Re: Anyone make tinctures, salves, balms?

[edward_4576]

Yes, I'd like to see a recipe or two. You never know when you'll need to make your own....

[CarolAnn]

Deb,
I have made my own salve, and I didn't have a recipe.

I read that lots of herbs will give up their healing properties to either warm water, alcohol or oil. So I gathered things I knew to be non-irritating from my herb garden: millfoil (yarrow), mullein leaves, lemon balm, costmary, & wild all-heal and brought them inside. In my little stainless steel pressure cooker, I put about 2 C water, a few glugs of Ever Clear alcohol, and about 3/4 C Crisco shortening and brought it all to a gentle simmer with the top on tight.

I knew they used to use lard or other animal fat because that's what they had. I used Crisco because that's what I had! Then I put the whole thing in the fridge over night.

The next day, the Crisco had settled on top with the leafy herbs between it and the water. The Crisco was soft & aromatic, & light green in color. I spooned it off the top, scraping out the herb leaves as needed, and put it into 35mm plastic film canisters!

It wasn't like shortening any more. Somehow the water and alcohol and mixed in a bit so it was a lot softer and smoother. It melted easily into the skin.

We used it for burns and bug bites, and my mom swore that it had healing properties. At least, it was soothing and didn't do any damage!

So I'd say . . . just GO for it! It helps to read about each herb you use, but generally, if you can use it in tea or food, it should be safe on the skin.

The Herb Book by John Lust is just full of recipes for home-made stuff from herbs. I've found used copies for less than $5 on Amazon, including shipping.

If you've made some of this stuff, tell us how, and how did it turn out?

[TNDadx4]

I would be interested in seeing some of the instructions if anyone feels like posting them.

Thanks!

[alma]

Me, too. I have all kinds of info but don't understand them well enough.
What Carol Anne said i could do.
I am rather dense, and need very specific info, and easy to understand. love, alma

[bookwormom]

quote by Carrol Ann
knew they used to use lard or other animal fat because that's what they had. I used Crisco because that's what I had! Then I put the whole thing in the fridge over night.

gasp, Crisco. ( No offence meant Carol) Lard actually has healing properties of it's own. My mother always used lard, especially when she made calendula salve, even though she did not cook with it and had to get it from someone who had butchered a hog. Lard by itself was used to treat mastitis, massage the udder with it at the first sign, of course with calendula it is even better. It should be from a natural raised hog. Not one of those slaughterhouse pigs. I use olive oil and either bees wax or cocoa butter. but if I can get some good lard I would like to also make some with lard. my calendula is blooming now, only a few plants survived. I do add a shot of olive oil though to the lard to soften it up a bit. to make the salve, heat the fat as if you were going to fry chicken, add a couple of handfulls of chopped up flowers and leaves, simmer for a while, then let stand for a while, strain and fill into containers, label. I collect every suitable container, also small glassbottles with twist off lids. elderblossom salve is also very healing, for scrapes and cuts etc. and so is plantain, it is one of my favorites. Maybe I should combine some ingredients. we once had a houseguest (we had a bed and breakfast for years) and the lady had an open leg. Mother treated it with plantain leave poultices and by the time the lady left there was skin grown over the lesion and she could take a shower.

now what I really would like are instructions for propolis salve because that is more complicated. I never bothered before to write one down as I did not have any propolis, but now we have bees.
I had not thought of using water, alcohol and fat in one recipe. did you invent that Carol? good idea, I am going to try that method.

[Gwynyvyr]

I make a lot of my own tinctures, salves and balms...had to when I lived in a tent and continue to do so because I prefer the results over the crapola in the stores. I usually use coconut oil and beeswax for my salve and balm bases.

I developed a gawdawful case of athletes foot while living in the tent...
It persisted long after I started living a more *civilized* life in a house, etc...got stuff from doctors, etc, to no avail...a year later my feet still looked like raw hamburger...really bad!
Finally *juiced* about a dozen heads of garlic...and one big white onion. Mixed the juices together and boiled 'em down to about half the original liquid and mixed it with coconut oil and some beeswax and a smidge of alcohol into a nice thick *butter*.
Put it on my feet at bedtime and wore white cotton socks over.
Smelly?
You ain't kidding!
But it cured that awful fungal infection within a month.

[CarolAnn]

Gwyn - ;D You've got the idea! (Those fungus spores couldn't take the smell of the garlic and onion!)

I've made tincture with chopped echinacea root in 151 Rum. Again, it's what I had. And boy, did it taste bad. But 15 drops of that stuff in a glass of water cleared up my bronchitis/laryngitis in just a few gulps.

The theory is - it tastes / smells so bad the body heals itself just to get you to stop the medication! ;D Whatever - you'll never know what you can do until you try it.

Bookwormmom - no offense taken! Crisco is better to be smeared on the body as a salve than taken as food, for sure! ;)

Folks, if the pioneers could do it, so can you. Just try it. Don't use more ingredients than you can afford to waste, but be prepared to be pleasantly surprised!

[Darrel]

I make tinctures, salves, poultices, capsules, oils, and infusions.

[bookwormom]

garlic really clears up fungus. My Dad had a batch in his face where he had gotten loads of x rays. His Dr. tried everything and the fungus reacted by flourishing. In spring I was putting garlic water on my little seedlings for damping off and my mother wondered, if that stuff kills the fungus on plants, why not on Dad's face. She chopped up some, added a little water and let it set, making a new batch every second day or so. Dad used an old toothbrush to apply it, the spot got a really angry red, then it cleared up and has not come back to this day. That was in spring 1980.