On homemade herbal healing salve

Since cutting out synthetic lotions from my skin regimen months ago, I've been mainly using salves to moisturize my skin.  Since then my skin is not as dry and has gained its natural ability to rejuvenate itself through its own natural oils.  I have yet to find an all-natural and organic lotion with a scent I like... so until then I will continue to use salves.  Perhaps I will even make my own herbal body lotion once I can get my hands on a super awesome blender.

I chose a comfrey (Symphytum uplandica) based salve because it is multi-purpose in terms of its healing properties. The main healing constituent in comfrey is allantoin which encourages cell regeneration and helps wounds to heal quickly.  The oil from the salve also helps to moisturize skin.  I've been using my homemade salve on cracked lips, dried elbows, minor cuts, bruising, etc.  [More on comfrey's profile here & here.]

There are many ways to make a salve... I know of some that are made of petroleum jelly... (gross) and I knew that that wasn't the way I wanted to make mine.  Instead of petroleum jelly, I used beeswax, a more natural substitute.  Okay, so here's how you make it:

Equipment: I get most herbs and herbal making equipment from Mountain Rose Herbs.

• Measuring cup 
• Cheesecloth 
• Several tins 
• 1 oz. block of beeswax 
• 1 cup herbal infused oil 
• 1 tsp. of your choice of pure essential oil (I used lavender) 
• strainer (not pictured)

The salve-making process can be summed up into three parts: herbal-infused oil, beeswax, and essential oil (for fragrance).  The herbal infused oil is the main part of the whole process since it takes about 4-6 weeks to infuse.

Here's how to make comfrey-infused oil:

•  Put 1 part dried or fresh comfrey leaves (Symphytum uplandica) to 1 part organic olive oil in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid.
• Let this concoction sit on a sunny windowsill for 4-6 weeks to let the beneficial constituents in the comfrey infuse with the oil.  Make sure to shake/agitate this mixture every day.  
• Observe it, open the jar and smell it once in a while to see if it has gone bad or if mold begins to form.  To avoid molding, use a small jar so that all the herbs are covered in oil.  Fortunately, mine turned out just fine even though bits and pieces were above the oil level.
• After 4-6 weeks, strain the comfrey leaves from the oil, using cheesecloth on top of a strainer on top of a measuring cup.  Make sure to squeeze the cheesecloth to get every bit of oil out.  Set oil aside.
• Optional: You can then put the oil in a glass jar/bottle with a tight fitting lid/cork and store it in a cool, dark place if you plan on using it later.

The strained oil resulted in ~1 cup.

For the beeswax:
You will need a double boiler.  Or, if you don't have one, you can get creative and do what I did! After the water has come to a boil, put the beeswax in the double boiler/bowl and let it melt into a liquid. Once the entire bar of beeswax has melted, pour in the herbal infused oil.  It will look kinda weird because the melted beeswax will solidify once the cooled oil touches it.

While letting the beeswax melt again, you can prep your tins by setting them all out and having your essential oils and measuring spoon at hand. Also, get another measuring cup ready to pour the liquid into once everything has melted.

Weird, huh?

For the essential oil:

Once the liquid is poured in the measuring cup, mix in 1 tsp. of your choice of essential oil, or a mixture of essential oils (you can get creative here to create your own unique fragrance) with a chopstick or whatever stirring device you have handy.  Then pour the liquid into the tins and let it sit.  The liquid will solidify within minutes. Then you can label the tins with the ingredients and date and voila! 

Note: If you want a softer salve, use less beeswax.

You can read up on herbal infused oils and salves from herbalist, Susan Weed, here.  

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