Herbal Oil Salves/Ointments

Herbal ointments or herbal salves (which are basically the same type of herbal preparations) are made of beeswax and infused herbal oils (which can be prepared by adding dry herbs to high quality vegetable oil). Herbal ointments work best for skin care and are frequently used in herbal medicine to treat a number of skin conditions (like cuts, burns, insect bites, etc.), as well as for soothing and nourishing the skin. Herbal salves are an excellent solution for massages and nourishing dry skin.

If you consider it necessary, you can also add some natural preservatives or such additives like vitamin E, essential oils, honey and so on.

Prepare the herbal oils needed for the type of salve you're making (See Homemade Herbals Oils).

To 1 cup herbal oil, add ¼ cup beeswax. (For St. John's wort salve, use only 4 ounces of the oil to ½ ounce beeswax). Unrefined beeswax from a local beekeeper works great. It has a lovely honey taste and smell.

Put the oil in a glass container, and place in hot water on a low heat setting so water is very hot, but not boiling. Stir occasionally until all the wax is melted. You can add vitamin E, vitamin A, coconut oil, lanolin, cocoa butter, and essential oils, if you wish. Do not add anything that is not oil based because it will not mix into the herbal oils.

Test the consistency by cooling the salve in a teaspoon in the fridge for about a minute. If it is too hard, re-melt and add more oil. If it is too soft, add more beeswax. When it is just right, pour into containers.

These make great gifts!