Pain Salve - Useful for Arthritis and Muscle Pain

2/17/2014

This salve is a great way to utilize the pain relieving properties of cayenne that we learned about here. It is very effective for the relief of arthritis and muscle pain as well as muscle and PMS cramps, headaches and other aches and pains.

Because of the potent nature of cayenne and the fact that we will be infusing a powder verses whole herb - although you can infuse fresh or dried cayenne from your garden - the increments used will be little different than a regular oil infusion. You want to have about 1 part cayenne powder per 8 parts of oil.

The Recipe

Increments for these herbs are for a quart jar:
1/2 cup cayenne powder or fresh chopped cayenne peppers
1 cup St. John's wort flowers
olive oil - to fill 1-2" above the herbs
beeswax - 1 oz. per cup of herbal infused oil
essential oil from the list below - about 40 drops per cup of herbal infused oil

Print Recipe

Infuse your olive oil following the instructions for making an herbal oil infusion here.

Measure out 1 oz. of beeswax per 1 cup of oil left after your oil infusion has been strained. Heat over low just until melted. Remove from heat and stir in 40 drops of essential oil; choose a pain blend from your favorite company or make your own with the single oils listed below. Pour into containers and let sit to harden uncovered. Cap and label once the salve has set up. For my pain salve I used Butterfly Express - Paine blend, I like to buy the 50 ml. size for the most cost effective way to go.

To use your salve, apply a fingerful over aches and pains to soothe and relieve as often as necessary.

Labels

You can make your own labels or use mine. These use Avery label 5161, when printing make sure the fit to page box is NOT marked.

Helichrysum
Wintergreen
Balsam Fir
Copaiba
Peppermint
Vetiver
Dorado Azul
Palo Santo
Blue Spruce
Pine

Where do I get ingredients to make this salve?

You can purchase high quality herbs and essential oils as well as the beeswax from Mountain Rose Herbs. Bulk Herb Store also has high quality herbs. Bulk Apothecary has great prices on beeswax and carrier oil, they also have essential oils, although I've never tested their quality and potency.