You will need access to something that will allow you to use the double-boiler method - in my case, a gas hob, a saucepan with a little bit of water and a heat resistant glass bowl.
Next you will need an oil base - you can use olive oil which can be bought at any store, or a herbal infused oil (my preference). If you want to make your own herbal infused oils to use in your salve then you can check out my post here. The general ratio is 8oz of oil to 1oz of our next ingredient, beeswax. To make a lesser amount, just do the math; in the photo a couple of paragraphs below I've used 2oz of oil to .25oz of beeswax which fit nicely into the small glass jar.
Now for one of the most important ingredients - beeswax. My go-to is the LiveMoor beeswax pellets at roughly £4 for 200g from Amazon. I find pellets much easier to work with than beeswax bricks.
The next ingredient is essential if you are using plain olive oil but optional if you are using a herbal infused oil, and that is several drops of essential oil. The oil you use is dependent on the reason you are making your salve - for example, if making a lip balm I find that something fruit based such as orange or passionfruit are good additions. If I am making a salve to help with athelete's foot, I use a lavender infused oil with several drops of tea tree essential oil. If I am making a salve to help heal my rough hands after gardening, or bouldering for example, then I will used an oil base made up of equal parts rose oil and chamomile oil with several drops of lavender essential oil.
Next you will need an oil base - you can use olive oil which can be bought at any store, or a herbal infused oil (my preference). If you want to make your own herbal infused oils to use in your salve then you can check out my post here. The general ratio is 8oz of oil to 1oz of our next ingredient, beeswax. To make a lesser amount, just do the math; in the photo a couple of paragraphs below I've used 2oz of oil to .25oz of beeswax which fit nicely into the small glass jar.
Now for one of the most important ingredients - beeswax. My go-to is the LiveMoor beeswax pellets at roughly £4 for 200g from Amazon. I find pellets much easier to work with than beeswax bricks.
The next ingredient is essential if you are using plain olive oil but optional if you are using a herbal infused oil, and that is several drops of essential oil. The oil you use is dependent on the reason you are making your salve - for example, if making a lip balm I find that something fruit based such as orange or passionfruit are good additions. If I am making a salve to help with athelete's foot, I use a lavender infused oil with several drops of tea tree essential oil. If I am making a salve to help heal my rough hands after gardening, or bouldering for example, then I will used an oil base made up of equal parts rose oil and chamomile oil with several drops of lavender essential oil.
The final ingredient is essential, and that is a container to keep your salve in. A glass jar works well (I often just wash out ones that have come from the kitchen such as old pesto jars or condiment jars), or you can use a metal container; again, small sized cosmetic cream pots can be bought off of Amazon for pretty cheap and are good if you want to make a salve you can carry around with you.
First, boil some water in your saucepan. It needs to be little enough that it doesn't hit the bottom of the bowl when you place it on top of the saucepan, but enough that the bottom of the pan doesn't burn out. Luckily, this won't take long.
Measure the oil and the beeswax and place them in the bowl and then just wait until it melts. Once it has melted, remove the bowl (make sure you are wearing heat resistant gloves) and add in any essential oils you wish. Pour it into the container and viola - you've just made a salve! Make sure you leave it to fully cool before using it.
You can experiment with the amount of beeswax you put in compared to the oil. Less beeswax will make a softer salve, whilst more will make a harder salve.
Another optional ingredient is vitamin E oil; it's good for the skin and can increase the shelf life of the salve. Generally salves can last 1 - 3 years, although I find that I go through them way too quickly to even have a shot at making one last that long!
First, boil some water in your saucepan. It needs to be little enough that it doesn't hit the bottom of the bowl when you place it on top of the saucepan, but enough that the bottom of the pan doesn't burn out. Luckily, this won't take long.
Measure the oil and the beeswax and place them in the bowl and then just wait until it melts. Once it has melted, remove the bowl (make sure you are wearing heat resistant gloves) and add in any essential oils you wish. Pour it into the container and viola - you've just made a salve! Make sure you leave it to fully cool before using it.
You can experiment with the amount of beeswax you put in compared to the oil. Less beeswax will make a softer salve, whilst more will make a harder salve.
Another optional ingredient is vitamin E oil; it's good for the skin and can increase the shelf life of the salve. Generally salves can last 1 - 3 years, although I find that I go through them way too quickly to even have a shot at making one last that long!
