Herbal Oils and Salves

originally posted by: zosimov
Could you make an extra for me, please?

You know I will.

Update: Made that lemon balm salve today! It's really nice stuff--turned out better than I could have guessed.
One jar of oil combined in a double boiler with one ounce of organic beeswax (I think mine was 1.09 oz of wax and a little less than a cup of oil) and several drops of lemongrass essential oil and I was able to fill two medium sized tins with salve.

Here are some of the benefits/uses:
futureyouhealth.com...

I'm also making sage and yarrow infused oils to make a few more salves. Both yarrow and sage salves supposedly work well on wounds/skin problems and sage also helps with respiratory ailments.
There's a moldavian dragonhead balm tincture brewing too but that one looks highly suspect. Not sure if that one will be any good at all.
I'm excited to be putting these herbs to good use!

Check it out!!
Before:

After


So to go back through the steps after letting the lemon balm/olive oil sit for a month, I strained the mixture through cheesecloth into sterilized jars. This left me with 2 jars of lemon balm infused oil, which is pictured in the little vial.

I melted a little over an oz of commercial grade organic beeswax in a double boiler before adding one jar of the oil to the heated mixture (the beeswax solidified briefly before melting again and mixing with the oil. I added maybe 10 drops of lemongrass essential oil (otherwise the oil smelled like olive oil) and took it off the heat/poured it into two candle tins I'd never used and let cool.

I'm definitely excited to make more potions from the garden

a reply to: zosimov

So nice!!

a reply to: zosimov

Looks great. So nice. Super cool. Send me some

a reply to: TheAlleghenyGentleman

I bought some more tins/supplies today including small trial sized tins

Will keep you posted.

a reply to: zosimov

Sweet 👍

a reply to: zosimov

Need sage...as I look out my window on the beautiful SWestern desert...sage, juniper, Pinon, and rabbit bush as far as the eye can see. As an undergrad I had a job gathering the flowers of rabbit bush for a firm making allergy meds. Driving the backroads of NM gathering flowers and getting paid. Wonderful!

a reply to: olaru12

I love living (near--not as close as you, it sounds like) where the pinon trees grow.
Had to look up the benefits of rabbit bush; looks like a great plant for some light foraging!!

I agree that driving around those remote roads in NM is wonderful. Even more to be paid for it

a reply to: zosimov
Hmmmm, So why did you feel the need to add Lemongrass EO to it, or was it just because it smelled of olive oil?
By my calculations you added 12 drops to approximately 60ml of wax and olive oil. For application on the skin on a daily basis you should have used no more than 3 drops max of this particular EO.
EO's are different from infused oils from the same plant material. They are chemically more complex as they contain almost all of the chemical components of the plant. Infused oils only give off a small percentage of those. So, for example Lemongrass EO contraindications are: Lemongrass/Citral (Cymbopogon citratus): Contraindicated with drugs metabolised by CYP2B6 enzyme. Hypersensitive, damaged or diseased skin. Not to be used on or near children. BEST NOT USED ON SKIN AT ALL.
This from webmd

Lemongrass is LIKELY SAFE for most people when used in food amounts. It is POSSIBLY SAFE when taken by mouth, applied to the skin, or inhaled as aromatherapy short-term for medicinal purposes. Rarely, lemongrass oil might cause a rash of skin irritation when applied to the skin. However, there have been some toxic side effects, such as lung problems after inhaling lemongrass and a fatal poisoning after a child swallowed a lemongrass oil-based insect repellent.

Link
Please, I am not having a go, I love that you are making your own remedies. You might very well already know what I have pointed out and aware of adverse reactions, but others reading might not know.
Rainbows
Jane

a reply to: angelchemuel
Thank you for weighing in.

I'm my own guinea pig and so far this is working magic.

(Where did you get your calculations from--I'm curious because I never wrote 12)
Appreciate the comments though!

a reply to: zosimov
My apologies you wrote 10

I added maybe 10 drops of lemongrass essential oil (otherwise the oil smelled like olive oil)

Rainbows
Jane

Yeah, I use herbal oils for my skin and hair to make them shine and healthy!

I like jojoba oil most of all. It has many vitamins and fats useful for the skin, here are the proofs