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PD: Herbal salves 2

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A few more different herbal salves.

Here are the herbal salve recipes from the last two days of recent product development:

6) Calendula salve
8.5 dl calendula oil (recipe E)
120 g beeswax
Melt the beeswax in the oil on a waterbath, use a syringe to spritz things into 30 ml jars, let cool (= let set), close lids, add labels.

7) Calendula-meadowsweet salve
6.5 dl calendula-meadowsweet oil (recipe F)
87 g beeswax
Melt the beeswax in the oil on a waterbath, use a syringe to spritz things into 30 ml jars, let cool (= let set), close lids, add labels.

8) Ache salve
5 dl ache oil (basil, oregano, ginger) (recipe G)
64.5 g beeswax
Melt the beeswax in the oil on a waterbath, use a syringe to spritz things into 30 ml jars, let cool (= let set), close lids, add labels.
Use this for muscle aches, belly aches, menstrual pain and the like.

9) Refreshing salve
7 dl refreshing oil (peppermint-plantain) (recipe H)
87.5 g beeswax
Melt the beeswax in the oil on a waterbath, use a syringe to spritz things into 30 ml jars, let cool (= let set), close lids, add labels.
This salve set nicely.

10) Refained lavender-calendula salve
2 dl cold-pressed organic safflower oil
185 g cocoa butter
175 g shea butter
16 g dried calendula flowers
25 g dried lavender flowers
Melt the fats on a waterbath, add herbs, let sit on low heat for 1.5 hours, strain. Use a syringe to spritz the still-hot herbal salve into jars, put into the fridge to set.
This uses no beeswax, as one of the students was allergic to it and wanted to do a salve anyway. The ingredients are much more expensive than those for normal oil-beeswax ones ... still, it's a no-beeswax herbal salve. A nice one, too.

11) Chickweed salve
5.5 dl chickweed oil (recipe I)
71 g beeswax
Melt the beeswax in the oil on a waterbath, use a syringe to spritz things into 30 ml jars, let cool (= let set), close lids, add labels.

12) Chamomile tea salve
6 g chamomile
2 dl water
1 pinch of sodium benzoate
Put chamomile in water, bring to a boil, let simmer on low heat for 15 minutes, strain. Dissolve the sodium benzoate in the tea.
2 dl sesame oil
40 g beeswax
Melt the beeswax in the oil on a waterbath, whisk in 1 dl of your strong chamomile tea, still hot, in a thin stream. Once all the tea is in the oil'n'wax: move your bowl into cold water to hasten the setting of the salve. Continue to whisk until your salve has set. Put the lot into a small plastic baggie, cut a small corner, and press your salve, still warm, into jars. It's harder to press a fully-set salve, so don't wait for too long.

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Related entries: PD: Herbal oils 1 - PD: Herbal oils 2 - PD: Herbal salves 1 - Herbs in salves - Cat: Salves

Comments

These are some great recipies for salves! I've made many in the past, and look forward to trying some of your recipies. Salves are great because you can literally use an endless number of combinations, countless types of herbs, and they can be used for so many things! Thanks for sharing!

I really want to know how to make a salve or oil out of rosehips from my garden. I have a tea rose bush that is very old and has a prolific amount of hips this year. I don't know if I remove the seeds or use them.....
Does it matter that I am using tearose hips? I was of the understanding that any rosehips have alot of vit c...
And If I heat the oil doesn't that cook the natural benefits of the rosehips?
Thanks
Ruth

There's a reason you won't find recipes for rosehip salves:
1) Using fruit in salves spells trouble: they contain loads of water, plus sugar, and might even ferment before they grow mold.
2) I don't know of any actives in fruit that are oil-soluble. Most are watersoluble. Including vitamin C.

Seed oils, sure, but you won't get those out by infusing fruit in oil: you'll have to crush the seeds, and if you do that you still haven't used the red bits of the rosehips.

And why would you even want to make a salve of rosehips? What are you expecting to get out of it?

Me, I'd do jelly, jam, and tea. Mmm. Rosehip jam.

A local herbalist retired and I received all their supply's. Included was a jar of salve made with Arnica, Calendula, and
St. John's Wort and beeswax. This salve is so good for muscle pain or aches, and I would like to make it. Should I just experiment with the amounts of each item? If someone has a recipe they could share I would love it.

Also looking for a source for Black Walnut Hull, or just the whole walnuts, in western montana. I have not found anyone with any trees around here, and no one will ship across state line.
Thanks Lisa

You'll have to make your SJW oil from fresh herb, so use that as a starter. I wouldn't add arnica to that, cos the arnica does the same thing as the SJW. Calendula or plantago, check. Add in a painkiller like meadowsweet or balm of gilead buds, and possibly (fresh flower) dandelion oil, or (dried flowering tops) goldenrod oil, and you've got a very nice muscle pain oil. Making a salve from that, eh, read my salvemaking posts, the recipes are all there.