Honeysuckle Rose Salve Recipe

This salve captures the essence of two well-loved summer flowers – roses and honeysuckle.

Roses are often used in skin care recipes for their cooling and anti-inflammatory properties. Honeysuckle flowers, while better known for treating flu and viruses internally, can also be used as a skin soothing component in skin care formulations.

A touch of rose (or geranium) and jasmine (or ylang ylang) essential oils are included in this recipe, to give the salve an added boost of summer scent. Another idea is to combine sweet orange with a drop of ylang ylang for a mock orange type of scent.

If you don’t have those essential oils on hand, you can leave them out for an unscented salve, or if you’re not a fan of rose, try replacing with lavender instead.

Dab the finished salve on dry, itchy or irritated skin. (A little bit goes a long way!)

To make this salve, you’ll first need to make a honeysuckle and rose infused oil.

How to Make Honeysuckle & Rose Infused Oil

Gather and dry rose petals and honeysuckle flowers.

(See my article, How to Harvest & Dry Flowers & Herbs from Your Garden.)

Once completely dried, fill a half-pint or other small jar about half-way with dried rose/honeysuckle. Pour in your favorite oil almost to the top and stir to release air bubbles.

Suggested oils include: sunflower, sweet almond, rice bran, olive, hemp, avocado, jojoba, etc.

You can also add some fractionated coconut oil or grapeseed oil to the mix, if you’d like the make the finished salve absorb into skin a little quicker.

For a quick oil infusion:

Set the jar down into a small saucepan filled with a few inches of water. Heat over a low burner for a few hours, keeping a close eye that the water doesn’t evaporate out.

Remove from heat and strain.

For a slower, more traditional infusion:

Cap the jar of flowers and oil and tuck away in a cabinet for around 4 to 6 weeks, shaking occasionally as you remember to. When the infusing time has passed, strain.

For a third option:

You could also set the jar of flowers and oil in a sunny windowsill for several days to a week to jump start the infusion. (Don’t store for long periods in sunlight though, as it tends to fade flowers and herbs over time.)

Ingredients for Salve

• 1.75 oz (50 g) oil infused with dried roses and honeysuckle flowers
• 0.25 oz (7 g) shea or mango butter
• 0.25 oz (7 g) beeswax (*or vegan option below)
• optional – a couple drops each of rose (or geranium) and jasmine (or ylang ylang) essential oils

* For a vegan version, try half as much candelilla wax instead of beeswax.

Directions for Salve

1. Add the infused oil, shea or mango butter, and beeswax into a small canning jar or, for easier cleanup, an upcycled tin can.
2. Set the jar into a pan containing an inch or two of water, to create a makeshift double boiler. Heat the pan over a medium-low burner until the wax is melted.
3. Remove from heat, add the essential oil and pour into a small glass jar or tin.
4. Dab the cooled, finished salve on dry skin spots, such as elbows, knees and feet. (A little bit goes a long way!)
5. If the salve turns out too soft for your liking, you can melt it down and add a little more beeswax.
6. If it’s too hard, melt it down and add more oil.
7. Store in a cool dry spot out of direct sunlight and shelf life should be at least 9 months to a year.

PS: I started this blog post two years ago and am just now publishing it! (I’m such a procrastinator sometimes!) :)

While I thought I’d made a sheet of printable labels to share with it at the time, I can’t find them now.

However, you can create your own round labels by following the video tutorial in this blog post on making round labels for bath bombs. (Round labels for salves are just the same.)

I believe the graphics used to make the label shown came from this Vintage Floral Collection and/or this Laurels & Floral Frames Package at Creative Market.

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