I started making herbal infused oils for herbal salves last week with herbs from the garden. This one is Yarrow flowers. I have Nettle leaf, Thyme, Camomile flowers and Plantain leaf so far. They are soaking in extra virgin olive oil for about 4 to 6 weeks by a sunny window. I have to shake twice a day and when the oil starts to take on the color and aroma of the herb its ready to strain through cheese cloth.
From there it will be melted with beeswax, add a few drops of essential oils like Lavender or Tea Tree and a few drops of Vitamin E oil, which is optional.
I got the easy to do instructions from Mary Janes Farm mag. I got tons of herb books but this method seems very easy. So far so good and before to long I'll have wonderful salve from the herb garden. Used for many things like bee stings, scratches, and anything that would be good for the skin.
I need to pick up more olive oil b/c the Lavender is blooming. I'm going to try Cayenne pepper, it helps for arthritis and sore muscles, helps with itching too.
I've grown herbs for years and use in cooking but this will be my first salves. I'm glad I started this project. Like many things we talk about doing, its really easy once we get over that before we start stage.
If you havn't picked up a Mary Janes Farm magazine your missing a treat, if you have you already know how inspiring it is and know your are a Farm Girl no matter where you live.
Have good one, hope to share my homemade salves in a month.
linda
This is very interesting. I'm leaning more and more into using homemade items. Over a year ago a got a nasty facial rash from too much Oxy in laundry detergent. Now I make my own detergent from a recipe I got from another fellow blogger. I love it and it's super cheap. Yeah the ingredients are store bought but at least I know what they actually are and not going to hurt me.
ReplyDeleteHave not made my own deterent yet but have read many that do. I need to do as well.
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