How to make chickweed & plantain skin salve (cream)

Always on the look-out for inspiring ideas I was researching chickweed a few months ago and came across this article in which the author described a salve he made with chickweed & plantain, saying this about it:

It has been so popular that it is known amongst my friends as the magic salve. True story. Excellent for anything due to the properties of both Stellaria and Plantago. Great for soothing irritated skin, ailing small cuts, lip balm, infected small wounds and more. It is my go-to salve for anything skin really.

Chickweed & plantain are in season and in abundance here in France (I eat them both in my daily salads and smoothies) so i just went for it and having now been using this salve for a month i feel ready to write about it.

First up, what's a salve?

• An analgesic or medicinal ointment.
• Something that soothes or consoles; a balm.

So, it's a medicinal cream basically.

Medicinal properties of chickweed & plantain

The article i mentioned was well written so i will give you his explanation of why chickweed is a plant worth getting to know:

Chickweed has a very long history of herbal use, being particularly beneficial in the external treatment of any kind of itching skin condition. It has been known to soothe severe itchiness even where all other remedies have failed. Taken internally it is useful in the treatment of chest complaints and in small quantities it also aids digestion. It can be applied as a poultice to relieve skin rashes and is effective wherever there are fragile superficial veins. An infusion of the fresh or dried herb can be added to bathwater and its emollient property will help to reduce inflammation – in rheumatic joints for example – and encourage tissue repair. A decoction of the whole plant is taken internally as a post-partum depurative, and blood tonic. It is also believed to relieve constipation and be beneficial in the treatment of kidney complaints. The expressed juice of the plant has been used as an eyewash.

A handful of chickweed here.

It has tiny white flowers which resemble little balls.

Seen more clearly here.

Plantain also has an amazing list of 'credits' to its name.

It contains mucilage, iridoid glycosides and tannins which are thought to provide anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antihemorrhagic and expectorant actions.

Primarily it will boost the immune system but is also used to treat conditions such as chronic bronchitis, asthma and coughs & colds with its anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties.

For topical use it can be applied to wounds to speed up healing, reduce pain and swelling. It is used to treat dermatitis, insect bites and stings due to its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects.

Traditionally it is used to treat peptic ulcers, urinary tract infections and also burns. Plus, it soothes pain and aids in tissue repair.

Ingesting plantain can help with digestion as it acts as a bulk laxative. Research has shown that plantain can lower cholesterol levels and enhance cholesterol elimination as fecal bile acids.

We've all seen it growing in the wild.

A close-up on those seed heads i used to collect as a child.

The salve lasts years apparently so i encourage you to give this a try!

How to make chickweed & plantain skin salve

I will present you now a direct copy of the instructions i followed, with some extra notes based on my experience:

1. Collect and wash two handfuls of chickweed and two handfuls of plantain leaves, no roots. Let it dry fully. Chop finely and place the herbs in a jar. (I chopped a little first, then dried it and then chopped into fine pieces). Fill the jar with good quality olive oil, making sure all herbs are submerged. Rest the jar in a warm place for 2-4 weeks, like on the window sill or the kitchen bench. Shake daily.

2. Strain the herbs well through a cotton cloth or cheesecloth, squeezing as much of the oil as possible out of the plant material.

3. Pour the extracted oil into a clean, dry saucepan, adding ½ cup of grated beeswax per every 4 cups of oil. (I felt this was not enough bees wax and doubled his recommended quantity). Melt over a low flame, stirring constantly until the beeswax is fully dissolved.

4. Check for readiness by pouring 1 teaspoon of the product into a small clean glass jar and placing in the freezer for 3 to 5 minutes. The salve should be firm and solid without being so hard that it can not be melted into your skin. If the consistency is correct, then pour the salve into small jars, cool to room temperature, cover, label, and store. If your salve is too soft, add more beeswax; if it is too hard, add more oil. I add a few drops of geranium essential oil to the salve so that it carries a nice relaxing scent with it. It keeps for several years.

I recommend not keeping the salve in aluminum, but rather glass or something home-made like pottery. The less aluminum in your life the better.

In addition i want to point out that the smell was quite intense initially so i did add a fair amount of lavender & rosemary essential oil. Plus the recommended geranium.

Screenshots of process

The following images are taken from a film i am yet to release through The Spiral Garden:

This was the quantity of plantain i used.

Chickweed here. Not too much really. I eat more than this in my daily salad!

Now you can see the dried herbs being cut into fine pieces.

Here are the dried herbs in the olive oil. Don't forget to shake vigorously every day!

One month later the oil is separated from the herbs.

Love this shade of green.

In this shot you can see how much oil i had compared to bees wax, though as i mentioned, i ended up using double this quantity of wax. So that would be one cup of wax to every four cups of oil.

The wax is melted in the warm (not boiling) oil.

While it is still hot essential oils are added to personalise the scent.

If you are using a standard glass jar (as opposed to a wide flat jar) the salve will cool from the outside in, creating a little hole like this. Which is fine of course!

The finished product seen here.

Just a few days later many little finger marks had appeared and the hole was gone.

Finally here is a shot of my soil worn fingers enjoying a little relief.

One month later

I don't personally have much experience using skin creams but Sabrina is really into them, always applying before bed and when she wakes. So i handed her this little green jar with the suggestion to try it out and a few days later she told me clearly this seems like the best cream she has ever used. She was so taken back by it and says she will unquestionably be using it day and night from now on, along with the others.

She mentioned specifically the way in which the salve is able to penetrate the skin and not leave it feeling oily. Apparently this is good.

Beyond this she mentioned how her skin feels smoother during the day and also how a small red mark she had on her face for years suddenly seems to be disappearing.

No sign of the wrinkles disappearing yet but clearly this isn't something which will happen overnight.

For myself i have enjoyed using it on my hands which always seems to suffer from Spring to Autumn. Small cuts and dry areas are soothed instantly.

I had a slightly painful scab on my leg which appeared to be getting infected so applied the salve for a few days and this cleared it right up.

Confident now for its antiseptic properties i used it again a few days ago on a larger open wound (yes, i get a lot of injuries and should probably just wear gloves!) and the wound has since then healed well and there is no further pain.

Never having used a cream on my face before i am not going to be a good judge of this but without a doubt, my face feels softer after using it for a month.

It hit me just a week ago that this little pot will not be enough to last the two of us one season, so i went out and picked a load more chickweed and plantain.

Seen here at the semi-dry stage.

I should probably add that the herbs should not be dried in direct sunlight as this wil damage their nutritional properties. I put the trays outside just to get this photo.

Think i will chop it into fine pieces today and let it dry a few more days before adding to the oil.

So that's it!

Please let me know if you intend to try this?

Highly recommend you do.

Love & Light everyone 🌱