Easy Basic Herbal Salve Recipe

Lavender, Photo credit: Hans Braxmeier, Pixabay.

Make Your Own Natural Skincare Products

It's easier than you might think to make your own simple skincare products. With just three ingredients, you can make your own skin and foot salve for dry skin. This salve can also double as lip balm.

Items you'll need:

• Pesticide-free dried or powdered herbs
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Glass jar and lid
• Cosmetic-grade beeswax (white or yellow) pellets or a block
• Double boiler or equivalent
• Optional items: Essential oils, extra vegetable oils or butters, glycerin

Please note, this is a home remedy, not a scientific method and is something most people need to experiment with to get the consistency they want. I accept no responsibility for your outcome. Just be creative!

Prepare the Herbal Oil

I don’t usually measure anything out, so you’ll have to experiment and see what works for you. But as a general guideline begin with an 8-ounce glass jam jar. Place dried or powdered herbs of choice in the jar almost to the rim. Cover with pure olive oil. Put the lid on and store for a week in a cool dark place. Strain with linen, very fine cheesecloth or a coffee filter. Discard used herbs or throw them in your compost pile.

Pour the oil in a jar filled with the same type of herbs and repeat this process as many times as you wish to get the desired strength. I usually do this twice for the salve. Check on the bottle periodically to see if you need to add more oil. Sometimes, if the herbs are very dry, they’ll soak up the oil fast. You want to make sure the oil line is above the herbs so they don't go bad.

Making the Salve

Slowly heat your strained herbal infusion in a double boiler. You can also use a make-shift double boiler which is a pan set in another pan with water in it. Don’t bring it to boil, just warm enough to melt the wax. Add desired amount of wax (1-2 tablespoons to 8 ounces of liquid) and melt. Remove from heat and let cool about 5 minutes if you’re adding essential oils.

Stir in desired essential oils (by the drop, about 5-10 should be enough). Pour into container and cool, then cover. You don’t have to wait the 5 minutes if you’re not using the essential oils.

If you’ve used too much wax and it’s come out too hard, you can re-heat the mixture and add more olive oil. Reheating may cause the essential oils to dissipate, so you’ll need to add some more. Note, the salve will be green if you're using extra virgin olive oil. You can experiment with other oils and see if you like those better.

Notes on Beeswax

The yellow beeswax you might be used to is generally used for candles. The cosmetic-grade beeswax does come in white and yellow but many people prefer white for cosmetic use.  I bought a block from beekeepers at a local fair. It's more difficult to handle than the pellets because you have to chop it up, but the blocks are sometimes less expensive. A little bit will go a long way, so one block or a few ounces of beeswax pellets will last a long time depending on how much salve you make.

Essential oils are optional, but they do add extra oomph and they help when you don’t have the actual herb to work with. Some of my favorites for the skin are lavender, chamomile, and peppermint for the feet.

You can also add other oils such as castor, almond, shea butter, lanolin or coconut oil. If you're making a lip balm, add a little less beeswax and some honey or vanilla or whatever your favorite flavoring is.

You can add glycerin which is available at most drug stores. Be sure to adjust the wax amount accordingly. Glycerin keeps moisture in your skin, but it doesn’t dissolve really well in oils and can leave a greasy feel. For this reason, I wouldn’t add too much to your mixture. But it can be a good deep moisturizing aspect of a foot salve.

Fragrance oils can be used but they don’t have therapeutic effect on the skin. If you use them, you don’t have to wait for the mixture to cool.

It's a great feeling of accomplishment to make your own skin care products, especially when you use natural ingredients. Have fun experimenting!

*This is a repost of my article originally published on Squidoo/HubPages.

© P.J. Deneen