Herbal Skin Salve:
This easy to make herbal skin salve is great for almost any skin condition. With herbs that are historically reported to fight infection, heal the skin, and soothe inflammation this herbal skin salve is a must have for every household.
When I started my journey to Natural Living Natural Health, this was one of the very first items I ever made for my family. It really is that simple to make an herbal skin salve.
In this post you will find
- Answers to frequently asked questions about herbal skin salves
- Information about making herbal salves for children
- Warnings and precautions about making herbal skin salves
- An herbal skin salve recipe that can be tweaked to fit your needs
- A video tutorial for making your own herbal salve (at the end just before the printable recipe)
Want to know which weeds are edible? Check out my post on Edible Weeds
Herbal Skin Salves:
Frequently Asked questions about herbal skin salves:
What’s a salve?
According to Webster’s, salve is an ointment used to promote healing of the skin or as protection. Synonyms: ointment, cream, balm, unguent, emollient.
This herbal skin salve recipe is good for all of the above.
What is an herbal skin salve used for?
We generally use this herbal skin salve for EVERYTHING!
No seriously, get a boo-boo: get the salve! Burn: salve. Rash: salve. Irritation: salve. Fungal infection: salve.
The kids immediately ask for this no matter what the problem. Chapped skin, burns, scrapes, cuts, rashes, inflammation, etc… we reach for the salve. Once you get use to using it and see how quickly it works you’ll grab it first too.
I’m new to herbs and I’ve never made anything:
No worries, this salve is so easy you’ll be an herbal pro in no time. You really can’t mess it up, even if it doesn’t harden right or hardens too much, it’s still completely usable.
The most common mistakes are over heating (looses effectiveness and smells scorched) and not letting it heat long enough, thus extracting less of the herbs’ good properties.
This is definitely not rocket science and as you will see the recipe isn’t very precise. Just add herbs, add oils, enjoy. Even if you skip a step here and there.. herbs soaking in oil is the main goal. You can even use it just as a soothing, healing oil if you don’t have wax.
I would like a different herbal skin salve scent: the garlic is a little overwhelming, what can I do?
- Add less garlic to the recipe, but please, do add some, garlic is one of the best antibacterials available in the herbal world.
- Add some skin soothing essential oils from Plant Therapy. Oils like lavender, tea-tree, vetiver, grapefruit, lemon, etc can all be added to increase the antibacterial and skin soothing properties and to help hide the garlic scent.
- Get your Plant Therapy Oils Here:
Can I use this herbal skin salve on infants and toddlers?
Since this contains raw, unpasteurized honey I would NOT use on any child under the age of 1. Children under age 1 can NOT have honey and they might accidentally ingest some of the salve. If making it to use with infants please leave the honey OUT!!
For children under the age of 2 please leave out any essential oils. Essential oils can cause respiratory distress in children under age 2. Some oils are not safe for children under the age of 6. Please consult a certified aromatherapist before adding any oils to salves that will be used on children.
***You MUST check with the doctor first before using this or any herbal skin salve with children.***
Herbal Skin Salve WARNINGS:
- This salve does contain herbs that can be allergens in some people. Mullein
(while dried) makes my hands and arms very itchy, however the salve doesn’t bother me, so I wear gloves when working with it in recipes.
- Also check ALL essential oils for their safety and age limits when using in salves that will be used on children.
What’s the purpose of each of the herbs contained in this particular herbal skin salve?
Remember you can use all of these, any combination of these that you want or completely different herbs. The recipe is still the same.
- Comfrey
: is a MIRACULOUS wound healer. Traditionally known as a contact healer, relieving pain and immediately helping to grow new flesh. The Latin name itself translates “knitting together.” Comfrey should NOT be used on deep cuts or puncture woulds because it can heal the skin too quickly over the wound.
- Garlic
: is anti-fungal, antibacterial, and antiviral. Garlic is called nature’s antibiotic. It contains allicin, a natural antibiotic. One milligram of allicin has a potency of 15 standard units of penicillin. It is effective against toxic bacteria, viruses, and fungi and also active against staphylococcus and E. coli bacteria
- Burdock Root
: One of the best herbs for chronic skin problems. Used in a salve or tea (wash) it is often used to treat acne, burns, and sores. Traditionally used for eczema, hives, skin cancers, viral skin infections, etc.
- Mullein
: is a natural painkiller and helps to reduce swelling
- Chamomile
:reduces inflammation
- Echinacea
: is a contact healer. It can be used for a variety of inflammatory conditions externally
- Honey
:Packed full of enzymes, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, healing agents. Honey is like Garlic, it has so much good you will have to conduct your own research.
Olive Oil & Coconut Oil:are both extremely soothing and healing to the skin. You can also add vitamin E oil, almond oil or any other carrier oil you like to your salve.
Herbal Skin Salve Supplies:
That’s it! It is really that simple to make an herbal skin salve. Please comment on the post with any questions you might have or just to tell me your success stories. Feel free to share your recipes, ideas and tweaks too. See you next time.
Herbal Skin Salve Video Tutorial:
This video tutorial below will give you a closer look at how this herbal skin salve is made. The herbal salve I am making in the video may use different herbs but the steps are very similar.
Herbal Skin Salve Printable Recipe:
| Servings |
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- 4 parts Comfrey Leaf
- 1 part Burdock Root
- 1 part Echinacea Tops & Leaves
- 1 part Mullien Leaf
- 1 part Chamomile Flowers
- 1-3 cloves garlic
- 4-6 Tablespoons Raw Honey Manuka honey is the absolute best for skin and wounds
- olive oil
- Coconut Oil
- Bee's Wax
- Emulsifying Wax makes water and oil mix
- teaspoon Vitamin C Powder as a preservative
Ingredients
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- Add all herbs to pot, cover with oil(just an inch or so above the herbs, warm just a little.
- Place the entire mix in the blender. Puree, blend, mince, chop, all the settings, just grind the herbs as much as possible to extract as much as possible into the oil.
- Pour the mix back into the pot or crock pot.
- Heat the herb mixture over very, very, low heat. You do not want to scorch, burn, or over-heat the herbs. Just get them warm and then let them stay warm for many hours.
- Strain the herb mixture.
- Add the bees wax and emulsifying wax.
- Test the consistency.
- Add the wax a little at a time, let it melt, stir the mix well, then drop a few drops out onto a plate. The salve should harden at room temp, and stay ointment like when rubbed on the skin. If it turns back to oil and runs off the skin then it is probably too thin and needs more wax. If it stays stiff and does not melt at all on the skin (body temp) then it is probably too firm, add more oil. 🙂
- Add the honey immediately after you get the consistency right and the heat turned off. Do not heat the honey if you can avoid it. Raw honey contains beneficial bacteria that helps fight infection.
- You can store the salve in glass jars, plastic containers, or tins.
All the herbs are equal parts, except the comfrey. Enough coconut and olive oil to cover the herbs (equal parts of each). Beeswax is added at the end to make the salve solidify, the amount will vary depending on the consistency you want in your salve. Emulsifying Wax makes oil and water bond together, keeping your salve from separating. I do not add any water but sometimes the herbs will contain water. Vitamin C is added as a preservative, too much will make your salve burn when applied to wounds. If you do not have vitamin C powder on hand, you can empty vitamin C capsules or crush tablets, just make sure they have no other added ingredients. Honey should not be heated.
