St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) is a pretty yellow flowering plant that’s considered a noxious weed in several states, but is well-loved by herbalists! Besides using it for tinctures and liniments (like this herbal liniment for varicose veins & muscle pains), it’s also wonderful to infuse into oil for salves and lotions. If you don’t…
Learn how to make helpful herbal salves using purple dead nettle and other beneficial plants. Purple dead nettle (Lamium purpureum) is an edible weed that pops up in yards and gardens in early spring. You might often see it growing near henbit (Lamium amplexicaule), which is said to be its closest look-a-like. (They both have…
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)…
This echinacea salve is made from the leaves & flowers of purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). It’s simple to make & handy to keep in your first aid kit or backpack while hiking and camping. In his excellent book, Making Plant Medicine, herbalist Richo Cech mentions that a salve made with dried echinacea flowers and leaves is…
This rose petal salve recipe is made with real rose petals along with rosehip seed oil, which has amazing benefits when applied to mature, sun-damaged, dry, or irritated skin. Today’s project is Rose Petal Salve! I like to enrich this salve with Rosehip Seed Oil which is well known for its anti-aging and skin healing…
Learn how to use common weeds growing in your backyard to make a dandelion salve that’s useful for sore muscles, achy and arthritic joints, and rough chapped skin. Dandelion salve is especially ideal for those who work outdoors and with their hands a lot! Dandelions are one of my favorite plants! They’re the epitome of…
Today, I have the great pleasure of sharing this lovely lemon honey balm recipe created by one of my favorite bloggers, JES from the Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth blog. It features: lemon-infused oil coconut oil beeswax and honey The directions are excerpted (with permission) from her wonderful new ebook that’s filled to the brim with creative ideas for using…
This is a hand salve that I made for my mom, an avid quilter. Originally, I wanted to make her a quilt block soap to match, but that proved to be more of a challenge than anticipated, so I haven’t gotten that part quite yet! (Fun fact: My mom helped me start the quilt in…
This all-natural DIY elder leaf salve is easy to make and useful for treating bruises, strains, old injuries or wounds. Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase, I earn a small commission for sending a customer their way. :) The idea for this elder leaf…
Old-fashioned pine tar salve has been traditionally used to treat everything from splinters, bug bites and boils, to patches of eczema or psoriasis. This recipe combines herbal infused oil with the pine tar, for an added boost of effectiveness. It’s super easy to make too! Ingredients 2.75 oz (78 g) herbal-infused oil (see note below)…
This natural bug-away salve is part of a first aid set I put together for my kids a few years ago, when they spent a good part of their summer camping and meandering across the country. In anticipation of the inevitable boo-boo’s, bumps, and bug problems they would surely encounter, I put together a trio…
Last week, I shared 12 ways to use up an abundance of Lemon Balm. Today, I’m going to highlight its equally prolific cousin: Mint. Though it attracts beneficial insects and has many practical uses for home and health, mint can quickly become unruly in the garden. Be sure to plant it in an out of…
This week on the blog, I’m sharing ways that you can use calendula. What I really love about this sunny flower is that it’s: extremely easy to grow from seed is safe enough to use on a baby or pet is a potent skin healer and is a powerful fighter of germs and inflammation By…
This is my family’s go-to healing salve recipe for soothing pretty much any scratch, cut, scrape, bug bite, dry skin patch, bee sting, hives, and so forth. I have a relative who even likes to use it instead of an eye cream! Think of this as an herbal alternative to something like your typical store-bought,…