Plantain salve is one of the best ways to start a home herbal first aid kit.  Plantain is abundant, and this easy to make salve is good for all manner of minor burns, cuts, and stings.

Sometimes we all need a bit of boo-boo medicine, whether you’re 5 or 50.  Plantain salve is just that, the perfect medicine to treat all of life’s little cuts, scrapes, stings, and abrasions.

Herbalists know plantain as natures’ band-aid, and the large oval leaves are perfect for wrapping around minor injuries.  It’s well known as a bee/wasp sting treatment, and a little plantain poultice works fast for relief when little else will.  Both of these assume you’ve got fresh plantain on hand, which may or may not be the case.

Making plantain salve combines the healing benefits of common plantain with the soothing effects of oil and beeswax.  It also preserves plantain in a convenient form right in your medicine cabinet or first aid kit.

Though plantain is incredibly common, it’s only available for harvest 4-5 months of the year here in Vermont.  Short summers mean we need to preserve our medicine so it’s on hand when we need it.  If you’re not familiar with plantain, read up on how to forage plantain for proper identification.

Out of season, dried plantain is available from Mountain Rose Herbs.  If you’re just hoping to find a ready-made salve and skip the DIY portion, I’d suggest checking on Etsy for small-scale cottage industry producers since it’s not something that you’ll find in a store.

Broadleaf Plantain (Image Courtesy of Melissa Keyser)

(Always consult your doctor or a clinical herbalist before trying any new herbal remedy, as there’s always the possibility of unintended consequences, allergic reaction, or interactions with other medication.  If you’re harvesting wild plant material, make sure you’re 100% confident in your identification and consult multiple sources for your ID.  The following is based on my research and experience, but I don’t claim to have any certifications that would qualify me to advise you on your health.  Please do your own research and always verify with multiple reputable sources.)

Benefits of Plantain Salve

According to WebMD, the herb “plantain contains substances which might help decrease pain and swelling (inflammation)…. It might also be able to kill bacteria and fungi.”

While plantain is also used to decrease inflammation internally, a plantain salve will only be used topically. According to Gia Herbs, “Plantain has been used to support healthy levels of inflammation both internally as an extract and externally, as a topical agent. Topically, the leaves or extracts of the leaves are often used to soothe irritated skin.”  This includes all manner of skin irritations and minor inflammatory conditions, from eczema to minor allergic reactions, as well as cuts and stings.

According to Kaiser Permanente Health System, “Plantain has long been considered by herbalists to be a useful remedy for cough, wounds, inflamed skin or dermatitis, and insect bites. Plantain is approved by the German Commission E as topical use for skin inflammations. The fresh leaves can be applied directly three or four times per day to minor injuries, dermatitis, and insect stings.”

Applying a homemade herbal salve is similar to applying the fresh plant material, and herbalists often employ this traditional preparation.  Keep in mind though, there are no peer-reviewed scientific studies (at least that I can find) to back up this traditional use.

Plantain isn’t meant to treat anything beyond minor superficial injuries, and you should seek medical attention for puncture wounds, serious rashes, or large contusions.

Supplies & Equipment for Making Plantain Salve

The equipment you need is pretty basic.  A simple double boiler, either a store-bought double boiler or hacked up in your kitchen (as I’m doing) will allow you to gently heat the oils.

The herbal material is infused into a neutral oil, and olive oil is a great all-purpose choice.  Other oils like grapeseed and jojoba oil work well too and have other skin-nourishing benefits.

Beeswax thickens this salve, and you can weigh out pieces of wax from a large block if you wish.  I really love using beeswax pellets for making slaves because it’s really easy to measure. 

Either way, you’ll need a small kitchen scale.  (Unless you happen to find beeswax in convenient 1 oz bars, like these.)

Finally, containers for the finished salve.  I’m using 2-ounce salve tins which screw shut and make great gifts.  You can also use any small jar with a tight-fitting lid, such as quarter pint mason jars.

How to Make Plantain Salve

The process for making plantain salve is more or less the same as making any herbal healing salve.  It all starts with collecting fresh plant material (or finding a good source for dried plantain leaves).

Be sure to harvest from a clean area that’s not sprayed with herbicides or pesticides, and avoid places where dogs are routinely walked.

Our side yard is the perfect spot, rich in broadleaf plantain and completely free of contamination of any sort.

I start by packing a mason jar full of clean plantain leaves.  (Note that other plantain varieties such as narrow-leaf plantain also work.)

Harvesting Plantain for a healing salve

The next step is increasing surface area.  A sharp knife or a pair of scissors will make quick work of the plantain leaves, chopping them into small pieces.

With more surface area, the medicinal constituents within the herbal material are better able to infuse into the oil.

At this point, you can either dry the chopped plantain leaves, or proceed immediately to make a herbal salve with fresh leaves.  The process is a bit different, depending on the variation you choose.

If you’re working with dried plant material, simply cover the dry leaves in neutral skin-safe oil (like olive oil or grapeseed), cap up the jar, and allow it to infuse out of direct sunlight for 4-6 weeks.

Fresh plant material has unique challenges.  All the water in the leaves will cause the oil to go rancid if it’s allowed to slowly infuse over the course of several weeks.  You need to speed things up a bit, and since bug bite season overlaps with plantain season, I’m choosing the rapid infusion route. 

To make  salve with fresh plantain leaves, start by covering the chopped leaves with oil. 

Leave the jar open and place it in a double boiler with a bit of water.  You’ll need a spacer at the bottom of either a saucepan or a crockpot, to keep the jar away from direct heat.  I use either canning jar lids or an old cotton dish towel. 

Place the jars on the spacer within the pot or crockpot and then add water.

Slowly warm the water to 110 to 120 degrees.  Don’t allow the temperature to get too hot, you’re not deep-frying the herbs, you’re just trying to gently infuse them with a bit of warmth.  Cooking the plant material means you’re cooking off the medicinal components.

Allow the plantain oil to infuse for 24 to 48 hours at a consistent 110 to 120 degrees.  I do this by periodically turning the stove on very low, and then leaving it off but covered with a  towel overnight.

For efficiency, you can infuse multiple oils at once if you’d like.  Below I’m infusing arnica oil for massage, comfrey oil for comfrey salve, yarrow oil for wounds, and plantain oil for my homemade plantain salve. 

Infusing herbal oils in a double boiler.

(For more specifics, I’d suggest this article on making herbal infused oils.)

Once you’ve infused plantain into a carrier oil, it’s time to make the finished salve.  Filter out the plant material and measure out 1 cup (8 ounces) of infused oil.

Place that infused oil in a heat-safe bowl and gently warm it above simmering water (you’re creating a double boiler for a second time here).  Add in 1 ounce of beeswax and continue to gently heat the oil until the wax has melted.

Once the wax is melted, stir to ensure it’s evenly distributed, and then pour the plantain salve into salve tins (or small mason jars).

Homemade herbal salves are usually considered effective for about 1 year, as a general rule.

We make a small batch of 4-6 tins for life’s little boo-boos and that’s plenty to share with family and friends.

Even with two small children in the house, we only need 2-3 tins a year to handle all our minor cuts, scrapes, and stings.  That’s even with living almost full time outdoors either in the garden or in the woods.

Yield: 4-6 Salve Tins

Plantain Salve

Prep Time: 2 days

Active Time: 30 minutes

Cooling Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 days 1 hour

Difficulty: Easy

Estimated Cost: $1 to $2 per batch

Plantain salve is the perfect addition to your herbal first aid kit to handle all of lifes little cuts, scrapes and stings.

Print

Materials

• 1 1/2 to 2 cups fresh plantain herb
• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups Olive oil (or other neutral oil)
• 1 ounce Bees Wax

Tools

• Double Boiler (or saucepan and heatproof bowl)
• Salve Tins (or small mason jars)

Instructions

1. Harvest fresh plantain from a clean, uncontaminated area. As with any wild plant, always be 100% positive on your identification before harvesting.
2. Chop the plantain leaves and use them to fill a pint mason jar most the way to the top.
3. Cover the fresh herb with a neutral oil, such as olive oil or grapeseed oil.
4. Place the mason jar on a trivet in a double boiler or crockpot and add water to the pot.
5. Gently heat the water until it's 110 to 120 degrees and turn off the heat.
6. Periodically turn on the heat to maintain this warm infusing environment for 24 to 48 hours. (Never leat the heat on overnight or for long periods, and be careful not to overheat and cook the plant material.)
7. Once the fresh plantain has infused into the oil, strain out the plant material.
8. Place the strained plantain infused oil into a heatproof bowl and then put that bowl above a pot of gently simmering water (again, creating a double boiler).
9. Add the beeswax and gently heat the oil just until the beeswax melts.
10. Stir to ensure the beeswax is evenly distributed and then pour into prepared salve tins (or small mason jars).
11. Allow the salve to cool completely and set up before using (usually around 30 minutes).

Notes

Note: If using dried plantain herb, you can use this same quick warm infusion method, or you can use a longer room temperature infusion for 4-6 weeks in a cool dark place. When using fresh herb material, you must use the warm infusion method because the fresh herbs will spoil in a long slow infusion.

Be sure to spot test before using, as there's always the possibility for allergic reaction.

As always, please consult your doctor or herbalist before starting any new treatment. I am not a doctor, nor do I claim to be.

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Disclaimer on Homemade Herbal Remedies

I’ve been foraging wild medicines and treating my family with herbal remedies for the past 20 years, but I’m self-taught.  Be aware that I am not a clinical herbalist, and this is based on my own research and personal experience using medicinal plants.  I do not claim to have the experience that’d qualify me to advise you on your health, and I’m only providing this as a reference to encourage a broader interest in medicinal plants. 

Please use this as a jumping-off point, but always do your own research and verify anything you read with multiple sources.

It’s always possible to have an adverse reaction to any medicinal herb, and plenty of people are allergic to even gentle herbs like chamomile.  Always consult your doctor or a certified herbalist before trying any new medicinal plant.  Often, they can have unintended reactions in combination with other herbs and supplements, and many herbs have side effects even when they are effective for their intended purpose.

If you are seriously interested in herbal medicine, I’d suggest investing in a course in herbal medicine, and I’d recommend any of the online courses put out by the Herbal Academy of New England.  Specifically, the introduction to herbal medicine course and the family herbalist group of courses. 

They also have a mushroom course, covering both medicinal and edible mushrooms, and a Botany and Wildcrafting Course.  I’ve taken both and they’re informative, inspiring, and artfully presented.