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How to Make Medicinal Herbal Oils and Herbal Salves
Discover this master recipe to learn how to make medicinal herbal oils and herbal salves using any herb. This video is part of my Master Recipes for Making Herbal Remedies Series playlist.
Note: Always be sure to consult your medical professional before using any type of medicinal herb.
Affiliates note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. My content may contain affiliate links to products and services. If you click through and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission. It does not affect the price you pay.
Master Recipe for Medicinal Herbal Oils and Salves
A master recipe is a special kind of recipe that outlines the standard ingredients and basic steps to make whatever the recipe calls for. With these herbal master recipes, I show you step-by-step how to make each remedy using standard ingredients, such as water and olive oil. However, you have the flexibility to decide which herbs you want to use to customize the master recipe and make it your own.
A Word of Caution as to Medicinal Herbs
Although we may think of herbs as just ingredients that we add to our pasta sauce, many herbs have potent medicinal properties and have been used as medicine for centuries. With this in mind, you need to approach herbs with knowledge and caution.
If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication (over the counter or prescription), having allergies, or thinking of using medicinal herbs with children, make sure you first talk to your doctor, pediatrician, or other health care professional. You want to ensure that the herbs you plan to use will not adversely affect you or your children. I can’t stress this enough! Herbs are medicine. Never be casual or negligent in their use.
Now, let’s get started learning about how to make medicinal herbal oils and salves.
How to Make Medicinal Herbal Oils
First, I’ll cover how to make medicinal herbal oils, and then we’ll move on to using that oil to make an herbal medicinal salve.
Under the medicinal herbal oil master recipe umbrella, you can choose from three different methods for making this type of oil:
- Sun Method (my favorite)
- Stovetop Method (good option, if you’re in a hurry)
- Oven Method (my least favorite)
Method 1: The Sun Method
The Sun Method is my favorite way to make medicinal herbal oils. Since this method is the most gentle, it protects the delicate essential oils in the herbs. But the process takes time:
- Fill a jar with the herbs of your choice.
- Cover them with olive oil.
- Set the jar in a warm place.
To use this method, you will need to allow at least two weeks for your herbs to steep in the oil before straining. After straining the oil, you can use the oil to make a medicinal herbal salve.
Method 2: The Stovetop Method
If you are in a hurry, the Stovetop Method can be a great time saver for making medicinal herbal oils. You just need to remember that low and slow are your best friends. You want to warm your herbs in oil, preferably in a double boiler, and on the lowest setting on your stovetop.
The herbs will simmer in the olive oil for about an hour, and then they will be ready to strain and decant. Your medicinal herbal oil will be ready to use as-is, or you can use the oil to make a healing medicinal herbal salve.
Method 3: The Oven Method
This Oven Method is my least favorite for making medicinal herbal oils. I don’t use this method, but I wanted to share it with you since you might see this method popping up on the Internet when you search for how to make an herbal medicinal oil.
Most modern ovens can not be set any lower than 200°F, which is higher than many herbalists recommend for making medicinal herbal oils. Medicinal herbal oils are best made when only heated to between 95°F and 110°F. That being said, you may find that simply leaving the herbs in oil in your turned-off oven with nothing more than the pilot light or the electric light on might be a better option.
However, even if you are able to maintain a lower heat setting in your oven, this method does require some babysitting. The Oven Method can take as little as 30 minutes or as long as six hours. (There is little consensus among herbalists on the time period.) You’ll need to check your herbs about every 30 minutes, move them around a bit, and then remove them from the oven once they become fragrant.
How to Make Medicinal Herbal Salves
Once you learn how to make medicinal herbal oils, you can use those oils to create medicinal herbal salves. The only additional ingredient you will need is beeswax. You’ll warm the medicinal herbal oil with the beeswax and then transfer the mixture into a small container to cool and harden. It’s that simple! Now, you have a healing salve ready whenever you need it!
If you choose to add essential oils to your homemade medicinal herbal salves, I recommend starting with a small amount. Essential oils are very strong both in fragrance and in skin application. Use a ratio of 10 drops of essential oil to 1/2 cup of medicinal herbal oil when making an herbal salve.
Medicinal Herbs to Grow for Making Home Remedies
You can certainly buy dried herbs for making medicinal herbal oils as well as other herbal remedies. But how much better if you can learn to grow your own! A garden is great, but even a sunny window sill will do. In the videos below, I share with you the essential medicinal herbs to grow and how best to grow them. The two videos cover 15 of my favorite and recommended herbs!
After you grow your herbs, you can dry them too. As I show you in my video, it’s an easy process, and you don’t need any special equipment.
Herbal Master Recipes Series
If you have enjoyed learning how to make this master recipe for medicinal herbal oils and salves, be sure to watch my entire series on making medicinal herbal remedies in the following videos.
Mountain Rose Herbs
If you need dried herbs to create a medicinal herb tea or seeds to plant medicinal herbs, Mountain Rose Herbs is a high-quality organic resource.
This is not a sponsored blog post. I’m a long-time customer of Mountain Rose Herbs because their products’ quality is far superior to anything else I have ever found. Plus, their website provides helpful information about the herbs they offer, including recipes for using herbs in culinary and medicinal ways.
- Get links to the Mountain Rose Herbs products that I used in this video
- Visit the Mountain Rose Herbs site
Gardening Videos
Would you like to learn more about growing herbs and creating a kitchen garden? Come join me for a tour of my kitchen garden. You’ll be surprised at how much has grown between my two videos.
Homemade Cream and Balm Videos
If you want to learn how to make your own homemade creams and balms using herbal essential oils, be sure to watch the following videos.
Kitchen Academy Videos
Are you looking for more traditional foods videos? I invite you to join the Traditional Foods Kitchen Academy. Members of this optional paid YouTube community get access to exclusive videos, live streams, and other members-only perks.
In the following members-only video, I talk about the Importance of Cooking with Traditional Fats: Cooking Oils.
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Medicinal Herbal Oils and Salves Master Recipe
Equipment
- 8 ounce glass jar with lid
- Double boiler
- Small shallow baking dish
- 8 ounce bottle with lid, preferably amber in color
- 4 ounce jar with lid, preferably amber in color
Ingredients
Medicinal Herbal Oil Ingredients
- 8 ounces Olive oil, preferably extra virgin If available, organic is best.
- 4 tbsp Dried herbs 6-8 tablespoons if using fresh herbs. Chop fresh herbs before adding them to the jar.
Medicinal Herbal Salve Ingredients
- 4 ounces Medicinal herbal oil This can be doubled to make a larger quantity.
- 1/8 cup Beeswax, pellets or grated This can be doubled to make a larger quantity.
- 10 drops Essential oil, optional
Instructions
Instructions for Making Medicinal Herbal Oil – Sun Method
- Fill an 8 ounce jar with dried herbs of choice. If using dried flowers, your herbs should fill the jar approximately 3/4 full. If using dried herbs (leaves, stems, roots) that have been crushed, your herbs should fill the jar approximately 1/2 full. If using fresh herbs (flowers, leaves, stems, or roots), your herbs should fill the jar approximately 3/4 full.
- Fill the jar with olive oil so that all herbs are completely covered and submerged under the oil. Put the lid on the jar.
- Set the jar in a warm place for approximately two weeks. After two weeks, strain out the herbs and decant the oil into a clean bottle, preferably an amber-colored glass bottle that will protect the essential oils and the olive oil and extend the shelf life.
- The shelf life for this medicinal herbal oil is approximately 1 year.
Instructions for Making Medicinal Herbal Oil – Stovetop Method
- Using a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan, fill the lower part of the double boiler or the saucepan with a few inches of water. Set the burner heat on its lowest setting.
- Place the herbs in the top of the double boiler or the heatproof bowl and add the oil. Make sure all the herbs are saturated and covered by the oil. (See video.)
- Allow the herbs to simmer for approximately 60 minutes.
- After 60 minutes, turn off the burner heat and transfer double boiler or saucepan and heatproof bowl to a heatproof surface and allow the mixture to cool slightly.
- Place a mesh strainer over a heatproof vessel and strain and pour the herbs and oil into the mesh strainer.
- Allow the oil to drain but DO NOT press or squeeze the herbs. You do not want any particles to transfer through the mesh strainer into the oil.
- Once the oil stops dripping, decant the oil into a clean bottle, preferably an amber-colored glass bottle that will protect the essential oils and the olive oil and extend the shelf life.
- Allow the oil to cool and then place the cap on the bottle.
- The shelf life for this medicinal herbal oil is approximately 1 year.
Instructions for Making Medicinal Herbal Oil – Oven Method
- Place the herbs in a shallow heatproof baking dish and add oil. Make sure that all the herbs are saturated and covered by the oil.
- Place the dish on the middle shelf of a preheated oven set to its lowest setting.
- Every 30 minutes, open the oven and stir the herbs in the oil.
- This process can take between 30 minutes to approximately 6 hours. (Herbalists differ in their opinions as to how long this will take. As I mention in my blog post, I don't use the Oven method.)
- Once the herb and oil mixture becomes fragrant, the process is complete. Remove the baking dish from the oven and transfer it to a heatproof surface. Allow the dish to cool slightly.
- Place a mesh strainer over a heatproof vessel and strain and pour the herbs and oil into the mesh strainer.
- Allow the oil to drain but DO NOT press or squeeze the herbs. You do not want any particles to transfer through the mesh strainer into the oil.
- Once the oil stops dripping, decant the oil into a clean bottle, preferably an amber-colored glass bottle that will protect the essential oils and the olive oil and extend the shelf life.
- Allow the oil to cool, and then place a cap on the bottle.
- The shelf life for this medicinal herbal oil is approximately 1 year.
Instructions for Making Medicinal Herbal Salve
- Using a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan, fill the lower part of the double boiler or the saucepan with a few inches of water. Set the burner heat on its lowest setting.
- Place the medicinal herbal oil in the top of the double boiler or the heatproof bowl and add the beeswax to the medicinal herbal oil.
- Stir the oil and beeswax gently and allow the beeswax to melt completely.
- Once the beeswax has melted completely, turn off the burner heat and transfer the double boiler or saucepan and heatproof bowl to a heatproof surface.
- If using an essential oil, add it now to the warm salve. Stir well to completely distribute the essential oil throughout the warm salve.
- While still warm, carefully pour the salve mixture into a jar. Allow it to cool. Once completely cooled and solidified, place a cap on the jar.
- The shelf life for this medicinal herbal salve is approximately 1 year.
Video
Notes
Shop for items used in this blog post or video
Favorite Mountain Rose Herbs Supplies
- Herb I used in the video: Calendula (Calendula officinalis)
- More Essential Herbs
Favorite Herbal Supplies
- Hinged Lid Jars
- 8 Ounce Jar
- 8 Ounce Amber Bottle
- 4 Ounce Amber Jar
- Large Measuring Cup
- Mesh Strainers
Favorite Kitchen Supplies
- Favorite Aprons
- Whisk
- Silica Gel Packets (Helps keep moisture from building up in your mix)
- Cast Iron Dutch Oven
- 8-Quart Slow-Cooker
- Fat Separator (Clever kitchen device to help you decant bone broth)
- Flour Sack Towels
- Masontops Fermentation Kit (promo code below)
- Mockmill Grain Grinder and Whole Grains (promo code below)
Use promo code MARYSNST for a one-time 15% off Masontops and Breadsmart products on Amazon.com.
Learn more about Mockmill electric grain mills for making fresh flour and their Flake Lover's Flaker that flakes whole grain in minutes.
Amazon Shop and Shopping Guide
- Visit Mary’s Nest Amazon Shop
- Visit my Shopping Guide page
Get up to 15% off for stocking your Traditional Foods Pantry and equipping your Modern Pioneer Kitchen, including discounts from US Wellness Meats, Farmhouse Teas, Lehman's, Masontops, Cultures for Health, Survival Garden Seeds, Redmond Real Salt, Plan to Eat, and More!
Recommended Reading
Disclaimer:I am not a medical doctor, a medical professional, a dietician, or a nutritionist. All content found on the MarysNest.com website, including text, images, videos, eBooks or eGuides, social media, or other formats, were created solely for informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or proper nutritional advice. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have watched in a video or read on this website. Use caution when following the recipe in this video. The creator and publisher of this video and website will not be held responsible for any adverse effects that may arise from the use of this recipe and method or any other recipe and method on this website or corresponding video channel.
Wonderful resource for families!
Hi MJ,
Thanks so much for your kind words!
Love and God bless,
Mary