Making ointments
Ointments are easy to make and are very helpful for treating a wide range of conditions from dry, chapped skin and lips, to fungal infections like athlete’s foot and deeper ailments like osteoarthritis and aching muscles.
Ointments differ from creams in that they are not made with any water, only oils or fats. The recipe below uses beeswax and olive oil although you could use almond oil or another good quality vegetable oil instead if you prefer.
You can enhance the healing properties of your ointment by making an infused oil using medicinal herbs first and combining this with the beeswax. Here is a recipe for Juniper and Rosemary ointment, which is great for stiff aching muscles or joints. It is a warming ointment which will improve the circulation to the area it is applied to thereby improving the delivery of nutrients and oxygen and speeding up the removal of waste products. Rosemary applied topically is a great anti-spasmodic, relaxing tight muscles and tissues especially when a little time is spent rubbing it in to the affected area. Juniper is also warming and thought to be strongly cleansing, helpful in arthritic conditions where waste products often accumulate around a damaged joint.
Rosemary and Juniper Ointment
Ingredients:
100ml olive oil
10g beeswax
Handful rosemary leaves
A few juniper berries or 20 drops juniper berry essential oil
Method:
- Heat the oil gently in a bowl suspended above a pan of simmering water (the way you would melt chocolate)
- Chop up the rosemary and add it to the oil along with the juniper berries; leave to gently infuse for two to three hours
- Strain the oil carefully, pushing down on the herb/oil mix to extract as much infused oil as possible.
- If using juniper berry essential oil instead of the berries, add this now.
- In a separate pan gently melt the beeswax; once it is melted stir in the infused oil.
- Pour the mixture into clean glass jars and allow to cool completely before adding the lid.
- Label and date your ointment.
These quantities should make two or three 30ml jars of ointment. Beeswax can be bought from health shops.
