How To Make Comfrey Salve
Sometimes called knitbone or All Heal, comfrey is often recommended for soothing sprains, bruises, minor cuts and burns, easing tight muscles, moisturizing skin and more. Here's how to make a comfrey salve that's portable and easy to use.
Servings 5 ounces
Calories
Equipment
- double boiler or stainless steel bowl and a pot
- 2 ounce tins or small glass jar
Ingredients
- 4 oz. comfrey infused oil (make your own using the recipe above or buy it here)
- ½ oz. beeswax (by weight, or about 2 tablespoons beeswax pastilles)
- 25-50 drops essential oil (optional - frankincense, Roman chamomile, tea tree, and lavender essential oil are good choices)
- ½ tsp vitamin E oil (optional)
Instructions
- Gently heat the beeswax in a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler you can use a stainless steel bowl set inside a pot of boiling water.
- When the beeswax is melted, add in the comfrey oil and vitamin E oil (if using). Allow it to warm up for 30-60 seconds, then stir until the beeswax and oil are thoroughly mixed. If you’re adding essential oils, wait until the mixture has cooled just a little and then stir them in.
- Pour your salve into a clean, dry container and allow it to cool – I used three of these 2 ounce tins. Now you’re ready for the next bug attack, bee sting, scrape, etc.
Notes
Shelf Life: Because it does not contain any water, this comfrey salve recipe is relatively shelf stable and can last for several months to a year. The two main things that will affect shelf life are the freshness of your carrier oil and the freshness of your essential oils.
If the carrier oil is not fresh, it can oxidize, aka become rancid. Plant Therapy is one of my favorite places to buy carrier oils because they pay close attention to freshness and each product description includes details on the shelf life you can expect for that particular oil.
You can also help prevent early oxidation (rancidity) by adding an antioxidant such as vitamin E if you’d like. I’ve included instructions for doing that in the recipe above, but almost never do it personally. Because I’m using high-quality ingredients, I know my comfrey salve will stay fresh for at least several months and that’s more than enough time for me to use up a batch.
Essential oils are more fragile than carrier oils, so I aim to use products that contain them within a few months.