Crafting your own herbal salves and balms is a rewarding way to extend the benefits of a thriving organic homestead. From medicinal herb seeds to final product, the process connects you directly to the healing power of the plants you’ve nurtured, offering gentle remedies for everyday aches, scrapes, and dry skin.
It all begins with careful seed saving. Heirloom calendula, lavender, chamomile, comfrey, and peppermint are all excellent choices for herbal salves. Be sure to check our article linked above to learn all about our top 10 medicinal herbs.
After harvesting flowers and leaves at their peak, allow the seed heads to dry thoroughly before collecting and storing them in paper envelopes for next season’s planting. These humble seeds will yield blossoms and foliage packed with beneficial compounds.
Let’s explore simple, reliable herbal salves and balm options you can make using seeds saved from your own garden, transforming them into soothing topical blends for your family’s medicine cabinet.
Simple DIY Herbal Salves and Balms Recipes
Crafting herbal salves and balms recipes is a rewarding way to extend the benefits of a thriving organic homestead. From seed to final product, the process connects you directly to the healing power of the plants you’ve nurtured, offering gentle remedies for everyday aches, scrapes, and dry skin.
These age-old practices transform humble herbs into treasures for your family’s medicine cabinet—simple, effective, and sustainable.
Let’s walk through the process step by step, from saving seeds in your garden to creating beautiful jars of homemade salves that carry the very essence of your land.
The Roots of Herbal Healing
For centuries, people relied on the plants growing around them to heal wounds, ease inflammation, and soothe skin troubles. Long before modern pharmacies, families had shelves lined with jars of homemade remedies. The beauty of herbal salves is their simplicity: plants infused in oil, thickened with beeswax, and applied directly to the skin.
On a homestead, this tradition takes on new meaning. When you grow, harvest, and prepare your own herbal products, you’re not just making a remedy—you’re cultivating independence, resilience, and a deeper bond with your environment.
Starting from the Seed
It all begins with careful seed saving. Heirloom calendula, lavender, chamomile, comfrey, and peppermint are excellent choices for herbal salves. These plants are easy to grow, hardy in many climates, and brimming with beneficial compounds.
- Calendula is beloved for calming redness and irritation.
- Comfrey is known as “knitbone” for its reputation in speeding the healing of minor injuries.
- Chamomile soothes skin and mind alike, perfect for gentle balms.
- Lavender brings antimicrobial benefits and its famously relaxing fragrance.
- Peppermint delivers a cooling effect that can ease sore muscles and bug bites.
Saving seeds ensures you’ll have a continuous supply of these herbs season after season. Allow flowers to mature and form seed heads. Once they dry, carefully collect and store them in labeled paper envelopes in a cool, dry place. Each packet of seeds represents next year’s harvest—and the promise of many jars of healing salves.
Harvesting and Drying Your Herbs
Timing is everything. Herbs should be harvested when their oils and active compounds are at their peak. For most flowering herbs, this means gathering blooms in the morning after the dew has dried but before the heat of the day.
Drying is the next critical step. Spread petals, leaves, and buds in a single layer on a mesh screen or dehydrator tray. Keep them out of direct sunlight to preserve color, aroma, and potency. Once crisp and fully dry, store the herbs in airtight glass jars away from moisture and light. Properly dried herbs can last up to a year—plenty of time to transform them into salves.
Creating Herbal Infusions
At the heart of every salve is an infused oil. This is the medium that carries the plant’s beneficial properties into your skin. There are two main methods for creating an infusion:
The Solar Infusion Method
Fill a clean glass jar with one cup of dried herb, then cover with organic olive oil, sunflower oil, or sweet almond oil. Make sure all plant material is submerged. Seal tightly and place in a sunny windowsill or warm spot for two to four weeks, shaking gently each day.
The Quick Infusion Method
If you’re short on time, place your herb and oil mixture in a double boiler over very low heat. Keep the temperature under 120°F and let it infuse for two to three hours. This gentle warmth speeds the process without damaging delicate compounds.
Once infused, strain through cheesecloth or a fine sieve, pressing out every golden drop of oil. What remains is liquid gold, ready to be transformed into a salve.
See the video below for demonstrations of the various methods, tips and much more about crafting medicinal oils…
Making a Basic Herbal Salve
A classic salve is simple to prepare and endlessly adaptable.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup infused herbal oil
- 1 ounce grated beeswax
- Optional: a few drops of essential oil
Instructions:
- In a small saucepan, warm the herbal oil over low heat.
- Add beeswax, stirring gently until fully melted.
- Test consistency by dropping a spoonful onto a cold plate. Add more beeswax for firmness or more oil for softness.
- Remove from heat and stir in essential oils such as lavender (relaxing), tea tree (cleansing), or peppermint (cooling).
- Pour into sterilized tins or glass jars.
- Let cool until solid, then label with name and date.
Stored in a cool, dark place, your salve will last up to a year.
Recipe: Calendula Comfort Salve
Calendula is the homesteader’s best friend for soothing scrapes, cuts, and irritated skin.
- 1 cup calendula-infused oil
- 1 ounce beeswax
- 5 drops lavender essential oil
This golden-hued salve is perfect for children’s scrapes and garden-worn hands.
Recipe: Comfrey & Lavender Healing Balm
Ideal for sore muscles and minor sprains, this balm brings comfort after a long day of homestead work.
- 1 cup comfrey-infused oil
- 1 ounce beeswax
- 10 drops lavender essential oil
This blend is deeply restorative and makes an excellent gift for fellow gardeners and farmers.
Recipe: Plantain & Chamomile Bug Bite Balm
Bug bites and summer stings are part of country life. This balm helps tame the itch.
- Equal parts plantain and chamomile infused oil
- 1 ounce beeswax
- 5 drops calendula essential oil
Soothing, cooling, and easy to apply on the go, this balm is a summer essential.
Playing with Texture
Part of the fun of making your own salves and balms is customizing their consistency.
- Softer Balm: Reduce beeswax slightly or add a teaspoon of shea butter or cocoa butter.
- Firmer Salve: Increase beeswax for a more solid product, great for hot climates.
- Whipped Balm: Beat cooled salve with a hand mixer to create a lighter, creamier texture.
Experiment with small batches until you discover your perfect blend.
Essential Oils: Extra Boosts of Healing
Essential oils are optional but can add fragrance and therapeutic properties. A few drops go a long way.
- Tea tree oil: antimicrobial, great for acne-prone skin
- Lavender oil: calming, soothing for burns and insect bites
- Peppermint oil: cooling, invigorating for sore muscles
- Eucalyptus oil: clearing and refreshing, often used for chest rubs
Remember to use high-quality, pure essential oils — or even better your very own — and keep the concentration low (around 5–10 drops per cup of oil).
Safety Tips and Shelf Life
Homemade remedies are gentle but should be used with care:
- Always label jars with the date and ingredients.
- Store salves in a cool, dark place to extend freshness.
- Perform a patch test on sensitive skin before applying widely.
- Avoid using comfrey salve on deep wounds, as it can seal the skin before healing underneath.
With proper care, most salves and balms remain effective for up to a year. Incidentally, they are one of our top backyard business ideas that you can also put to use once you have mastered your craft.
A Homestead Tradition Worth Reviving
Every jar of salve tells a story. It begins with the seed you saved in the fall, planted in spring, and tended through summer. By harvest time, those humble plants carry the wisdom of the seasons. When you craft a salve, you’re bottling sunshine, rain, and soil—preserving the cycle of life in a simple tin.
This process also embodies the values of homesteading: self-reliance, stewardship of the land, and a commitment to natural living. It’s about taking control of your family’s wellness and stepping away from chemical-laden commercial products. And perhaps most beautifully, it’s about sharing. A jar of herbal balm gifted to a neighbor is more than a remedy—it’s a gesture of care, rooted in your garden.
Whether you’re soothing a scrape, nourishing dry hands, or sharing a jar with a neighbor, homemade herbal salves and balms offer a gentle, sustainable alternative to store-bought products. With just a handful of seeds, some kitchen staples, and a little patience, your homestead can produce remedies that are as effective as they are meaningful.
By saving seeds, growing herbs, and crafting your own topical blends, you’re keeping an ancient tradition alive. Each jar becomes a testament to the beauty of working with the land—a small but powerful way to heal both body and spirit, season after season.
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