Best oil for salve making

[mamaT]

I am about to make some jewelweed salve and I would like some input on which oil I should infuse with the jewelweed for making my salve. I already have OO infusing for making some soap. I was hoping to use an oil that would absorbe into the skin well.

For those who don't know about jewelweed, it grows near poison oak and poison ivy and has been used by native americans to help stop the allergic reaction to them.

I was at a flea market last weekend and someone there was selling a salve that he and his sons had made with jewelweed, petroleum jelly and vegetable oil. I asked how sales were going and why not use beeswax instead of the pet jelly. He said it wasn't cost effective to use beeswax, and that sales were going very well.

I'm gonna make my own salve because several members of my family have wooded areas with lots of poison oak and ivy on them. In the past they have had some pretty severe reactions, several doctor visits and meds.

 

[carebear]

when I infuse dried herbs I use jojoba oil for it's long lasting quality.

but with jewelweed I've found (for ME, IME) only fresh will work well, so I don't even infuse it at all.

 

[Bigmoose]

I do not know the first thing about making salve but what comes to my mind would be grapeseed oil and Tea tree oil. Both are supposed to be great for the skin.

Bruce

 

[soapbuddy]

I use jojoba or fractionated coconut oil. Both have a long shelf life.

 

[bombus]

I would suggest a cream. I make one with another plant that is good for
poison oak. A salve seems too heavy to me. I don't really want petroleum
jelly getting on the bedsheets.
All of my ingredients are absorbed by the skin.

For the oil phase I use olive, jojoba, sweet almond & fractionated coconut.
For the water phase- aloe vera. All are infused with the plant.
You must use a preservative, and you have to bring the water phase
up to 176 degrees F and hold it there for 20 minutes to kill off any mold,
fungus spores & bacteria on the plant material. Of course, some boils off
and then I add distilled water to bring it back up to the proper weight.

For an emulsifier I use beeswax/borax, but am experimenting with
emulsifying wax. So far, everyone who has tried the cream likes how
it feels.