DIY Healing Ointment (consistency similar to Neosporin®)

When your little one falls down and skins their knees, what do you reach for? The ointment that has bacitracin, neomycin, and polymyxin or the one that has plantain, calendula, comfrey, lavender, and tea tree?

If you’re like me, you’ll probably choose the one with the ingredients that you can actually put a mental image to the name, never mind the fact that you can actually pronounce the ingredients.

Boo-boo’s are an unavoidable part of life when you have kids (and when you’re a serious klutz like I am) so it’s only necessary to have a remedy to help doctor it up. In my case, having a natural remedy made up is more preferred so I can regulate the ingredients and make sure I feel confident about putting it on my child’s delicate skin.

A few days ago, I invited you to venture into the world of infusing herbs with oils. Today, I’m sharing exactly what to do with the oil you’ve infused.

When I started doing my research on DIY healing ointment and which herbs are best for helping ouchies get better, I came across a pretty good consensus that the herb comfrey is incredible for healing. In fact, comfrey has been used in Chinese medicine for over 2000 years and is widely known as “one of nature’s greatest medicinal herbs.” (source)

I didn’t want to stop there though. I figured if I chose 2-3 dried herbs that have medicinal powers and combined them into one, it would make the perfect DIY healing ointment to have in my arsenal of natural remedies.

The next herb I came across was plantain. Plantain leaves are typically used for minor cuts, bruises, and stings which is why it makes a great additional ingredient in this healing salve. Fun fact: The Saxons considered plantain to be one of the nine sacred herbs! (source). Plantain has been considered a nuisance plant as it grows very well in most conditions.

If you have plantain in your yard, you can also take a few leaves, crushed or chewed, and apply it directly to bites and stings to quickly stop the pain and inflammation associated. Find a recipe for a simple plantain salve here.

Finally, whether you pronounce it [cal-en-doo-la] or [cuh-len-due-la], no healing remedy is complete without using the dried herb, calendula. According to Mountain Rose Herb’s blog,

Calendula officinalis, also known as pot marigold or garden marigold, has been used for centuries to heal wounds and skin irritations. Calendula has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, astringent, antifungal, antiviral, and immunostimulant properties making it useful for disinfecting and treating minor wounds, conjunctivitis, cuts, scrapes, chapped or chafed skin, bruises, burns, athlete’s foot, acne, yeast infections, bee stings, diaper rashes, and other minor irritations and infections of the skin. Plus, it stimulates the production of collagen at wound sites to help minimize scarring and assist with stretch marks. (source)

The thing I love about calendula is that it is also mild enough to use for babies. You can infuse plain calendula in oil to create baby-specific products that are extra gentle for baby skin. Plus, it’s super pretty.

The other two remedial ingredients you’ll find in this recipe are lavender essential oil and tea tea (or melaluca) essential oil. Lavender soothes the ouchies while tea tree acts as an antiseptic, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory remedy to the ouchie.

The consistency of this DIY healing ointment is very similar to Neosporin®. If you want a product that is thicker and more firm, you’ll want to add more beeswax — try adding another 1/4 cup (or 1 oz) to the oil while melting down.

If you don’t feel like making your own healing ointment, you can find an incredible salve to buy over at Scratch Mommy Organic Skincare.

DIY Healing Salve (Perfect for the Inevitable Boo-Boos)

 

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Ingredients

• 2 cups infused olive oil (learn how to infuse herbs into oils here; for this healing salve recipe I infused 4 Tbl comfrey, 4Tbl plantain, and 2 Tbl calendula.. You can find my favorite organic, sustainably harvested herbs here.)
• ¼ cup beeswax pastilles (sustainably sourced beeswax here)
• 6 drops lavender essential oil (like this)
• 5 drops tea tree essential oil (like this)
• 1 tsp vitamin E (this is the kind I use)
• Containers (I love all shapes and sizes of containers and put my healing salve into this 8oz glass jar, this 4oz glass jar, and this small little tin which makes it great for my purse!)

Instructions

1. Using a cheesecloth, strain the oil out of the herbs; let the oil run out and then squeeze to release more oil; discard herbs (composting is best!)
2. Combine oil and beeswax in a glass bowl
3. Melt down the beeswax and oil by placing the glass bowl over a pot simmering with hot water; you can stir with a wooden spoon to encourage the beeswax to melt
4. Once everything is melted, remove from the stove. It's important to wipe off the condensation from the bowl so no water goes into your product as you are pouring.
5. Add in the essential oils and vitamin E; stir
6. Pour into desired containers; let the mixture set and then you are good to go to use your new healing salve on any ouchie that comes your way.

Notes

To make the consistency thicker, add in another ¼ cup beeswax to try first.

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