You really can find just about anything on Pinterest. Years ago a friend of a friend used to make this amazing comfrey salve that I loved, but used sparingly. I always wanted to learn how to make something like it, however never really knew where to start. Enter Pinterest.
After my first pregnancy, my hands seemed to constantly be dry. Not necessarily a psoriasis type condition, but something that even the doctors couldn't figure out. And for get about the post dish-washing (as a friends father said years ago-we all come with 2 dishwashers: the left and right)-my hands are like sandpaper. I've tried all kinds of creams & lotions, and know that the thicker lotions tend to work best with my hands, keeping them softer longer. On a jolly jaunt through Pinterest one day I found this all purpose hand salve recipe from the blog Camp Wander.
The ingredients couldn't be easier to find. Most items you can find in your favorite grocery and health food stores: beeswax, coconut oil, olive oil, essential oils and a container/containers to put it in.
I could not find beeswax pastilles (small beads of beeswax) in my local stores, so after a Google search found an online shop with great pricing.
I put a small cooking pot on the stove and filled it about halfway up so that there wouldn't be any splashing or bubbling of water into the jar as well as displacement when I put the mixing jar into the water. In one of my washed out Garden of Life Extra Virgin Coconut Oil jars that I save to reuse for storage purposes, I put the beeswax pastilles, coconut and olive oil then put it into the boiling pot of water. With a butter knife, I occasionally stirred the oil & beeswax mixture from time to time until the beeswax melted completely. I'd say it probably took 5-10 minutes. While waiting, I got my storage jars ready-I purchased a case of 4 oz jelly jars so that I can have some for around the house, my purse, as well as to share with some of my colleagues. (If using the 32 oz Garden of Life coconut oil jar, you can actually triple this recipe and make 9 4oz jars.)
With a 1/8 cup measuring spoon, I poured 2 spoons worth into each jar (or 1/4 cup) and you can start to see the mixture cooling immediately. Once all of the jars are filled you can cover with a light dishtowel, cloth napkin or paper towel until completely cooled, then you can use the jar lids to store.
What is amazing about this salve is how many uses it really has:
Crazy good hand moisturizer
Amazing on dry, cracked heels and crusty elbows.
All round moisturizer for dry climates for all parts of the body
Soothes and heals chapped lips or any chappy place.
Soothes welts, burns and sunburn
Great for diaper rash.
Keep your dogs in mind-the original bloggers son used it to heal his dogs sunburned nose
Antiseptic properties make it great for cuts and scrapes
Wonderful for elderly folks and their thin, fragile skin.
Great for scaly scalp
It's a great little item to make as gifts for friends and loved ones as stocking stuffers, teacher gifts, gardener gifts, bridal showers, baby showers, etc! You can even print out a small label with the recipe to share with others so they can continue keeping themselves healthy.
What are you waiting for? Soft hands, healed lips and baby bottoms are waiting!
All Purpose Healing Salve Recipe:
1/2 Cup Garden of Life Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Beeswax Pastilles
20 drops Lavender Essential Oil
10 drops Lemon Essential Oil
10 drops Melaleuca Essential Oil
Melt the coconut, olive oil and beeswax in a warm bath, stirring with a knife every few minutes until melted.
Add the essential oils. Stir, then pour into glass jars of your choice and let cool.
Put a paper towel over the jars while cooling and wait to cover with lids until completely cooled down.
Coconut oil is a natural moisturizer as well as antibacterial. Olive oil has lots of anti-oxidants, including Hydroxytyrosol as well as anti-inflammatory properties. Lavender soothes and heals, Lemon cleanses and disinfects while Melaleuca is antibacterial and antifungal.
Be sure to check out our Garden of Life Pinterest Page http://pinterest.com/gardenofliferaw/