Making A Basic Herbal Salve

Herbal oils are wonderful for healing skin rashes, scrapes and scratches. If you are looking for a convinient way to store and apply these herbal enfusions, try making a salve. Almost any container will work, and then you can just toss your favorite salve into the baby bag, sports bag, suit case or your purse. Everything from lip healing salves to baby bottom salves can be made at home for a fraction of the cost, and with ton's of herbal healing benefits!

Here's how:

1 cup herbal enfused oil
2oz Bees Wax (grated or pellets)
4 capsules Vitamin E (puncture capsule with a pin and squeeze into salve)

1. Before starting, put a teaspoon in the freezer (you will use this in a minute). Also, have all of your ingredients handy before starting.
2. Heat (but do not boil) your oil - Use a crock pot on the lowest setting, a double boiler or carefully microwave in 30 second intervals. Add a few bits of Bees Wax to the oil and wait until it melts, then you know that it is hot enough to begin adding the rest of the wax.
3. Gradually add beeswax to the oil, stirring, and heat it until all the wax is melted. To test to see if your salve is hard enough, dip the cold spoon into the salve and test the thickness. If your salve is too soft, add more beeswax.
4. After you reach your desired thickness you can add Vitamin E oil (which works as a natural preservative).
5. Pour your salve into containers and label. The salve should have a shelf life of approx 1 year.

NOTE: If you ever see any black fungus or discoloration on your salve, you should throw away the whole container.

Chamomile works great for colds, coughs and sinus trouble

Looking for a safe, effective, natural treatment for stuffy noses and congested coughs? Make an old fashioned steam bowl with dried chamomile. The natural components in chamomile will help drain the sinus safely and the steam will help moisten the lung tissue and break-up mucus.

Instructions:

1. Run bathroom sink water until hot and steamy.
2. Turn off the water and place a large heat proof glass or ceramic bowl into your bathroom sink. Add about 1 cup of dried chamomile into the bowl and then fill it ½ full with hot water.
3. Have the child (or adult) stand or sit close to the sink and inhale the steam. You can place a light pillowcase over the bowl to create a steam tent. Inhale with mouth or nose several times. The steam will cause the nose to run and lung mucus to loosen, so keep tissues close by during your steam. Do this on & off for several minutes. You can repeat the process as often as you like.
4. After the water has cooled, strain out the chamomile flowers and use in the garden as compost.

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Caution: When making a steam, always play it safe and use a sink. Putting hot water into a large bowl may seam easier, but children can pull the bowl over on themselves, causing sever burns. Please- steam ONLY over a standard bathroom sink.

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Adventures in herbal infusions

Several years ago, I began reading about the herbal oils and salves used many hundreds of years ago (before there were corner drug stores). The idea of making herbal salves and oils from scratch was fascinating, so I decided to give it a try.

I was happy to find out how simple the whole thing is -- basically, if you can make sun tea, you are on your way to making herbal infusions!

The infused oils I focus on are for external use only. I always look for solutions for skin problems that herbs can best address safely. It’s amazing how effective some of the most gentle herbs like Chamomile, Calendula and Lavender can be for so many skin irritations. I was especially interested in finding something for my baby’s delicate skin when he had diaper rash, cradle cap and eczema.

I will be posting many recipes for herbal infusions soon for you to try. Then you can use them as-is or try creating your own salves.

Until then, here are some pictures of my latest infusions. After 2-3 weeks in the sun, these will be ready to strain and use. The interesting thing is (ok, interesting to me…I’m a science geek) is that while the dried herbs are left infusing in the oil, the oil itself will not go rancid! There are so many chemical properties in the herbs that it will naturally preserve the oil, even as it sits in the warm sun for weeks. Once you strain out the herb material and rebottle the oil, it needs to be kept out of the sun and used within 6 months to 1 year. Oh yes, herbs are amazing!

Lavender-Aloe Cooler

Summer is around the corner, and so are days full of fun in the sun. And sometimes, too much sun. While looking for an herbal solution for sunburned skin I ran across a brilliant combination of cooling and healing plants.

Aloe Vera has long been known to both cool the sting of a sunburn, and help the skin heal. Lavender is the hero of the herbal world for its burn healing abilities. Combine these two dynamos and you get the ultimate herbal sunburn relief.

To Make:
In a small spray bottle, combine 2 oz pure Aloe Vera juice (you can find this in almost any grocery store now) and 10 drops Lavender Essential Oil.

Label the bottle and put the date you created it on the label.

You can store this for up to 6 months before you need to replace it. Use on sunburns, kitchen steam burns or other minor burns.

To Use:
First, I run cold water on the burn under the tap and check the severity of the burn (don’t use on sever burns…go to the hospital for those!).
Next, apply the Lavender-Aloe Cooler liberally as often as needed.

I keep this combo in my refrigerator & have used it several times when I have burned myself cooking. On all but one occasion my burn mark completely disappeared the same day (and often within the hour).

I give these herbal super-heroes an A+ for their gentle burn healing ability.

Mint...what is not to love about mint!

Before we remodeled our house (and tore up our back yard) I had a nice little patch of mint growing wildly through my rosemary and lavender. OK, word of caution here, this stuff will take over when planted uncontained.

I highly recommend growing fresh mint (in containers). Some of the refreshing things you can do with fresh mint are-- add to sun tea, hot tea or check this easy & fancy treatment:

• Wash out a wine bottle (after you have enjoyed the wine of course) removing the label & keep the cork
• Add several fresh sprigs of rinsed mint to the bottle
• Add drinking water to the bottle & cork
• Refrigerate to chill (add water back to bottle as you consume it- mint will last about a week before you need to start fresh)
• Put your mint water bottle on the table and enjoy!

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Hot Moroccan Mint Tea (Food & Wine.com)

Hot mint tea is a favorite in Morocco, where it's served in small glasses any time of day or night. It's very sweet and packed with mint flavor. We love it cold as well; let the tea cool completely and then strain it into ice-filled glasses.

ingredients
1 quart boiling water, plus more for heating the teapot
1 tablespoon loose green tea, or 3 bags green tea
3/4 cup sugar
3 cups firmly packed mint leaves and tender stems, crushed, plus 4 sprigs for garnish

directions
* Pour a little boiling water into a large teapot, swish it around to heat the pot, and pour the water out. Add the tea to the teapot and pour in 1 cup of the boiling water. Cover and let steep 3 minutes.
* Add the sugar and mint leaves and stems to the teapot. Pour in the remaining 3 cups boiling water. Cover and let steep for 5 minutes. Stir. Continue to steep for 5 minutes more. Strain the mint tea into cups or heatproof glasses.