Boo Boo Balm (first aid salve for all ages)

tin of salve surrounded by herbs

This balm is part of a simple first aid set I put together for my kids a few years ago.

They spent much of the summer adventuring and camping their way across the country with relatives and I wanted them to be prepared for any first aid needs they might run into.

Boo Boo Balm is a general, all-purpose healing salve, to be used on:

  • scrapes,
  • scratches,
  • bug bites,
  • and other minor skin irritations.

The other salves in the set are:

Summer Travel First Aid Set with Labels

Each recipe also has a corresponding sheet of printable kid-friendly labels.

You can print off sheets of one style (Boo Boo Balm’s is HERE) or a combination of the three different types (HERE.)

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Boo Boo Balm

Ingredients

This salve has a 0.5% essential oil dilution rate and fills about one 2-ounce metal tin with a smidge leftover. It was created for ages 2 and up. (Or just leave out the essential oils to make a plain calendula salve that can be used on younger kids too.)

It features calendula (Calenduala officinalis) – a well loved garden flower with antiseptic, anti-itching, and anti-inflammatory properties.

Or instead, you could use plantain (Plantago major) – a common leafy weed that cools, soothes, and is one of the best herbs for skin irritations, cuts, bug bites, and scrapes.

Or, a combination of plantain and calendula would work great too!

Directions to Make

Step 1: Place the calendula oil and beeswax into a heat proof container. You can use a mason jar, or for easy cleanup, a recycled tin can.

Step 2: Set the container with the oil and beeswax down into a saucepan that contains a few inches of water. Set the pan over a medium-low burner until the beeswax has melted.

Step 3: Remove from heat and stir in the essential oils. Carefully, pour the hot mixture into tins. This recipe fills about one the 2 ounce tins shown. You can buy those from Amazon or Specialty Bottle.

I highly recommend screw cap tins instead of the push top type. It can be really hard for kids – and some adults, like me! – to get the lids off of the push top types.

boo boo balm label

Step 4: Print out the sheet of Boo Boo Balm labels HERE or the combination sheet of Bug Be Gone, Boo Boo Balm, and Bumps & Bruises, HERE.

I like to use repositional sticker paper (like this kind) for labels.

If you don’t have sticker paper handy, you can print on regular copy paper and affix with a thin layer of glue. It won’t be as durable, but will work for a while!

sticker lables for boo boo balm

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16 Comments

  1. I plan to make some of your Boo Boo Balm for Christmas gifts and give with some fun Bandaids. What program did you use to design your labels? How did you do the round borders? Your labels are great! Thanks for the good ideas!

    1. Hi Janice! I use PicMonkey & OpenOffice to make labels. I like your idea of giving the balm with some fun bandaids for Christmas gifts!

  2. Could you use a calendula CO2 extract instead of the infused oil? If you did, what percentage would you use? I’ve seen a 10% dilution product in jojoba, for example which is supposed to be easier to work with.

    1. Hi EastCoaster! I haven’t tried working with calendula CO2 extract before, so I’m just not sure as far as substitution rates. Looking at this one I see available, they suggest 1 to 5%. I’d call or email customer service for the brand that you have and hopefully they can give you a better idea of how much to use. I wish I could help more, but I hope you’re able to find your answer soon!

  3. Hi! This recipe looks fantastic. Do you think it would be okay to add comfrey to the infused oil? I have read some mixed things about comfrey and was just wondering what your thoughts might be. Thanks so much and I love your website!

    1. Hi Tara! I’m happy to know you like the web site! :) I like to put comfrey oil in balms for aches, pains and sore muscles, but I avoid using it in a salve/balm that is to be used on open wounds. Comfrey can heal and close your skin up so fast, that sometimes dirt is trapped underneath and that’s not a good thing.

  4. i have recently developed a reaction to tea tree or melaleuca oil. I used to buy and even make my own Melalgel from Melaluca. How critical is the tee tree oil for healing? I loved the effectiveness, but have had severe skin reactions recently and need to find an alternative.

    1. Hi Jen! You can leave the tea tree oil out without a problem. The main healing part is the calendula infused oil; the essential oils just add a little boost.

  5. Hello! Greetings from Finland! To start with, I have to confess I’m not a fan of testimonials and have never ever written one before. But now I cannot help it – I made this balm (slighty altering it by adding for example peppermint EO, tamanu oil and plantain+willow+common yarrow (don’t know if that’s the right name in english – achillea millefolium) infused oil along with the original calendula infused oil) and it has worked on my super itchy feet with pustulosis palmoplantaris rash/vesicular ezcema like magic. I used hydrocortisone for a month with no results at all so I decided to give this balm a try. One day of treatment twice a day – itching nearly gone. Two days – ezcema nearly gone. Can’t believe what a relief it is. So thank you for sharing your recipe; even if I didn’t follow the instructions very carefully, it was a great inspiration for making my own salve.

  6. I make this and every one loves it. I was asked if it was safe for tattoos. Does it have anything in to draw out the color?

    1. Hi Pam! That’s a great question! Calendula is especially helpful to apply after tattoos, as is tea tree oil. Lavender can be helpful too. So, there’s nothing in the salve contraindicated for tattoos. I *think* I recall reading that you want to avoid things like zinc oxide and lemon on a fresh tattoo, so I’d keep any citrus-type essential oils out of a recipe for tattoo salve, just to be safe.

    1. Hi Joyel! I just had someone tell me last week that they used this recipe on their dog after surgery & it worked better than something the vet had prescribed. :) Tea tree is controversial for dogs though, so I would suggest trying it without it to be on the safe side.

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