Anyhoo... this is about salves. I *love* salves and have been buying them from farmer's markets, health food stores and small brick and mortar stores for years now. But I always assumed making them was so difficult so I didn't even bother. Well, let me tell you: they're super duper easy!! I made up a placenta salve for a client using a basic first aid salve recipe and then adding about a teaspoon of her dried placenta. I've heard amazing things about placenta salves for cesarean moms and I know of someone who belongs to my placenta service providers group who's daughter nearly had her fingers amputated in a paper shredder accident (!!) and her mother applied placenta salve to it to speed up the healing. But I had no personal experience nor did I personally know someone who used it postpartum so I offered it free to a few clients in exchange for feedback. I also made up a batch without added placenta for a friend's birthday on the weekend. Now I just need to get around to making myself a batch (I want both placenta and regular first aid salve).
Here's a recipe and how to:
First Aid Salve
- First you need to make an herbal infused oil. I used one part herbs to 2 parts oil. The oil I chose was a mixture of organic (make sure to only use organic ingredients for salves) virgin coconut oil and apricot kernal oil. I used comfrey, calendula and goldenseal and placed a tablespoon of each into a crockpot. Then I added 4 tablespoons of coconut oil and 2 tablespoons of apricot kernal oil. Turn the crockpot onto low and let the oil infuse for about 3 hours. Let cool and strain into a clean container using cheesecloth.
- In a pot on low-medium heat, warm the infused oil and add about a tablespoon of grated beeswax (use local beeswax if available). Then you can add 800 IUs of vitamin E and a drop of lavender essential oil. You can also add 1/2 a tsp of tea tree oil but I chose not to. Stir until beeswax melts into oil.
- You'll know your mixture is the right consistency by dipping a teaspoon into the pot and then sticking it into the freezer to set. When it sets, test it to make sure it's not too hard or too soft. If it's too soft, add a little more beeswax. If it's too hard, add more oil.
- Pour into sterile brown glass jars and seal.
- Voila... you are done! This can be used on cuts, scrapes, bug bites, etc.
To use placenta salve on a cesarean incision, wait until the bandages have been removed and the wound has closed up. A mother who birthed vaginally can also use this cream on tender or torn and reparied bits too. The same rule for taking encapsulated placenta internally applies for placenta salve: if infection of any kind is suspected, stop use until all symptoms disappear.
