Pine tar salve/lotion?

[Mockingbird Ramble]

has anyone experimented with pine tar in leave on products? Pine tar is on my go to list for scrapes and roap burns on my horses, that and lanonin creams. I love how my hands fel after doctoring, even after washing a few times.

I have been using lanolin in a few of the lotion bars I made and like that, but has anyone put pine tar in lotion bars or made salves with it?

Any tips or thoughts?

 

[AngelMomma]

For people or animals? I bet a calendula salve would benefit from a dab of pine tar. I make and use a calendula salve/balm all the time. On scrapes or just when my skin is dry. It works so good and is super duper simple to make.

I am rambling. To answer your question.......No, I have never tried it. But now I am going to! Lol! I just picked up some more little containers at the dollar store last night, so perfect time.

 

[Mockingbird Ramble]

For people, I use corona ointment on the horses and it is 30% lanolin. I think I am going to do a small test batch of lotion bar, start with like 5 % pine tar and remelt and add more if I like it, until I stop liking it.

 

[heartsong]

hi there! many moons ago I posted a lotion bar with pine tar, but i'm foxed if I can find it! for a balm you can pour in a tin:

this makes 100 grm:

25 grm natural beeswax (25%)
60 grm organic coconut oil (60%)
15 grm pinetar (15%)

you can tinker around all you want...if you increase the pinetar, then reduce the coconut oil...my favorite now is using BA's awesome lipbalm base & add pinetar to that for a softer salve-like balm...hth!
http://www.bulkapothecary.com/lip-balm/unscented-all-natural-lip-balm-base/

 

[Mockingbird Ramble]

Awesome heartsong, have you ever added Shea or avacado butter?

I think I am looking for more of a lotion then a leave on balm, something that will absorb pretty quick.

 

[DeeAnna]

I'm not too sure how well the pine tar will play with your idea of an absorbent type of lotion, just from playing around with a dab of it on my hands when I made pine tar soap. I might offset it with fractionated coconut, jojoba, almond, or other light oil if the goal is a lighter "dry" feeling lotion, rather than a heavy cream or salve. The shea or avocado butter will make the lotion more greasy and thicker.

I did find a few vague references to pine tar salve or lotion and was seeing percentages of pine tar similar to what is used for soap -- anywhere from 10% to 20% of the total oil-phase. Nothing really concrete to share, unfortunately.

On a related note, I took the plunge today and ordered some "Stockholm" pine tar -- the pine tar that is actually made in Sweden. It comes in "light" and "dark". I ordered the light, which is recommended for above-ground wood treatment, use on horses, etc. The dark is for below-ground wood treatment and other purposes where rot resistance is important. (No recommendation for soap or other products for use on humans, unfortunately.) I thought humans might be more like horses than like posts buried in the ground.

I get the impression that the Swedish product is thicker and more piney smelling than the "burnt rubber" smelling Bickmore product I have been using, and that would be a lovely improvement. It's considerably more expensive than Bickmore, but I'm looking forward to seeing the difference. What exactly I'm going to do with a whole 3 liters of the stuff, I'm not quite sure -- perhaps I shall become the crazy pine tar soap-and-lotion lady of northeast Iowa?!?

Oh, and Angel Momma, I use calendula infused sunflower in a lip balm aka lotion bar. Like you, I really like the calendula. This past winter was the first time in years that I have not had dry-itchy skin, and I really do credit the calendula for that.

Even my normally macho strong silent type of brother told me he really likes the calendula-based lip balm I gave him. For him to give that kind of praise is pretty amazing. Guess what he's getting for this coming winter season!

I think I'd avoid pine tar in a lip balm -- the odor is so strong and I'm not sure I want to ingest pine tar. But Mockingbird's idea of pine tar in a salve or lotion for general skin use is intriguing.

 

[Mockingbird Ramble]

I love the smell of pine tar, I must be a freak.

Anyway I did a very very small test of pine tar with equal parts lanolin. A third part beeswax and a third part shea butter with a bit of jojoba oil for shiggles.

This will be a healing salve I think more then a lotion... we shall see once it sets up.

 

[Kasha77]

how would you store a pine tar salve, in glass or a tin?

 

[DeeAnna]

I'm the only one still around who participated in this 2013 thread, so I'll take a stab at answering.

Pine tar is sold in metal cans, so metal should be fine. I don't care for putting products in glass due to the breakage issue, but I'm sure glass would also be fine. A plastic container -- polyethylene, polypropylene, or PET -- would work too.

 

[Kasha77]

That makes sense! Thanks so much!

 

[LidiaG]

Hi @DeeAnna!
I know this is an old thread, but you're still here and you're always so helpful and generous in sharing your knowledge. Thank you! So you may help guide me in the right direction.
I wonder if you tried pine tar in a solve or Lotions? If you did what you thought of the results are.

A close friend mentioned that he has painful cracks on his hands and feet. Unfortunately, rescription medication are not helping. I'm thinking of making some pine tar salve for him to try. Please let me know what your thoughts are.
Thank you very much!

 

[DeeAnna]

...I wonder if you tried pine tar in a solve or Lotions? If you did what you thought of the results are...

Hi Lidia -- I've never used pine tar in anything other than soap. Sorry!

 

[AliOop]

I seem to recall that @Zing tried pine tar in a salve, or maybe a lotion bar?

 

[LidiaG]

Thank you for letting me know

 

[LidiaG]

I seem to recall that @Zing tried pine tar in a salve, or maybe a lotion bar?

Thank you @AliOop! I was able to find some info here that Zing posted about a salve with pine tar. Zing seems to have had good results.

It seems that it could work well for my friend too. I'll make some salve with a small %of pine tar for my friend to test

 

[Zing]

Thank you @AliOop! I was able to find some info here that Zing posted about a salve with pine tar. Zing seems to have had good results.

It seems that it could work well for my friend too. I'll make some salve with a small %of pine tar for my friend to test

I recently found my recipe and relieved. Sorry, I don't have time to convert to percentages. It's
120 g coconut oil
30 g pine tar
38 g beeswax
12 g castor oil
1/4 teaspoon charcoal

I poured it into 6 little tins. It's goopier than my normal lotion bars but my notes said to try it in silicon molds next time. I was alone among my testers to like the scent -- like a campfire.

I am a gardener and frequently will get a skin rash (like a poison ivy rash). I find it effective on those reactions and as fast-acting as cortisone cream I can't speak to cracking.

Listen, I've lived my life in the cold U.S. Midwest and for decades my fingertips would crack and bleed in the winter. I took to applying SuperGlu both proactively and reactively. I also tried every prescription and OTC product. It was only after I started using my lotion bars -- that and my homemade soap -- that my fingers have NEVER cracked, NOT ONCE. I frequently apply lotion bars to my hands, daily in cold winters. This 180 degree turnaround is why I am a lotion bar evangelist.

My lotion bar recipe (likely got it from here) is easy peasy!

1/3 each of beeswax, hard butter, soft oil.

I also add essential oil and 1% vitamin E oil. I like mango butter because it's more quickly absorbed and lightweight oils like rice bran, sweet almond, jojoba, sweet meadowfoam seed, fractionated coconut.

For much of my adult life I had resigned myself to rashy skin year-round, and bleeding fingers in the winter. So tell your friend hope is coming. Not promising anything -- but I do believe that many homemade products are superior to store-bought. Plus people have been making this stuff since there were people. Good luck to your friend and keep us posted.

 

[LidiaG]

Thank you sooooo much @Zing!!!
You're the best! I'm a big fan of your lotion bars as well.
They are life savers in the winter
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, knowledge and recipes with us

 

[Jarrett Clay]

I have used pine tar in both soap and a drawing salve. I used 10% by weight in both. I am also going to be making a beard balm this week with pine tar in it. It's messy to work with and will stick to everything until it's mixed with other ingredients.

 

[Misschief]

Hi @DeeAnna!
I know this is an old thread, but you're still here and you're always so helpful and generous in sharing your knowledge. Thank you! So you may help guide me in the right direction.
I wonder if you tried pine tar in a solve or Lotions? If you did what you thought of the results are.

A close friend mentioned that he has painful cracks on his hands and feet. Unfortunately, rescription medication are not helping. I'm thinking of making some pine tar salve for him to try. Please let me know what your thoughts are.
Thank you very much!

My husband has poor circulation in one of his feet (due to an old ski injury) and has extremely dry, cracked skin. I make a Lanolin & Lecithin balm that helps him immensely... as long as he remembers to apply it.