You can use herbal salves and oils for skin ailments, or for ordinary skin care, lotion and perfume. Some herbs will impart pleasant smells into the salve or oil, while other herbs are used primarily for their medicinal qualities.
To Make an Herbal Salve:
- Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 2 teaspoons of fresh herb. Allow the herb to steep for 15 minutes.
- Strain the herb from the water.
- Place the herbal water and 1 ¼ cups of oil in a saucepan. You can use any vegetable oil. Olive and sesame oils works very well.
- Boil slowly until it is reduced in half.
- Melt an ounce of beeswax and add it to the herbal oil.
- Add ¼ teaspoon of benzoin tincture as a preservative.
- Stir well.
- Pour the herbal salve into small sterile glass or stainless steel jars.
- Seal the jars with a tight fitting lid.
- Label the jars with the name of the herbal salve and date.
- Store the salve in a dark cool place.
To Make an Herbal Oil Infusion:
- Finely chop the fresh herb to be infused into the oil. You can use a coffee grinder, food processor, or more traditionally a mortar and pestal.
- Place the herbs in small mason jar and pour in enough extra virgin olive oil to cover them completely.
- Place a tight lid on the jar and shake it well.
- Place the jar in a sunny window. Shake the mixture daily to release and mix the oils.
- After two weeks, strain the Herb from the oil with a cheese cloth or tea strainer.
- Store your herbal oil in small glass jars.
- Seal them well and label them with the date and contents.
- Keep the oils in a cool, dry, dark place for longer shelf life.
- Herbal oil infusions will last up to one year.
Herbs for Skin Care
Several herbs such as calendula and lavender make good all purpose daily skin care oils and salves. These are necessities to have in an herbal medicine cabinet. Others herbal oils and salves such as comfrey, black walnut, chickweed and chamomile have very specific skin healing purposes. Below are a few common skin care herbs and their uses:
- Calendula – Cuts and Scrapes, Insect Bites, Acne, Softens Skin
- Lavender – Cuts and Scrapes, Boils, Acne, Burns, Insect Bites, Rashes, External Yeast Infections, General Skin Care, Insect Repellent, Perfumes, Softens Skin
- Comfrey – Cuts and Scrapes, Bruises, Eczema, Softens Skin
- Chamomile – Puffy Eyes
- Black Walnut Hulls – Cuts and Scrapes, Sores, Poison Oak and Ivy
- Plantain – Insect Bites
- Chickweed – Cuts and Scrapes, Psoriasis
How to Make Natural Herbal Medicine at Home
Heather Schulte - Heather Schulte is a freelance writer based in the Midwest. She writes web content for a variety of publications such as Suite101, eHow, ...
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