Calendula makes a wonderful option for an herbal salve. It’s medicinal properties include anti-inflammatory and antiseptic characteristics. It has been used for ages to help treat skin conditions including: rashes, bug bites, itching, sunburn, blisters and skin infections. In this post, we’re gonna make some herbal calendula salves.
To begin, we need to make an herbal infused oil. This can be done with many varieties of herbs for different purposes. The preferred method is to let your herbs infuse into the oil for a couple of weeks. We didn’t have the luxury of time, so we resorted to a backup method.
Using a double boiler, put the herbs into a pot and cover them with oil. Let the water reach boiling temperature and then let the herbal mixture simmer for 30-60 minutes. Then, use a cheesecloth to strain the oil out of the herbs and you’re left with an herbal infused oil.
Now we can take this herbal infused oil and add our beeswax to it. Returning it to the double boiler, mix in the beeswax and let it melt. The rough estimate is 4 parts oil to 1 part wax. We used about 2 cups of infused oil and 1/2 cup of beeswax.
Once the wax has melted into the oil, you can optionally add essential oils to the mix if you prefer it for the added medicinal properties or just to include a scent to your salves.
At this point you can go ahead and do a test salve and pour enough of your mix into a container of your choice. Throw that container into the freezer for a minute or two and then you can gauge how hard the salve is. If it’s too hard, you need to add some more oil and if it’s too soft just add some wax.
Once you’ve reached the consistency that you like, you can go ahead and pour the rest. Now all you have to do is enjoy your herbal calendula salve!
Get dried calendula flowers here
Get beeswax pastilles here
Get cheesecloth here
Get salve tins here
Get a Nuwave induction cooktop here
Get Rosemary Gladstar’s herbal recipe book here
If you’re interested in more information about essential oils, please contact Debbiewalleryl@gmail.com