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Homemade Healing Salve

December 5, 2011 By 12 Comments

broad leafed plantain 300x255 Homemade Healing Salve I’m not a fan of Neosporin because its made with petroleum jelly and isn’t nearly as effective as the natural options.

My homemade healing salve (or “boo-boo lotion” according to the kids) is helpful on cuts, bruises, stings, poison ivy and skin irritations. It also helps diaper rash and baby skin irritations- just don’t use with cloth diapers or line them first.

It’s easy to make and some of the ingredients even grow in your front yard during the summer… The picture on the left is Plantain, which grows in most parts of the country and is great for the skin. Most people just know it as a common garden weed.

This salve is naturally antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, antifungal and astringent. It also doesn’t contain petroleum! I never goes bad, so I make it in big batches, but you can reduce the size if needed. I always keep this on hand while gardening for skin irritations and bug bites.

All ingredients and tins and lip chap containers to store it in are available here. (Storing in a lip-chap container makes it portable and easy to apply. )

You Will Need:

  • 2 cups of olive or almond oil
  • 1 tsp echinacea root (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons comfrey leaf
  • 2 tablespoons of plantain leaf (herb-not banana!)
  • 1 tablespoon of calendula flowers (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon yarrow flowers (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon of rosemary leaf (optional)
  • 1/4 cup beeswax pastilles
  • 1/2 tsp grapefruit seed extract or vitamin E oil to preserve

How To Make Healing Salve:

  1. Infuse the herbs into the olive oil. There are two ways to do this. You can either combine the herbs and the olive oil in a jar with an airtight lid and leave 3-4 weeks, shaking daily  OR heat the herbs and olive oil over low/low heat in a double boiler for 3 hours (low heat!) until the oil is very green.
  2. Strain her herbs out of the oil by pouring through a cheesecloth. Let all the oil drip out and then squeeze the herbs to get the remaining oil out.
  3. Discard the herbs.
  4. Heat the infused oil in a double boiler with the beeswax until melted and mixed.
  5. Pour into small tins, glass jars or lip chap tubes and use on bites, stings, cuts, poison ivy, diaper rash or other wounds as needed.

 

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About Wellness Mama

Wellness Mama is a full-time housewife with a background in nutrition, journalism and communications. Her passion is helping others achieve optimal health through a “Wellness Lifestyle.” She has helped hundreds of clients lose weight, increase athletic performance, improve fertility, and overcome numerous health problems and diseases. Connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, & Pinterest.

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  • Becky

    This would be worth trying. I found out the hard way that I am allergic to Neomycin. I had an ear infection and they gave me Neomycin drops for it. I almost lost my hearing. They weren’t sure if I would get it totally back. Thank GOD I did. I just about won’t use any medicaitons. Too many risk.

  • Shari

    Where are all of these herbs found?

  • http://wellnessmama.com Wellness Mama
  • Aingael

    Thank you. I learned of the healing properties of “Soldiers herb” aka plantain last summer but was unsure of how best to utilize it. I have to young boys 5 and 2 and we all have allergies to a lot of things. This will be taking a place of honor in our medicine cabinet!! Thank you a thousand times.

  • Aingael

    grocers, backyard, garden shops. or specialty places.

  • Sam

    hey there wellness mama, I’m new to your site but I was wondering where you got your double boiler from? everything I find at target looks like what I use to steam my veggies, are they one in the same?

  • http://wellnessmama.com Wellness Mama

    I found mine at a garage sale, but it is basically a small pan with a slightly bigger pan that fits on top of it. I put water in the bottom one and the ingredients in the top one. Most of the time though I just use a glass bowl on top of a saucepan that is a little smaller…

  • Conlynnemor

    This herb is more amazing than most people know.  My dad lived in the Jungle of Peru (Tarapoto) to be exact and a medicine man introduced this herb to him when one day he showed him a lesion on the back of his left leg. Dad had previously gone to see a regular doctor, and was told he had a skin cancer and it was not curable unless cut off and it was the size of his calf muscle.  Well… this herb that USA calls plantain is called “LLANTEN”‘ in Peru. The medicine man told him to boil water and to drop a leaf in the boiling water just long enough to wilt it, take it out an cool slightly and put the entire leaf or leaves on the affected area and wrap with cheese cloth. Change it daily and do this for a week or until it was gone. After this primitive treatment, all dad had left was a discolored smooth area on the back of his leg for the rest of his life. I personally grow this herb, (it grows wild) and when i make collard greens or other greens I also include some LLANTEN leaves. I also make tea with the leaves, boil water and let it steep, add some honey and a little lemon and enjoy.

  • Carmen

    Love your website :)

  • Susan Bewley

    Wow, this is so cool! I have this week growing throughout my yard and had no clue it was anything but a weed!  Can you move it to a pot to grow indoors?  I have never seen it for sale normally.

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  • http://wellnessmama.com Wellness Mama

    Honestly, I’ve never tried moving it indoors, but let me know if you try it!