzoin or Vitamin E

To make salve, we extract the beneficial properties of our herbs in oil, then add beeswax to harden the oil. My recipes are based on the Simplers' Method of calculating proportions. These recipes require you to use parts rather than a specific volume of each herb. This technique allows you to easily adapt the recipe. If you want a small amount of salve you can choose one tablespoon as your part, if you want a large amount of salve you might choose 1/2 - 1 cup as your part. The amount
of oil needed is enough to completely cover the herbs, plus an inch of oil above the level of the herbs. The tricky part of this is determining exactly how much beeswax is needed to harden the salve. You can approximate the proportions based on the following equivalents. One pint of oil will need about 1 1/2 ounces of beeswax, or one ounce of oil will need about 1/2 teaspoon of beeswax. There are about 5 teaspoons of beeswax in an ounce. If you intend to make your salve using freshly collected plants, you will
Want to clean them. Do this by shaking them to remove dirt then spread the herbs out to allow them to air dry for several hours (until wilted ) to reduce the moisture content. Fresh chickweed, for example, contains a lot of moisture and this water content could cause your salve to spoil quickly. To begin your salve, measure the desired amount of herbs into an enamel or stainless steel pan, or into a crock pot. Cover the herbs with oil. Use enough oil to cover the herbs plus another inch of oil above the level of herbs. Heat the herbs and oil over a low heat for several hours ( about 3 hours). If you are using roots you should heat the oil longer( about 5
hours). I strongly encourage you to use a crock pot for heating your oil because it operates at a controlled low temperature which is less likely to be a fire hazard. If you don't use a crock pot then use a double boiler. After heating, cool your oil for awhile. Set up a strainer lined with cheesecloth then pour the oil through to strain
When most of the oil has filtered through the cheesecloth, pick up the cheesecloth, keeping the herbs enclosed, and squeeze as much oil as possible from the herbs and cloth. Add beeswax to the oil And heat it until all the wax is melted. To test to see if your salve is hard enough, put some on a spoon and set it in a cool place for a few
minutes. If your salve is too soft, add more beeswax. If you are using essential oils, Tincture of Benzoin, or Vitamin E., you can blend them in now. Finally, pour your salve into containers and label.

****

Lavender Salve

Use for chapped skin, bruises, or other minor skin irritations. This is nice on dried feet, elbows or hands too.

4 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons beeswax
3 tablespoons cocoa butter
1 Vitamin E capsule
15-20 drops lavender essential oil


Combine the olive oil, beeswax and cocoa butter in a microwave safe bowl.heat in 30 second intervals stiring as you can until melted, take from microwave. Prick a hole in the Vitamin E capsule and add this and the lavender essential oil to the beeswax mixture, beating well. Pour into small jars or tins and cool before replacing the cover.

****

Foot care salve

1 oz beeswax,
1 oz sweet almond oil
5-10 drops Lemon essential oil
5-10 drops tea tree Essential oil
5-10 drops Peppermint essential oil

Melt the beeswax in the microwave at 30 second intervals until melted add the almond oil
and the essential oils. Stir well and put in a container.
To use After bath or shower rub in and put socks on.

*****

Vapo rub

 2 T. cocoa butter solid
10 - 15 drops ceadarwood, clary sage, eucalyptus, ginger, myrrh, pine, tea tree essential oils (your choice.... or you can use a combination of any of these oils)

Slowly melt the cocoa butter solid in a heatproof bowl in the microwave on low heat, Stir every so often to facilitate melting. Add your essential oils and stir well. While this is still in liquid form, pour into a dark, sterilized glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Store in a cool, dry place till needed.

****

Pneumonia Rub

(1-oz.) oil eucalyptus
(1-oz.) oil peppermint
(1-oz.) oil turpentine
(4-oz.) cocoa butter solid
1 cube camphor gum, shaved fine

Heat cocoa butter solid in micro safe bowl until melted. Add camphor gum to cocoa butter.
When dissolved, add turpentine, eucalyptus, and peppermint oils. Stir well and fill into small jars.

 

****

 

Chest Rub

 

This salve is comparable to Vicks®, without all the petroleum hydrocarbons.

First make an herbal oil using equal parts of these herbs: Peppermint, Spearmint, Wintergreen, and
1 tsp. cloves. If you do not want to use the herbs you may use the essential oils.

Use about a Tbsp. of each oil and at least 2 or 3 cups of either extra-virgin, cold-pressed olive
or coconut oil.

Once the oil has infused and is strained, warm the oil and add 1/2 tsp* menthol crystals (or
menthol crystals with bees wax) to the desired consistency.
In warmer climates you may need a little more; in cooler climates, less.