https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-cwiNmhs2I&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NAoKOv2tLPg

Salves are the gateway herbal medicine preparation. They’re simple - a 50/50 blend of an infused oil and beeswax offers occlusion and a long wearing way to apply the botanical infusions to the skin to reap their benefits.

This recipe is the one I used last year after I absolutely ROASTED myself at the ren-faire when I thought we’d be mostly in tents and under cover and then I added Mugwort to a recent batch for a friend who just had TWINS because her belly was itchy and dry and starting to show stretch marks.

For the sunburn mess I found myself in, my first move was to freeze some of our Aloe Vera and use that to reduce the swelling and cool off the heat that was radiating off my body. I then did a quick infusion of Chamomile and Calendula in Jojoba Oil - this is done by putting all your ingredients together then putting them in a heated, double boiler style situation for a few hours to extract the goodness from the herbs. I did this by putting everything in a jar, then placing that jar in a crockpot on low with water for 3 or 4 hours. This is the quick and dirty last minute ADHD version of putting all those ingredients in a jar and leaving them for 4-8 weeks to infuse. I did the same for my friend’s belly salve, even quicker and even dirtier just simmering the botanicals and oil on the stove until my apartment smelled delicious because she asked for the lotion the night before her baby shower 😂

Once you have your infused oil, strain out the plant material and return the oil to a container that can be heated like a pot of these metal hotel pans that I love. From her you can add beeswax until you get a texture you like - for my Sunburn Balm I added a lot, both because I wanted to use it in a bar form but also because I wanted the occlusion that beeswax provides to retain moisture in my lobster skin. For my friend’s belly salve I added less because she requested more of a lotion texture.

You can test if it’s where you want it by taking small spoonfulls out of the main batch and allowing them to cool before testing it on the skin. Add the beeswax slowly and test test test because if you over add, the only way to fix it is to add ore liquid oil which would dilute the botanical concentration - not the end of the world though.

I’ll do the recipe in a parts style so that you can make whatever size batch you want 🙂

My favorite smell is Chamomile, so I usually double the amount of that to the other botanicals:

Herbs:

2 parts Chamomile

1 part Calendula

1 part Mugwort

Enough Jojoba Oil (or oil of choice) to completely cover and submerge the amount of plant material

Beeswax “to taste”, but traditional salves are 50/50 infused oil to beeswax.