Do you remember the wonderful world of the Watkins Man coming by your home, showing you all these wonderful salves and remedies and other marvelous things? Have you ever wished you could find the Watkins Man and buy some of those salves? A good Herbal Healing Salve would be a marvelous thing to have around for all the little cuts and scrapes that one gets into around the house. Soooooo – what if you could make your own? What if it was “easy”? What if it might be even better than the Watkins variety?
I’m not really sure what I’d do without my multi-purpose homemade healing salve. I use it on gardening-inflicted sunburns, cuts and abrasions, on martial arts blisters, the grandson’s chapped cheeks and hands, insect bites when we’re wilderness camping or gold panning, and the dog’s scrapes and scratches. Herbal healing salves are gentle, soothing balms made from natural herbal ingredients.
Here’s something everyone can do, quickly and easily, at home, with no special skills.
Generally speaking they’re safe to use on kids, pets and people. They are naturally soothing and healing. In this sample recipe, herbally infused oil is chock-full of natural healing powers.
Vitamin E oil contributes antioxidants and wound-healing abilities. Tea tree oil (Melaleuca oil) provides anti-microbial, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. And lavender essential oil works it’s magic on burns and adds soothing aromatherapy.
Basic Recipe:
1 cup herbally infused oil
1 – 2 oz. Beeswax
10 capsules Vitamin E Oil
½ tsp. each tea tree and lavender essential oils
In a small pan, gently heat the herbally infused oil and beeswax until barely melted. Cut or poke the vitamin E capsules open, and squeeze the vitamin E oil into the beeswax/oil mixture. Remove from heat, and add the essential oils. Pour a tiny amount of the salve mixture onto waxed paper or into a container to cool. Test it for thickness – if you’d like it to be harder, add more beeswax. If you’d like it to have a thinner balm, add more oils.
When you’re satisfied with the consistency, pour the balm into clean, sanitized jars and let cool. This all-purpose salve can be used for cuts, scrapes, splinters, diaper rash, burns, rashes, or for dry skin.
To make a herbally infused oil:
In a saucepan, combine dry herbs and a vegetable oil (we like extra virgin olive oil, but just about any kind will do). Specific proportions are not important – use a few generous handfuls of herbs and use enough oil to cover them. Heat over lowest possible heat for several hours – three minimum, we usually try for 12 or 15.
Alternatively, use a crock-pot on the “low” setting. Strain out the herbs and use your herbally infused oil to make balms, or as a massage oil, bath oil, or as a great winter moisturizer.
Some Herbs to try: chamomile, comfrey, plantain, St. John’s Wort, calendula.
