OK, so i’ve still got all this arnica sitting in a paper bag that I collected a couple months ago, and I’m determined to turn it into a salve this week. i’ve got beeswax and oil, now i just need a good recipe. does anyone have any idea how much dried above ground plant would be good to use? so many things say “1 part x per 5 parts x”, but how the heck do i compare amounts of dried flower to something like olive oil?
Out of curiosity, what kind(s) of oil make a good salve? (i.e. will soothe burns, keep germs out, etc)
Sorry I can’t help with the arnica. :-\
[quote=“BlueHeron, post:2, topic:1187”]Out of curiosity, what kind(s) of oil make a good salve? (i.e. will soothe burns, keep germs out, etc)
Sorry I can’t help with the arnica. :-[/quote]
from what i understand, olive oil seems to be the best. not really sure about others.
re: oil.
i have used olive oil quite a bit in the past. it works well. long life, nice texture, etc. i’m not using olive oil anymore, though. right now i’m using pig fat that i rendered. i have about a liter of organ fat from the spring. while making my salve i added slippery elm to keep it from going rancid (approx. 1 oz slippery elm to 1 gallon of fat). i would prefer to use bear fat, but when we have it we use it mostly for food. other folks like using almond oil or other non-animal based fats. meh. i’m not about to go buy or acquire a bunch of imported oils when i have gallons of lard.
in terms of preserving oils/salves (along with slippery elm) i use propolis as my main anti-microbial ingredient. you could sub cotton wood buds. don’t need too much. another way to make your salve last longer is to make small batches and keep it in small containers so that you don’t have one big jar that has dirty hands diggin in it for months on end.
re: making oil.
this is how i always make my cold infusion oils
step one - dont worry about measuring if youre just making your own salve.
step two - crumble/crush/powder/chop/grind/whatever all of your herbal/resin/etc ingredients in to a clean (dip in boiling water and then dry it thoroughly) jar.
step three - pour your oil (or melted lard) on top of your herb(s). you want the oil to be roughly 1 inch above the herb(s). stir thoroughly and let it settle. there will be more oil on top once it settles and be reserved with the oil the first time.
step four - cover it appropriately (if plants are dry just thrown a lid on. if theyre not totally dry use cheese cloth and an elastic).
step five - let it sit and macerate in the oil for an appropriate length of time (2-6 weeks). i generally keep the jars in a cupboard out of the sun. sometimes the oils do well with sun or warmth. it helps them infuse better. you can judge for yourself.
re: salve
once you have your strained herbal oil put it in a double boiler and warm it up. add beeswax in chunks or grated. the ratio is about 1oz beeswax to 1 cup of oil. i never use this because i’m pretty used to doing it so i just eyeball it. take tests of your warm salve with a spoon. i’ve noticed over the years that the consistency that i like (with olive oil and beeswax) will start to harden on the spoon a little bit quite quickly after i take it out of the pot. anyways, you have to play around with it because it varies quite a bit from climate, season, and personal preference. one thing, though… if it’s too waxy only add a little bit of oil in to smooth it out.
hey, thanks for the tips. for the arnica, i’m under the impression that i need to put the herb in alcohol first, and then i can blend it up in the blender. does this seem cool? would i still need to let the oil sit for weeks before salvifying it? any idea how much arnica i can use per part of oil?