Black Drawing Salve Recipe

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Old Fashioned Black Drawing Salve Recipe
Wellness Mama » Blog » Natural Remedies » Black Drawing Salve Recipe

Black drawing salve is  a natural remedy I first heard about when visiting a local Amish community to pick up produce and eggs. I saw one of the farmer’s sons applying what looked like tar to his arm after getting a large splinter from a fence post.

I asked what he was putting on his arm and was told that it was a drawing salve to help pull out the splinter and make sure the area didn’t get infected. I was fascinated and wondered if it would work and if it would stain the skin.

The farmer assured me that it didn’t stain the skin and that they used it all the time in their community to help with wound healing and drawing out things that were stuck in the skin. He said that it was even effective on some spider bites for drawing out the venom.

I asked if there was a place to buy it, and was told that they made it themselves but the farmer offered to write down the recipe for me.

Black Salve Recipe

We’ve been making variations of this recipe ever since. It takes a while to make but is very effective and well worth the time. We especially use it for splinters and pieces of glass that get stuck in the skin.

I have not tried it personally for this, but black drawing salves are also said to help remove moles and skin tags.

Salve Ingredients

Salve Instructions

  1. Before making the salve, it is important to infuse olive oil with comfrey, calendula and plantain. You will need 1 tablespoon of each of the herbs, finely powdered in a food processor or blender, and ½ cup olive oil. It can be infused in one of these two ways:
  2. Powder the herbs and place in a small jar. Pour oil over the herbs. Leave in jar for 3-4 weeks, shaking daily, and then strain through a cheesecloth for use.
  3. Heat the herbs and olive oil in a double boiler. Leave on low/medium heat for about an hour until oil gets strong smelling and darker. Strain through cheesecloth for use.
  4. Personally, I keep a big jar of olive oil with plantain, comfrey and calendula in my herb cabinet and let it constantly infuse for use in salves and lotions. When the oil is used, I discard the herbs and begin the process again.
  5. Combine infused olive oil, shea butter, coconut oil, beeswax, vitamin E oil and honey in a glass jar in a small pan of water.
  6. Heat the water to a simmer and carefully stir mixture in the jar until all ingredients are melted.
  7. Remove from heat and add activated charcoal, kaolin clay, and lavender essential oil and mix well.
  8. Quickly pour in to small jars or tins and let sit until hardened (several hours).
  9. Store in airtight container and use as needed on cuts, splinters, etc.

How to Use Black Salve

Make sure area has been cleaned well. Put a generous amount of black salve on the wound or splinter and cover with gauze or a large bandaid.

Leave at least a few hours or overnight to allow it to draw out the infection or object. Some things (like glass… in my experience) may take a day or two and several applications to draw out an object.

This salve is a wonderful natural remedy but it is not a replacement for medical care when needed. Consult a doctor before using if you have any health conditions or concerns.

Ever made a salve? How did it work? Share below!

Old fashioned black drawing salve is an Amish recipe that is a natural treatment for wounds, splinters and other skin problems.

Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

269 responses to “Black Drawing Salve Recipe”

  1. Jan Avatar

    IF you want to buy it instead of making it poke around on etsy!! Support a home based business & get a great product! Win win 🙂

  2. Sarah Avatar

    If you don’t feel like making this yourself go to your local pharmacies and ask them if they sell it. My grandmother was in her pharmacy one day and mentioned it to the pharmacist that she used to be able to buy it and hasn’t seen it in years in a store. They keep a supply behind the counter of it but don’t leave it out in the store! Store bought works very well in my experience with it.

  3. Brett Avatar

    Is there anyway to purchase this product? It is exactly what I’m looking for, but I don’t feel capable of making it, I’ve been doing so much research on it and think this is the closest to what my aunt used to have many years ago

  4. Shirley Avatar

    Hello. I was wondering if I could buy a jar of your black salve from you? Please let me know. Thxs.

      1. Shirley Avatar

        Ok. I understand that. I just am not able to create it and was wondering if u made another batch for Christmas if I could buy one :-). Thxs

    1. alice Avatar

      you can buy this on ebay.. got mine from the whispering-winds- farm.. hoping it will remove my minute ticks from my body from 2 years ago they fester up now and then. will let you know..

  5. John Avatar

    I hope that people looking for a bloodroot black salve recipe do not get mixed up by this.
    Or Icthammol made from shale oil, as both are called black drawing salve.

    Black salve containing bloodroot is a whole nother thing.
    I have used it three times with success.
    There is a few websites that try to scare people away from the real salve but testimonials are everywhere on the internet. youtube for instance.

    Bloodroot is an amazing herb that is continually suppressed because the cancer industry is self regulating and making hundreds of billions annually.

    BLOODROOT BLACK SALVE DRAWS OUT CANCER.

    Find out for yourselves and don’t believe the hype.

    1. Amy Avatar

      Yrs I have an elderly friend who had a cancerous tumor on her face …she used the salve and now is cancer free…this was 20 years ago…mind you it left quite a scar but she is alive to tell about it!

  6. Yolanda Avatar

    I have just gethered all my ingredients to get started. I bought the dry herbs not the powders although they had the powders available. Should I have bought the powders to skip the step of processing the dry herbs? I remember my mom using black ointment on us when we were growing up.

  7. Amy Avatar

    I recently purchased Icthamol ointment at CVS after reading about its properties to draw out boils, which my DS was having a problem with. It worked great but I am glad to try your recipe also.

  8. BERNA Avatar

    FIFTY YEARS AGO I WENT TO AN OLD GERMAN DOCTOR FOR A PAINFUL PYANYDAL CYST
    AND HE GAVE ME BLACK MUMP SALVE TO APPLY…THE CYST BURST IN ABOUT A WEEK, WHILE MY BROTHER WHO HAD THE SAME THING WENT FOR SURGERY…AND REGRETTED IT

  9. Jill Avatar

    I live in the desert. Do you know if this works for getting cactus needles out of your skin?

    Thanks!

    1. Sylvia Avatar

      I know this is an old post, but in case you haven’t got your answer yet I just used salve I made from this recipe on 2 cactus quills ( they were very tiny but felt huge). It worked great

  10. Sam James Avatar

    Hi 🙂 How long can I keep the ready salve in the cupboard? Do I have to keep it in the fridge?
    Thanks for everything you share with us <3

  11. Nancy Avatar

    So glad to find your blog. Can’t wait to try this . Where can I order the ingredients?

  12. Joseph Avatar

    When infusing the hearb in oil you said: Before making the salve, it is important to infuse olive oil with comfrey, calendula and plantain.
    Q. Do you combine all the hearbs in one big jar or separate jars?

      1. Joseph Avatar

        Katie thanks. Is that a 1/2 a cup of olive oil for each ingredient herb or for all three herbs? thanks

  13. Daryl Avatar

    I have the Blood root, Chaparral, Galangal,Graviola DMO, Vegetable Glycerine, Zinc Chloride, I read recently that they need to be boiled for 30minutes then another recipe says don’t boil, or cook.
    Plus other ingredients, which has the best results, more or herbs, and oils,
    What I have and shared was very successful on our Melanomas.

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar

      You could certainly try it, but the charcoal is a big part of the drawing power of the salve. If you try it, let us know if it still works well!

  14. Christal watts Avatar
    Christal watts

    I have all but the top line of ingredients…would this be worth making without those ingredients? I have a friend with a pretty bad spider bite.

    1. Gaynell Daniels Avatar
      Gaynell Daniels

      I have a real bad rash on my arms,they are kinda cracked hurt and itch most of the time. Do you think the black salve would help?

  15. Jan Avatar

    Do you sell the black salve you make and if yes how do I order some?

  16. Eva Avatar

    How many oz’s dose this recipie yield? I don’t know what size jars to order. What sizes do u use???

  17. Mary Avatar

    Which part of comfrey are you referring too, the leaves or the roots? Raw or processed shea butter? Why can certain ingredients be omitted?

    My cousin swears by the black salve “Ichthammol”.

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