Monday, November 19, 2007

How to Hake an Herbal Beeswax Salve

How To Make an Herbal Salve
Amelia Tucker, BellaOnline, 11/18/2007

There are as many ways to make a good herbal salve as there are herbalists. The first thing you should consider is what a salve is. A salve is a way to apply a concentrated amount of herbal essence to heal and protect the skin. You can create different end results by varying the types of herbs, oils and thickening agents(namely wax).

I like to think of herbal salves as soothing or drawing or protecting so I know in my mind's eye what qualities I am aiming for. For a baby's bum, I want a salve with a higher ratio of wax. This is referred to as a balm. The wax helps seal out moisture so combined with the healing of the herbs, the baby's bottom benefits from a protective layer of water resistance between changes…

Here is a good recipe for salve. I use this for everything from lips to baby's bottom with great results. Again, the amount of wax is dependent on how much oil you end up with.

Olive oil
Beeswax
Chamomile
plantain
comfrey
chickweed
Vit. E
Essential oils of lavender, geranium and sweet orange

I create the infused oil and melt the beeswax into it. Add up to 12 drops of EOs to a quart of olive oil…

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What percentage of infused oil to beeswax do you use?
Thanks.