Making Salve

monica197

There are lots of recipes out there for salves - comfrey salve, arnica salve, yarrow salve, plantain salve.

Why not make a comfrey, yarrow, plantain salve? You know? Blend them all together am make a multi-purpose salve?

Is there a draw back or two herbs that you would don't want to combine?

dipat2005

@monica197 thanks for a great idea. I love arnica and you are correct it is easy to make a salve.

monica197

@dipat2005

Do you know if there is drawback to combining herbs or if there are two you would not want to do that with?

Torey

I make a variety of combination salves for different purposes.

I have spoken before about the joint and muscle salve that I make which is a combination of cayenne and cottonwood bud oils.

I have combined calendula oil and cottonwood bud oil in lip balm. Fireweed blossoms and cottonwood buds would be another good lip balm. Fireweed is cooling.

A good diaper rash salve could contain chickweed, chamomile and calendula. You could add lavender infused oil to this blend for its aromatics as well as its soothing properties.

Comfrey, self-heal and calendula would be a good combination for a wound salve. Yarrow could be added to that as well.

Comfrey and arnica would be good in combination for healing muscle or ligament tissue injuries. Yarrow would be a good addition to this one, too.

I have a recipe for an evergreen balm that combines fir needles with juniper berries for use as a warming massage ointment for stiff/sore muscles or a chest rub for coughs and colds. Cottonwood bud would combined well in this one, too. Evergreen oil could be added to lip balms.

Cottonwood bud oil is a good addition to many salves, both for its healing properties and its preservative properties, helping extend shelf life.

Contraindications:

You wouldn't want to put arnica in any salves that are going to be used on broken skin. Avoid cayenne in salves that are going to be used on broken skin or sensitive skin areas. Always do a skin test before applying any new salve combination to large areas of skin.

monica197

@torey

Thank you - this is helpful

Where would I get cottonwood bud oil?

Would plantain add in well with comfrey, yarrow, and calendula?

Torey

Yes, plantain would be a good addition.

Cottonwood bud oil is harvested in the spring before the leaf buds open up. This is a good article from Learning Herbs.

https://learningherbs.com/remedies-recipes/balm-of-gilead/

You should be able to find cottonwood bud oil (aka Balm of Gilead oil) in most health food stores but it can also be found on Amazon and Etsy. Check local markets for wild crafters who might have oil for sale.

annbeck62

I was not familiar with cottonwood oil or all of it's wonderful uses. Thanks for sharing.

dipat2005

@monica197 I do not know that much about herbs. I am so grateful there are so many people that know a lot about herbs.

Wendy

My first aid salve is a mix of plantain, St. John's wort, and calendula.

Plantain for bites and stings, St. John's for muscle aches and burns, calendula for general skin repair.

This takes the pain and swelling away from wasp bites (gardening daughter's report), heals burns quicker (chef daughter's report), and soothes paper cuts (office daughter's report).

LaurieLovesLearning

I've done a couple combinations.

Chickweed-plantain & also comfrey-horsetail.

I am doing jewelweed salve right now, but I didn't combine it with anything.

monica197

I just finished a neat little book called Strong Survival: The Life and Times of a Mountain Woman and was tickled to read of a salve that her family made as a mainstay in their medicine chest...

"We made out own healing salve. It consisted of one part pine tree resin...and one part mutton tallow. to that we added petroleum jelly...or hog lard. We also added some black poplar buds which we called Balm of Giliad in the spring...Heat the whole thing up until it melted together, stir it up good and let it set until it thickened up and you had a salve that would heal about any sore you got. Man or beast, it drew the infection out and kept it from getting in. To this day I don't know why that recipe has not been patented because it worked better than about anything you can buy in a drug store...and it didn't cost a dime."

JodieDownUnder

@monica197 one of my first salves was multi purpose. I ended up choosing, calendula, chickweed and comfrey. I made so much that I started giving it away for all sorts of things. Wounds, humans and animals, lip balm, bites and burns etc. I had chickweed and comfrey growing fresh and the calendula was dried. I did wonder at the time was I doing the right thing but turns out it worked pretty good. As always throwing out a question on this forum, gets you reliable, experienced answers.

JennyT Upstate South Carolina

I have oils that are currently "curing" with herbs in them so I can make some salves.

Thanks for asking this question @monica197. I now have a list of suggestions for which ones to use with each other. And what they help with.😊

Tave

The oils I'm working on right now are from the ingredient list on a pain lotion.

Capsaicin, mint, wintergreen, chamomile, arnica, calendula, eucalyptus, and witch hazel in that order with a lot of chemical preservatives and additives.

I'm using essential oils for the mint and wintergreen, replacing the chamomile with macela and the arnica with matico (they're curing now). I may have to leave the witch hazel out if I don't find it or a replacement.

monica197

This sounds really amazing, Tave. I bet it smells pretty good too.

So many great ideas and options.

Thank you for sharing, Everyone.

monica197

My cottonwood blossoms came and I have them marinating in some olive oil with calendula and plantain.

I love the smell of the cottonwood. It is delicious!

monica197

I have been soaking my buds since I last posted. I unloaded my jar yesterday to use a little of the oil inside. I am glad I added some willow bark to the mix back then along with echincea. Having this prepared ahead is what helped it be ready yesterday when I needed a little bit. I know that cognitively, but experiencing that takes it to another level.

So here is my question:

Is there any more of an advantage to taking the oil and herbs and grinding it all up now in a vitamin and then straining?

Torey

@monica197 I would say no to any added benefits of grinding it all before straining. You are likely to get more sediment in your oil. Not to mention the mess it will make of your vitamix. The cottonwood resin is very difficult to wash out. Rubbing alcohol is what I find the best for cleaning jar that have had resinous substances in them.

monica197

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/904620#Comment_904620

That is a great point! I did not think about the resin component in this particular mix.

One thing that did cross my mind is that leaving the the herbs in the oil and storing it like that would be that if I need a poultice I could scoop out the herbs and and mash them up and voila - a poultice.

vickeym

What a great thread. Lots of wonderful ideas for salves.

I did a healing salve using Comfrey, Plantain, Calendula and Ginger. Love the way it works.

monica197

I am so glad I added the willow bark into this one as I can definitely tell the pain relieving value has been imparted into the oil - when I apply it, it is so soothing.

Torey

@monica197 The cottonwood bud resin likely added quite a bit to the pain relieving properties of your salve. I rarely use willow bark anymore as there are other plants to use that are just as effective. Not that it matters in a salve but willow is just so tannic when taken as a tea or tincture.

These are properties of cottonwood bud: Analgesic. Antiseptic. Antibacterial. Antifungal. Anti-inflammatory. Expectorant. Tonic. Digestive. Stimulant. Diuretic. Febrifuge. 

You can see why I like it so much and why it is in so many of the preparations that I make.

monica197

@torey I see...sooo...would you think that the tannins in willow would make it a great 'drawing' component. I am thinking, for example, of an abscess - using black tea, activated charcoal, and some oil that has been infused with willow (among other things, cottonwood, etc) would be a potent drawing agent for the abscess...?

I did not realize that pain relief was part of cottonwood - or maybe I forgot.

And I also did not realize the tannic property of willow - I always have just (narrowly) thought "pain relief" when I think willow.

Torey

@monica197 I am just on my way out to teach a class but will get back to you on this later today.

pkirscher

Cottonwood buds which have a resin in them act as a preservative to some extent so adding that in salves helps them last a bit longer if you also like the medicinal benefits of the cottonwood in your formula.

JodieDownUnder

@pkirscher A warm welcome to TGN. It’s a site full of kind and knowledgeable people from all over. A good idea is to familiarise yourself with forum rules and have a play with the blog page and the academy. Again, welcome and hope your self sufficient, herbal journey is a great one.

JennyT Upstate South Carolina

I just sifted the material from my herbal oils I've been "nursing" for the last several months. I'm hoping to use some of the excellent recipes stated here to make some of my first-ever salves.

Can't wait!😁

marjstratton

I have combined cottonwood oil with willow oil, kind of a double whammy on the pain relief. I so love the smell of the cottonwood buds when I'm infusing the oil. But boy does the cottonwood leave a sticky mess!

Monek Marie

Salves are so fascinating. I love reading what all you have made and how it works. Its an area I need to work with more. Now that our weather is bringing us back in I want to experiment. Great ideas!

Torey

@monica197 The tannins in willow make it an astringent so it tends to dry out tissues. That could mean drying out the tissues at the surface without addressing the infection. Willow isn't particularly good at drawing. Great herb for weepy wounds. For an abscess, I would think of something like plantain and/or echinacea.

When I make a poultice for something like an abscess, I will usually use an Epsom salts and glycerine poultice. Or a charcoal poultice. Both of these are excellent at dealing with infections. I carry ingredients to make both in my medical bag. Honey is another option instead of the glycerine. I make sure that all the infection is gone before starting to apply herbs or salves. Or use something like plantain to finish drawing. Sometimes a salve may seal over the wound and not allow the infection to drain. I would use an antibacterial wash to clean the wound (or the area around the wound) between poultice application. Oregon grape root or myrrh tincture are my go-to's.

Also, for infections, it is good to try to deal with it internally as well. Echinacea, Oregon grape root, goldenseal, myrrh, usnea, garlic, yarrow; lots of choices.

@marjstratton Cottonwood bud is a sticky mess! Picking, processing and cleanup. I always have a bottle of rubbing alcohol on hand when I am doing any one of those things.

Torey

@pkirscher Welcome to the forum!