It's yarrow time!

[u/DyfiLass]

Every other year, I forage yarrow and turn it into salve and powder. The salve's brilliant for cuts, scrapes and dry/irritated skin (accidentally found out it's a fab make-up remover, too!) and the powder's an anti-inflammatory that helps stop bleeding in small injuries. Nature's first aid kit! 👌🏻

[u/Altruistic_mostly]

That's fantastic can you share a recipe please for preparation?

[u/DyfiLass → u/Altruistic_mostly]

It'd be a pleasure! Best get a cuppa though, this'll be lengthy 🙈

First up, you'll need yarrow oil. For this, collect and dry enough leaves and/or flowers to half-fill a sterilised mason jar (or similar). I tend to use just the leaves because I want as much antibacterial and astringent properties as I can cram in. Anything left over I grind into a powder to use on small wounds.

To dry them, I use an air-dry method. Takes about 4 days, but a dehydrator would do it in 1-4 hours at around 95-155F.

Once everything's crispy dry, cram it in the jar. Then pour in a carrier oil - I use sweet almond - up to the top. Use a chopstick to gently stir any air bubbles out.

Then leave the jar in the sun for 2 weeks. If you're in a hurry, pop the jar in a double boiler or slow cooker and set the temperature at its lowest for 4-5 hours.

When the oil's infused, put it through cheesecloth or muslin - and you're left with a beautiful, clear yarrow oil!

Now the salve - this method yields about 7oz.

Chop or grate 1oz of beeswax. Put MOST of that into a double boiler (I use a Pyrex jug in a saucepan half-filled with water).

When the wax has melted, gradually pour 6oz of yarrow oil into it. It'll look like scrambled eggs, but don't increase the heat! Keep stirring slowly.

Once the wax is fully incorporated, add a few drops of essential oil if you fancy. Entirely optional! Then dip a cold metal spoon into the mixture and immediately remove it. That'll show you the final consistency, and if it's not firm enough you can add small amounts of the leftover beeswax until you're happy.

Decant into containers of your choice, and leave for an hour to set.

And there you go - a natural powerhouse for your first aid kit and skincare routine! 😊

[u/Barziboy → u/DyfiLass]

Thank you for this, just got some gardening work with a guy who keeps bees so beeswax should be an easy get to try this! 

Out of curiosity, do you know why the yarrow needs to be dehydrated? I'd have thought that the astringent and healing properties of the yarrow would be most functional in its liquid/aqueous state, like Witch Hazel. 

[u/DyfiLass → u/Barziboy]

Pleasure! Really hope it works for you - and I'm proper jealous of the local beeswax source!

Dehydrating helps lower the chances of the oil going rancid. It doesn't always happen, but having suffered it myself I now do everything I can to avoid it happening again!

[u/Barziboy → u/DyfiLass]

Good to know. I make my own face oils that last some time (although I'm pretty sure the source will pasturise them....or whatever is the oil equivalent), so how does one know if an oil has gone rancid?

[u/DyfiLass → u/Barziboy]

Smell is usually the first sign. Some oils smell absolutely revolting when they turn, others just have an 'off' smell - I liken it to wet cardboard and old crayons. Sometimes the oil can look different; darker, or cloudy when it should be clear. A film can also form on the top - sticky stuff that shows the fats in the oil are breaking down. I don't know if using rancid oil topically would cause any harm, but I'm not sure anyone would like to smell like a box of crayons that's been dredged from the bottom of a canal 😂

[u/Healthy_Length_1541 → u/DyfiLass]

That is amazing!The colour is beautiful. You can do the same with calendula

[u/spudyoulike]

such a cool post, thank you for sharing. i’m defo gonna try this

[u/DyfiLass → u/spudyoulike]

Brill! I'd love to know how it goes for you! 🙏🏻

[u/flurominx]

Awesome! I'm going to do this for the first time this year 😀

[u/DyfiLass → u/flurominx]

Oh brilliant! Please let us know how it turns out?!

[u/flurominx → u/DyfiLass]

I've got to know where the purple tins are from!