Flying Salve Recipe (Double Boiler Method)
*Warning: Always do your research on herbs before using them. Do NOT use if pregnant, lactating, or have heart troubles. Only use if you have time on your hands (i.e., don’t operate machinery, etc.). Do not allow it to come into contact with your mucous membranes if you don’t know what you’re doing (e.g., eyes, nose). Give yourself plenty of time to recover from the effects of the salve.
If you don’t have a double boiler, follow the oven method or make your own double boiler (Google/YouTube it because it’s really easy!).
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Needed:
- 1-pint glass jars or metal tins
- Pure olive oil
- Rule of thumb is you want enough room for the dry herbs to expand, so I usually use 1 cup of olive oil per 2-3 oz of dried herbs
- 2-3 oz of dried herbs-I will be using mugwort, wormwood, mandrake, cinquefoil, bay leaves, and wild lettuce for this specific flying salve.
- Beeswax (I replaced lard with beeswax because I don’t like the feeling of lard on my skin)-1.5-2 oz per cup of infused oil
- 4 or 5 vitamin E capsules for preservation
Recipe:
Put enough water into the bottom pan to leave about 2 inches between the water and the top pan (this is what I’ve found works best for me, at least). Put it on the stove on the lowest setting. Measure out everything and put it in the top pan of the double boiler, then put that on top of the bottom pan once the water in the bottom pan heats up a little bit. Cover it if you can. Let this infuse on heat for two to three hours, stirring about every fifteen minutes.
Once the two hours are up, either infuse that oil again with more herbs to make it more potent or just use that oil for the flying salve. Strain the mixture either by using a fine strainer or cheesecloth and then put it back into the top pan. Add 1.5-2 oz of beeswax per cup of infused oil you have and add the vitamin E capsules. Continue stirring until the wax has melted. Pour into metal tins and let cool; I put them in the refrigerator to speed up the process.