This homemade Lavender Infused Salve is made in two parts. First a lavender infused oil is made, then it is combined with some beeswax and an essential oil to make this soothing salve.

If you love the smell of lavender, you will love this homemade salve.

This DIY lavender salve uses a homemade lavender infused oil made from dried lavender buds. Lavender is known for its calming aroma, helping to promote relaxation and possibly improving sleep quality. This salve can be used topically to help moisturise the skin, assist with relaxation, and soothe a variety of skin ailments including mild burns, bug bites, irritation and itching, acne, scrapes, eczema, dryness, scars, dry lips, and more. 

This salve is very easy to make, and you do not need to be an experienced herbalist or naturopath to do this.

If you have seen my homemade calendula salve recipe guide, a lot of this will be familiar to you. But lavender provides its own unique and wonderful benefits, too!

What is a Salve?

A salve is simply a healing balm that you rub onto the skin. The difference between a salve and a cream is that, generally, salves are quite thick, and include nourishing oils like coconut oil, olive oil, sweet almond oil, and others. Salves also typically contain natural waxes or butters to help bind the ingredients together and make the balm semi-solid at room temperature. 

Beeswax is a popular wax to use as it’s very easy to work with, not too challenging to find and source, and creates a smooth finish for the balm.

Recipe Tutorial Video

Infused Oil vs. Essential Oil: What’s the Difference?

What is the difference between a lavender infused oil and a lavender essential oil? Well, lavender infused oil is created by steeping dried lavender flowers in a carrier oil such as olive oil or sweet almond oil for an extended period of time to infuse the herbal properties of the lavender in with the oil. The natural essential oils found in the lavender flowers are drawn out into the carrier oil.

Lavender essential oil, on the other hand, is made through steam distillation, a process that separates the oil and floral water from the lavender plant material. This method produces a highly concentrated oil.

Uses for Lavender Salve

A lavender salve can be applied topically to irritated skin to help reduce swelling, redness, and irritation. This may include rashes, bug bites, minor burns or sunburn, acne, scrapes, eczema, stings, scars, and possibly psoriasis or eczema. I also find this lavender salve to be very soothing on my skin after shaving, to help prevent or treat razor burn.

This homemade lavender salve also acts as a wonderful moisturiser, and can be applied to areas such as chapped lips, rough elbows and feet, or dry hands, to help bring moisture to these areas.

This lavender salve can also be used to help support sleep. The calming scent of lavender is great for settling the mind and promoting relaxation. A little of this salve can be applied to the neck or behind the ears if feelings of anxiousness or stress persist to help you to relax and unwind before bed.

Before we get started in learning how to make this homemade lavender salve, if you like what you’re seeing, subscribe to my email newsletter at the bottom of the page to keep up to date on the latest recipes, DIYs, gardening and health tips I share!

Homemade Lavender Infused Salve

This recipe makes approximately 8 ounces (250 ml) and fills approximately four 2 ounce tins (or five 50 ml jars).

Ingredients:

Lavender infused oil:

• 1/2 cup (4 oz) dried lavender flowers
• 2 cups (16 oz) extra virgin olive oil

Salve ingredients:

• 1 cup (8 oz) lavender infused oil
• 4 tbsp (2 oz) beeswax (if you choose to add shea butter, only use 3 tbsp of beeswax)
• 25 drops lavender essential oil
• 2 tbsp (1 oz) shea butter (optional)

To Make:

Making the lavender infused oil:

1. To make the lavender infused oil, combine the dried lavender flowers and olive oil together in a 16 oz glass mason jar. Cap the lid on the jar tightly and gently shake the jar to combine the ingredients. Store the glass jar on a sunny windowsill to infuse for 3 to 4 weeks. Shake the jar every now and then during this time.
2. Strain out the lavender buds with a cheesecloth or a nut milk bag set over a glass measuring cup, and compost the flowers. Once strained, the oil is ready to use.

Making the lavender salve:

1. Have your chosen salve tins or small glass jars ready with you on hand.
2. Add some water to the bottom of a stainless steel saucepan and place a bowl on top or a large glass jar in the centre of the pan to make a double boiler. Add the beeswax to the bowl or jar and heat the wax on the stovetop over medium-low heat until it has completely melted, stirring frequently during this time.
3. Once the beeswax has melted, remove the bowl or jar from the heat and stir through the lavender infused oil. Next, add in the lavender essential oil and stir the mixture well to combine the ingredients.
4. Carefully pour the liquid salve mixture into your chosen containers. If the mixture starts to solidify while you’re still filling up the containers, place the mixture back on medium-low heat until it liquifies again.
5. Set the lavender salve containers aside (with the lids off) and allow them to completely cool and set at room temperature. 
6. Once set, the lavender salve is ready to use.
7. To use this salve, you can either use clean fingers or a salve spoon to collect a small amount of mixture and apply it to the skin as needed. Please bear in mind that a little goes a long way, so only use a pea-sized amount at a time, and apply more as needed.
8. Store the salve containers in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight. This homemade salve can last for several years, however, the potency of its medicinal properties may decrease with time and age. I like to keep one salve container out for regular use, then stash the rest away in a cabinet or in my many different handbags for easy use when I’m out and about.

The shelf life of herbal infused oils is mostly determined by the shelf life of the carrier oil that was used and the type of storage conditions. Olive oil tends to have a shelf life of around one to two years provided it is stored in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight.

This blog is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice. The use of information on this blog or materials linked from this blog is at the user’s own risk. The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard, or delay in obtaining, medical advice for any medical condition they may have, and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.

Have you made a homemade salve before? Did you find it helpful? Share in the comments below.

Lots of love,

Vanessa