| Here's one i wrote up, and we made at the local garden club last year. Very healing. I used my oils that were already "done" so the first step would be to make your infused oils. I had a pint of SJW, Comfrey and Calendula oils. We just warmed the oils in a microwave, stirred in beeswax until it was melted, added Eo, and poured in small jars. Gardener's Hand Salve
To make salve, we extract the beneficial properties of our herbs in oil, then add beeswax to harden the oil. ST. JOHN'S WORT - ( Hypericum perforatum ) The salve is good for burns, wounds, bruises, sores, insect bites, fungal infections such as eczema, and itching. This is my favorite herb to use in salves! The oil of the flowering tops turns a gorgeous red color. COMFREY ROOT - ( Symphytum officinale ) Prolific plant that is valuable in the treatment of all types of skin, bone, and muscle injuries. Comfrey helps wounds to heal quickly. Use for burns, blisters , broken bones, and inflammations. CALENDULA - ( Calendula officinalis ) This species of marigold is often cultivated in gardens. Calendula helps to soothe inflamed tissues, reduce pain and aids in quick healing of cuts and abrasions.
We are making a simple salve, using the oils made from the above herbs.
I used fresh St. John's Wort, dried Comfrey root, and dried Calendula flowers for these oils. I added a few drops of Vitamin E oil to preserve freshness.
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 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. When wax has melted, dip a cold spoon in the mixture to make sure you have the right consistency.
Add a few drops of essential oil for fragrance.
Bottle and label
PS- the whole salve has a pink tint from the SJW oil, so use it sparingly, or at bedtime. Hope you like it as much as we do! I use this on rough hands, dry feet, burns, cuts, scrapes, you name it... Lynn |
