Arthritis Salve ~ Update

A few weeks ago, I published a post describing how I made some salve for sore and inflamed joints. My husband suffers from arthritis and I’m in remission from rheumatoid arthritis and it’s nice to have something to use when over-stressing our joints. The salve was a derivation on a basic cayenne pepper salve and it’s really worked well for both of us. I still have some damaged areas that have improved somewhat as well, so I was eager to make some that might be a little stronger. Plus, I wanted to add some wormwood to the salve for additional pain relief. I use wormwood alone for both topical oils and liniments, and when I found some that I hadn’t yet put into jars, I decided to add some to the arthritis salve.

I’m using the same recipe I used the last time, only I’m making a larger amount and I’m adding wormwood. Here’s what I did:

I melted 2 cups of cannabis-infused coconut oil on a warmer burner on my stove. If you don’t have a warmer burner, a crockpot on keep warm works or use a double boiler. If you don’t have cannabis-infused coconut oil, use regular coconut oil or olive oil works as well. Both oils will add their own healing properties to the salve.

When the cannabis-infused coconut oil had melted, I removed the oil from the burner added the following to the oil:

• 8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 tsp turmeric powder
• a handful of dried arnica flowers
• a handful of dried wormwood
• some dried lavender flowers

I tightly covered the pot with some foil and left it to infuse for around four hours in the oven on 170 degrees, then removed it from the oven and strained the herbs from the oil. I returned the oil to the pan, placed it back on the warmer burner, and began adding beeswax. I typically use pearls or flakes and if using that, add about a half to three-quarters cup, let it melt and then do a spoon test in the refrigerator to test consistency. If it’s not hard enough, add more pearls, maybe a tablespoon at a time and check again for consistency.

But with this salve, as with the last one, I’m using clean comb from our beehives. It’s a different consistency when crumbled than what you buy in pearl, flake, or solid form. Since I used two cups of oil, I began with a half cup of crumbled comb and then adjusted from there. But the general rule of thumb is to use a quarter cup of beeswax to one cup of herbal oil. So, start slowly unless you are familiar with making salves.

Below is the finished product. The additional wormwood darkened it somewhat as did the darker cayenne pepper that I used so the color this time is brownish red. Last time, I used Thai pepper and the turmeric made it more yellow. Had I used coconut oil that wasn’t infused with cannabis, the color would have also been lighter. I’ll let it set up in the refrigerator before using but after trying some on my elbow, the pain I was experiencing was gone.

Cayenne is a wonderful herb for inflammation and pain. If you make this salve, be sure to test it on a patch of skin to see if you experience any sensitivity. Otherwise, enjoy!

Herbal Blessings!