Healing Salve (Lotion Bars & Jarred Salve)
All salves, whether jarred or lotion bars begin about 6wks prior with the oil infusions. These salves are for olive oil infusions, but you could definitely could play with infusing different types of oils. You could get fancy by adding more expensive single note oils to your combinations- play with it!
Basic oil infusion process– fill a jar or jars about 1/3 full with dried herb(s) you are using. Fill the jar to the top with olive oil and cap tightly. Put in a bright place like a windowsill and let sit for 4-6 weeks, shaking the jar at least once a week ideally.
Salves/Lotion bars introduction: The basic idea with salves is thinking in ratios of beeswax/cocoa butter/infused oil. The ratio you decide on will determine how solid or soft your final product will be, wether it will stand alone in bar form or need to be jarred. The climate you live in or time of year will effect your final product as well so it’s a good idea to make small amounts at first and try a couple of different combinations to find something you like best. If you find your lotion bar is too soft- put in in a jar for that batch and try a different combination for the next batch.
Note: The below are the infusions I used in my Etsy shop. But, especially when making products for your own use, herb choice can be any single herb or combination you know that works well for your skin. The herbs I chose below are for a wide variety of skin needs and are good for all around use.
General equipment needed: A heat proof container that the cocoa butter and beeswax can be melted in. It can be a container that is microwaveable, a saucepan, or a pyrex or other heat proof glass container that you can use in a double boiler fashion. Originally, I used a large, deep saucepan filled halfway with water and placed a pyrex in it that contained my oils to slowly heat and melt.
Silicone or other heat safe spoon and a mold for pouring the bar into to harden or a jar for the salve.
Digital Scale for weighing ingredients
Silicone molds need to be sturdy enough to hold very hot melted oils without collapsing. If using something like silicone cupcake molds, make sure to put them in a muffin pan that can keep them upright. (When making lotion bars)
Glass jars or tins (for jarred salves)
Lotion Bars
My most used ratio for lotion bars is 1(oils):1(solids), or 2(oils): 1 cocoa butter: 1 beeswax
So for a 2oz of lotion bar: 1oz beeswax, .5oz cocoa butter, .5oz infused olive oil.
In colder climates you can add .5-1oz more oil and in warmer climates you can .25 more beeswax and cocoa butter if you find it’s too soft. I live in Texas and have found that the 1:1:2 ratio works well as long as I’m not taking the bar out and about. Once it’s fridge cooled, the bar keeps it’s shape with enough spreadable softness, in my opinion.
Healing Salve Bar & Regenerating Lotion Bar: Infuse Calendula flowers, St. John’s Wort flowers, Plantain, Comfrey, and Chamomile flowers into a jar of olive oil per the above instructions. Weigh (again measure by weight, not volume) your beeswax, cocoa butter & infused oil into the heat safe container of choice. If you are using the double boiler method or a saucepan, keep your stove heat on med-low to medium, watch carefully and stir every few minutes until everything is melted. If using the microwave, heat in short bursts- start with 30second at a time. I’ve personally never used the microwave for this, but know that you can… I’m just personally unsure exactly how long to melt, so once you get a feel for how your microwave melts the oils you can adjust your heat burst time accordingly. What you don’t want is exploded hot oils all over your microwave to clean up!
Once oils are melted, pour carefully into your molds and let sit until mostly solidified. At this point I transfer them into a fridge to finish becoming a nice hard bar that will soften as you use it. That’s it! Easy peasy :).
Regenerating Lotion bar: Infused Rose Petals and Rose hips into the olive oil. Once your infusion is ready, continue the same way described above for the Healing lotion bar. Once your oils are ready to pour, but before you pour into molds add several drops of ylang ylang essential oil and stir. Then pour into molds to harden.
As you can see from those 2 examples, you can easily swap out different herbs to infuse or essential oils to easily personalize for your body.
Salve (Jarred): The ratio I use for my jarred salves, which are meant to be softer, is basically the same ratio but double the oils from above. 2 (oils):1 (solids) or 4oil/1cocoa butter/1beeswax. So, for a 3oz salve, I use .5oz cocoa butter, .5oz beeswax , 2oz infused oil. You can always increase the oil amount for a softer salve if you find it’s too solid for your preference.
For my Healing Salve I infuse Lavender, Arnica, Chamomile, Calendula, Plantain, Comfrey, & St. John’s Wort. This is my “kitchen sink” salve for all the things :). Once your infusion is ready, weigh out your beeswax, cocoa butter and infused oil into a heat safe container. Follow the lotion bar instructions above for melting the solids and oils together, then pour in your jar when finished. I prefer to keep mine essential oil free, but essential oils can absolutely be added to this recipe as well.
Happy Salve Making! I like to always keep my favorite herbs infusing on a window sill so that I can easily make these anytime I need them. They are quick recipes once the ingredients are assembled and I use them for everything from burns and wounds to my super dry skin. I use it almost daily for my kids as well :).
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