Recipe and tutorial
Click here for the PDF of this recipe!
I've always hoped that this blog would have posts on both crystals and herbs! As a future herbalist and student of herbal medicine, herbal remedies are a passion of mine, and I have many books now about foraging and all-natural cures that you can make even just from the weeds in your yard or the flowers in your garden. Today, I'd like to share with you a very simple recipe, which takes a good amount of time but very little work. First, let's go over the ingredients that we will be using for our salve.
Lavender
Parts used- essential oil, flower, leaf.
Key actions- analgesic, antidepressant, antiseptic, antispasmodic, relieves gas, sedative.
Lavender treats:
•Anxiety, tension, nervous overactivity, stress-related headaches, and migraines- Lavender combines well with rosemary to alleviate nervous exhaustion and to improve weak circulation. Both a mild sedative and mild antidepressant, a cup of lavender tea or uses in aromatherapy can lift spirits, calm, and relax.
•Insomnia- Used as an essential oil in a diffuser, dried flowers in a sachet, or as a spoonful of tincture before bed, lavender improved sleep quality and depth. Combines well with other herbal sleep remedies, such as passion flower and lemon balm.
•Pain relief- Lavender oil can be applied to the skin undiluted to treat pain. Massage onto herpes or shingles sores, rheumatic joints, or the forehead and temples to treat migraine. A few drops on a cotton ball plugged into the ear relieves earaches. Lavender tincture or tea can be taken for tensed and aching muscles, menstrual cramps and pain.
•Digestive problems- when combined with other digestive remedies, lavender helps when emotional distress is the cause of digestive upset such as bloating, burping, and irritable bowel symptoms.
•Respiratory problems- in its native country, France, lavender is used to treat flu, whooping cough, asthma, and bronchitis. The infusion is sometimes used as a gargle for painful and inflamed sore throat, in which case it combines well with licorice.
•Skin healer- apply the essential oil to minor burns, sunburn, sores, itchy skin such as eczema or rash, and insect bites or stings. This will promote healing and ease discomfort. It is also a somewhat effective insect repellent.
Chamomile
Parts used- flower, essential oil.
Key actions- anti-allergenic, anti-inflammatory, relaxant, relieves spasm, soothes digestion, wound healer.
Chamomile treats:
•Digestive and inflammatory conditions- chamomile treats mouth ulcers, stomach aches, colic, and looseness, soothing inflammation, acidity, and menstrual cramps. Drinking chamomile tea regularly promotes recovery in conditions such as gastritis, Crohn's disease, and colitis.
•Used topically, chamomile is anti-inflammatory, making this salve good to use as a lotion on sore and itchy rashes, grazes, sore nipples and mastitis, and insect bites and stings.
•Nervous tension- a mild sedative and relaxant, chamomile treats muscle cramps resulting from tension and overwork, and eases anxiety and nervous stress.
•Children's ailments- chamomile can be safely given to infants and children. For babies suffering from colic and digestive discomfort, breastfeeding mothers can drink the tea or add some to the baby's bath. It soothes fussy and over-tired infants, gently encouraging relaxation and sleep. The tea can also bring relief during teething.
Olive oil
Key actions- antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, soothing.
Olive oil treats:
•Extra-virgin olive oil contains phenols, which provide extra antioxidant effects.
•Rheumatoid arthritis, migraines, constipation, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, blood vessel problems associated with diabetes, and gallbladder disease.
•Treats and prevents cardiovascular disease, breast and colorectal cancer, and dimensia.
•Fights jaundice, intestinal gas, and meteorism (swelling of the abdomen due to gas). Boosts bacteria in the gut.
•Topically, Olive oil treats earwax, tinnitus, earaches, lice, wounds, minor burns, psoriasis, stretch marks, and protects from UV damage.
•Ozonated olive oil treats bee stings, insect bites, and bacterial and fungal skin infections.
You can also make this recipe with essential oils (lavender and chamomile are very easy to find!) But if you don't have any, fret not! I'm gonna teach you how to make your own. You can use this tutorial for other salves as well, substituting or adding other herbs instead of chamomile and lavender.
Fast Method Oil Infusion
1. First, add your dried herbs to a glass jar. If you're using fresh herbs, let them dry for a day or two beforehand, as the water in the fresh plants will make your salve go rancid much faster. Pour olive oil or your choice of another base oil, such as avocado or vegetable oil, into the jar as well, enough to cover your herbs.
2. Set up your double boiler. If you don't have a double boiler, it's easy to make one: simply put your jar from step one in the center of a pot, and add water around the jar. As the water boils, your oil and herbs will heat as well. It is best to put something under your jar to prop it up slightly, otherwise bubbles will build up underneath and rattle your jar, which may cause it to break.
3. Bring your water to a gentle boil, and let it boil for 3-12 hours. The longer you leave it, the more potent your healing salve will be. Be careful not to let the water boil out! Refill the water around the pot every half hour or so. If the water completely evaporates, your herbs will burn and ruin your infused oil. These pictures are actually from my second go at making this salve -- The first time, I burned it, haha. It happens to the best of us.
4. After your oil has been steeping for the amount of time you choose, remove the whole pot from the heat and strain your herbs out of the oil into another bowl or jar. Use a cheesecloth to catch finer-ground herbs. Pour your strained infused oil into the first jar again. Move on to part 2.
Slow Method Oil Infusion
1. The same as in the fast method, add your herbs and oil to a jar. This is another oil I'm preparing, which has been sitting for about two weeks.
2. Let the jar sit in a closet, cabinet or other dark place. Leave it there for 5-6 weeks, shaking your mixture every few days as you remember it.
3. After 6 weeks, strain the herbs and pour your oil into a glass jar. Move on to part 2.
Part 2: Making the Salve
1. If you are choosing to only use essential oils for this recipe, start here, adding them to a jar. If you're infusing your own oil, you can optionally add drops of essential oil to your own oil now, to add potency. The amount of whichever oil you have right now will roughly indicate the amount of salve you will have as a finished result.
2. Add a small piece or scoop of wax to your oil, roughly one part wax to every 3 parts oil. I do this by eye.
3. Move your jar with the wax and oil back onto the heat in your double boiler, and let it boil until the wax is entirely melted.
4. Pour your salve into tins, shells or jars. Allow it to cool for a few hours. Depending on the amount of wax you add, the salve may still be runny; this does not affect the effectiveness, but some prefer to add more wax for a more solid salve, which makes it less messy to use.
And here's what the freshly poured salves look like! Different herbs will lead to different colored oils oftentimes, which makes for lovely effects.
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