The GRAY Area: Herbal infused oil

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Super Salves!

We love my Cold Cough Chest Salve and so when I heard about Bulk Herb Store's Salve Mix herb blends that you can herbally infuse....I just knew I needed to try some of these. So, I ordered two of their mixes and I had the other herbs already on hand.

Arthritis Salve Mix
Bulk Herb Store has this to say about this mix:
"Whether you or one of your friends struggle with joint pain, this is a great salve to have on hand. Each herb has benefits that come together to relieve inflammation, fight pain, and promote circulation. Rub this salve onto the sore areas as often as needed."

Includes the following dried herbs:

St. John's Wort

Arnica Flowers

Lobelia Leaf

Comfrey Leaf

Peppermint Leaf

Cayenne

Muscle Salve Mix
Bulk Herb Store has this to say about this mix:
"This salve penetrates the skin, soothes and helps to heal damaged muscles, while reducing inflammation. Rub this salve onto the sore muscle as often as needed."

Includes the following dried herbs:

Ginger Root

Echinacea Leaf

St. John's Wort

Boswelia Serrata

Cayenne

And, I used 3 different herbs for my poison ivy salve...I've made this one in the past and we've used it for many things other than poison ivy. Anything really...if it was closest when we needed something--like for diaper rash. This time, though I added some ReFresh/Purify blend to help more with the itching!

Plantain Leaf
Comfrey Leaf
Whole Calendula Flowers

First you have to herbally infuse these dried herbs. I used coconut oil for the first two. And I used coconut oil and olive oil for the last one (only because I ran out of coconut oil--bummer!)

Here's what you'll need:
pint canning jar/jars and lids
herbs/herb mix
coconut oil (my favorite is Tropical Traditions)/olive oil
crock pot
water
dish towels

I washed pint canning jars and lids. Added the herbs until jar was 1/3 full. Then, I filled with the coconut/olive oil until 1 inch from top. Now my coconut oil was in its hardened state, so as it melted I added more to my jar--never did get them full enough. I'd hoped to end up with about 12 oz. of infused oil when done. Tightly fasten the lid on each jar.

Place folded dish towel in bottom of crock pot. Add jar or jars full of herbs and oil. If doing multiple jars in a large crock pot, I suggest placing a couple of dish towels around the jars to help hold them upright and to keep them from touching each other.

Day 1

Add water in the crock pot to the level of the oil in the jars. Place on low and let simmer for 3 days. You want the water to be really hot but not boiling. Watch the water level in the crockpot as it will evaporate and you'll want to add more. Be sure when you add more water that you add HOT water to the crockpot or your jars could break.

Day 2

Day 3

At the end of the 3 days you will have an herbal infused oil. This makes a great massage oil or you can make a salve out of it.

To Make a Salve:

Strain herbs out of the oil. I used a piece of cheesecloth, pyrex measuring cup and rubber band. (You can also use a very worn, old t-shirt)

Squeeze excess oil out of the cheesecloth

At this point you want to add beeswax to your oil to make the salve

I use my pan and a double boiler. I add water to the pan and set the double boiler on top. Once the water begins to boil I turn the burner off and slowly let the beeswax melt. Stirring occasionally.
Add essential oil if needed and Vitamin E for a preservative.

Pour into jars and let set until cool.

I love how they look as they start to set up.

Below are the exact recipes that I used in each of the salves:

Sore NO More--Sore Muscle Salve

Muscle Mix from Bulk Herb Store herbally infused in coconut oil-8 oz (this is the amount I had at the end of the 3 days).

2.5 oz. Beeswax
20 drops peppermint eo
15 drops clove eo
15 drops helichrysum eo
3 vitamin E gels
(use with caution as the cayenne in the mix will irritate the eyes)

Aches Away--Arthritis Salve

Arthritis Mix from Bulk Herb Store herbally infused in coconut oil--7 oz.

2.0 oz. Beeswax
20 drops peppermint eo
20 drops Marjoram eo
2 vitamin E gels

(Use with caution as the cayenne in the mix will irritate the eyes)

Ditch the ITCH--Poison Ivy Salve

Plantain

Comfrey Leaf

Whole Calendula

Herbally infused in olive oil/coconut oil 12 oz.

3 oz. Beeswax
60 drops ReFresh/Purify
4 Vit. E gels

Thanks to a contest on my facebook page...the following ladies came up with the names of these salves. I'm sending them each a jar of salve for their help.

Arthritis Salve - Aches Away WINNER: Jamie Briggs

Sore Muscle Salve - Sore No More WINNER: Nicole Kleve

Poison Ivy Salve - Ditch the Itch WINNER: Kristin Fennell

Random WINNER: Camille Rains

I would love to hear what you think about these salves. Especially if you make some of your own.

Thanks for stopping by!

Dawn

I've added these salves to my Sonshine Botanicals page if you'd like to purchase them instead of buying all the ingredients and making them yourself.

You can purchase essential oils at Spark Naturals and use code "sonshine" for 10 % off your order at checkout.

This post contains affiliate links.