Arnica salve is something I have just discovered. It can be used on sore muscles, bruises, sprains, strains, and pain. I know that you can purchase Arnica salve but I decided I would try to make my own. I had coconut oil, Shea butter, beeswax in the witch’s cupboard. I also have a number of essential oils. What else would I need?
My son is a competitive cyclist and he uses salves to ease the pain after long races. One of the ingredients in his salves is cayenne, so I decided to put that in the recipe also. Be careful though as that can burn on some of the soft tissue. Also wash your hands thoroughly if you use the salve so you don’t get it in your eyes or on other sensitive body parts.
You can also use essential oils in almost any of the salves you make. You can use whichever may suit you and the aroma’s that you like best. Some of my favorites as I have mentioned many times are lavender, peppermint, lemon, eucalyptus, Tea Tree and Rosemary. I have recently started using Rosemary in the diffuser and the house smells wonderful. Speaking of diffusers, I will have to buy a new one for one of the bedrooms as the one I purchased from Young Living has failed. I was really disappointed because I paid the most for that one and the others which were much less expensive are chugging along. Just a word to the wise, highest price doesn’t always mean best quality.
Back to the salve. The recipes I use:
2 cups coconut oil
about 1/2 ounce dried Arnica Montana flowers( I purchased the 1.99 package listed as I didn’t want to have too much laying around if I didn’t like the result. I do like the result so will order more for the next batch.
½ cup beeswax granules
3-6 tbsp. dried cayenne powder
½ tsp. rosemary essential oil I used this one as I thought it worked well with the cayenne. Next time I will try Lavender and Peppermint and maybe eucalyptus but I really like the cayenne/rosemary combination.
I used a double boiler(my cauldron). I have one double boiler that I have allocated to the witchy woman practice and only use it for my potions, lotions and tinctures.
You will need cheesecloth to strain the mixture and mason jars to store your salve or little tin boxes.
A double boiler or crock pot
I put the arnica in the top of the double boiler with the coconut oil and let it steep. The burner is on the lowest setting so I can steep the mixture for a minimum of 12 hours. I usually steep for longer and up to as much as 24 hours. You could also use a crock pot but I really like the double boiler best. I used my coffee grinder to grind up the arnica flowers but I am sure you could just put them in a sandwich bag and crush them. Add the Cayenne to the mixture at the beginning so it can steep along with the arnica. Be sure to stir this well to mix the cayenne and arnica and to ensure the arnica is all absorbed in the coconut oil.
Stir the mixture every now and then.
Once it has steeped, turn off the burner or crock pot and let it cool
Use your cheesecloth to strain the mixture, ensure it is cool enough to squeeze the mixture out of the cheesecloth. Ensure you have no lumps or particles in the strained mixture.
Put it back in the top of the double boiler and add the beeswax. Once the beeswax is melted and stirred well into the mixture, let it cool for around 1/2 hour and then pour into you jars or tins.
This is a great salve for muscle aches and pain, sprains, arthritis. Final warning, Do not put this on your face and wash your hands well after using as the cayenne will burn. Be sure to use a small test on your skin before applying it in large amounts..
Happy Witching!