This recipe for how to make sage salve is an easy-to-make useful herbal salve. Making salves from herbs and other medicinal plants and weeds is a fun beneficial activity. This salve made from sage has many possible benefits. The only use I ever knew from sage was for dressing at Thanksgiving! It is amazing what wonderful properties that herbs really have.
Benefits of Sage for the Skin
This article describes the many benefits of sage for the skin.
As discussed in the article, sage is good for relieving several skin conditions, such as chapped skin, acne, eczema and psoriasis. The oil from sage has an astringent property and is often added to face and body washes. The article also discusses that sage can possibly improve skin’s appearance by stimulating cell renewal and increasing blood circulation and that the herb is rich in calcium and vitamin A needed for daily cell regeneration and can delay the onset of wrinkles! Sage can also possibly improve the appearance of varicose veins and can reduce cellulite. Sage can also be used for wound treatment and can possibly reduce UVA damage to the skin.
Sage Salve Benefits
As discussed in the article above, sage salve would be an great salve to have on hand and even in your first aid kit as it is a multi-purpose healing salve with antiseptic properties, anti-inflammatory properties and is great for insect bites and minor scrapes. It can also be used as a chest rub to clear congestion, especially when mixed with tea tree oil or eucalyptus oil. It would be great to have for those colds that come in the winter months.
Sage salve is also just good for your skin and helps with dry skin, sun damage and is a wonderful moisturizer. It will soak right into the skin tissue and make it feel great.
How to Make Sage Salve
To make salves, balms, lotions and lotion bars, you need to start with an infused oil.
How to Make an Infused Oil
The first step to make an oil infusion is to dry the herbs. You can let the plants air dry by spreading them in a single layer on a dish towel or paper towel and let them dry for several days. The other option is to use a dehydrator set at a low setting.
I used my dehydrator to dry the sage leaves and the flowers
.
The next step is to make an infused oil with the dried flower or herb by steeping the flower or herb in a carrier oil. Different kind of oils can be used includingsweet almond oil, sweetgrass oil, olive oil,sunflower oil, jojoba oilor coconut oil.
Add the dried sage leaves and flowers to a glass jar. The amount of oil you want will depend on how much lotion that you want to make. You will add about twice as much oil as your dried flowers or herbs. For example you can add the flowers or herbs to a pint jar about halfway and then fill the jar almost to the top. If you want less, you can fill the jar about 1/4 up with herbs and then 1/2 way with oil. Also, you can make more than you plan to use for now and save the additional oil for later.
There are several options for making the infused oil:
Slow option: Just add the lid to the jar and put it away in a cabinet for 4 to 6 weeks. Shake the jar every once in a while. You can also put the jar in direct sunlight for a couple weeks to infuse the oil.
Fast double boiler method: Place the jar in a saucepan of a couple inches of hot water and heat the water on low for about 2 hours
Fast crockpot method: Add your dried herbs or flowers and oil to the crockpot, make sure that the oil covers the herbs. Heat the oil slowly and keep the crockpot on warm. Try to keep the temp between 120-130 F. Let it heat for several hours.
Making the Sage Salve
The next step is to strain the dried sage from the infused oil.
Once you have the infused oil, add the desired amount to adouble boiler, then add the beeswax and shea butter. My measurements are 1 cup infusion oil to 2 Tbspbeeswax and 1 Tbspshea butter. I used 1/2 cup infusion oil to 1 Tbsp beeswax and 1/2 Tbsp shea butter for the sage salve that I made. It made 2 2-oz tins. A lot of recipes for salves that I have seen use measurements in grams and oz. I feel it is easier with simple measurements and the salve turned out great.
Stir the mixture until the beeswax and shea butter melts.
When the beeswax and shea butter are melted, pour the mixture, which will be in liquid form, into 2- ouncetins or glass jars.
You can also add a couple drops of essential oils of your choice. I did not add any to my sage salve. I wanted to be able to smell the earthy scent of the original sage and the salve does have a hint of sage smell. I could have added a sage essential oil, but felt that might be too strong.
Let it sit for awhile until it sets up.
Enjoy!
Enjoy making and using this salve made from natural ingredients and medicinal herbs. It is very easy to make small batches of these salves. I plan to continue to explore making salves, balms, lotions, and other similar items from plants and flowers found in nature and also from herbs and flowers that I grow.
I have made a salve from purple nettle and lotion bars from rose petals.
See my website atwww.HawkPointHomestead.comto learn more and for additional made from nature recipes, such as my flower jellies including mydandelion jelly recipe,redbud jelly recipe,lilac jelly recipepeony jellyandapple blossom recipe.
The website also includes canning recipes and other favorite great recipes, plus posts about other homestead-type activities, such as gardening and raising chickens.
For updates, please follow my Facebook page atHawk Point Hobby Homestead.
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Sage Salve Recipe
Yield: 4 2-oz tins
This recipe for how to make sage salve is an easy-to-make useful herbal salve.
Ingredients
- Dried Sage Leaves and a Carrier Oil, which can include sweet almond oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, or olive oil, to make your infused oil
- 1 cup of the infused oil
- 2 Tbsp. beeswax
- 1 Tbsp. shea butter
- Optional: Essential oil of your choice
Instructions
- Create the sage-infused oil with the dried sage and the carrier oil- See Notes
- Heat the infused oil in a double boiler
- Add the beeswax and shea butter
- Heat and stir until the beeswax and shea butter are completely melted
- Pour the liquid into 2 oz tins or jars
- Optional: Add essential oil of your choice, such as lavender
- Let the salve set up
Notes
There are several methods for creating the infused oil which are described in the article.
This recipe makes 4 2-oz tins. I cut the recipe in half and made 2 2 -oz tins.
