Welcome to Marmee's Pantry

Welcome to Marmee's Pantry

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Homemade Camphor Oil and Salve

As I was growing up, my dear Bigmom (maternal grandma) always had a little used medicine bottle on a little nik-nak table next to her favorite rocking chair. It contained little white balls in oil. When she had an ache, that little bottle would be opened and it's lovely, sharp, mentholated fragrance would envelope Bigmom as she would pour a little bit of the oil into her hand and rub it's soothing "heat" into her tired, aching knees. 

What she had in that little bottle was simply olive oil and little chunks of camphor. It was all she needed to stop the arthritic pain that plagued her poor knees. 

With more and more people turning back to home remedies, this should be a staple in your medicine chest for not just aches and pains . . . but for . . . 

~burns
~decongesting chest rub
~rub onto bottom of feet to reduce fever
~canker sores
~chapped and cracked lips and corners of the mouth
~acne
~cracked heels
~toe nail fungus
~eczema
~rashes
~hemorrhoids
~boosts circulation
~eases tension and headaches
~anti-inflammatory
~antiseptic
~relieves minor depression 
~clears menopausal brain fog
~muscle and joint aches and pains
~boosts circulation
~repels flies and moths
~encourages hair growth and fights hair loss

You can buy camphor essential oil in most health food stores OR you can buy small amounts of camphor granules at health food or bulk food stores. Even though camphor is crystallized, it often collects in little marble-sized balls. That's OK. 

To make your own OIL . . . 

~~simply place 2-3 marble-sized balls of camphor into a 2-4 oz glass bottle (preferably amber or blue) and fill with extra virgin olive oil OR food-grade grapeseed oil (if you prefer a lighter weight oil). Let it sit for 2 days before using it ~ you want that wonderful camphor to be blended into the oil. To use, pour a small amount into your hand and apply it where you hurt. 

~~To stimulate hair growth & cut down on hair loss, blend a about 1 ts into your favorite shampoo. Use as usual.

To make your own SALVE . . . 

You will need:

~1/2 c extra virgin coconut oil
~approximately 2 oz chunk of bees wax, grated (where I get mine, the bees wax comes in chunks of 2, 4, 7, 10 oz)
~10-15 drops of eucalyptus essential oil (depending upon the strength you like)
~5-10 drops of camphor essential or homemade oil (depending upon the strength you like)
~containers (tins, plastic containers, glass jars)

Directions:

1) SLOWLY melt the coconut oil and bees wax together
2) once it's completely melted, add the essential oils
3) stir to blend
4) pour into containers
5) it should harden in about 15 minutes

~If it's too soft, scoop out, re-melt & add little more bees wax to your liking; let harden again.

***NOT recommended to internal use***

Let me know how much you LOVE it!

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

15 comments:

  1. Thanks for the information, Kim!

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  2. Thanks!! My grandfather used to make this and it worked wonders on sprained ankles(which I had quite a few of growing up).

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  3. Replies
    1. For the oil, do I put the teaspoon in the shampoo container, or do I just mix it with the shampoo in my hand?

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    2. Yes, Shanda, thanks for helping me clear that up . . . add 1 teaspoon of the oil to a full bottle of shampoo. Also, about 10 drops of rosemary essential oil added to a full bottle of shampoo works well, too.

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  4. we always used moonshine instead of olive oil

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  5. I made some this morning and it came out really hard. Are you measuring by weight or by volume? Any ideas on how to soften it?

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    Replies
    1. Hmmm . . . this can be helped in a couple of ways: 1) if you keep your salve in cold place the coconut oil and beeswax can harden; try moving it out of a cold cupboard and out into a room. 2) beeswax varies from place to place - bee hive to bee hive - bee keeper to bee keeper, try using a little less beeswax.

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  6. How is this oil used for Acne? Do I just apply it to my spots? Thanks.

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    Replies
    1. Hello Charu ~ Yes, simply saturate the end of a Q-Tip and apply to each blemish, just as you would tea tree oil or honey.

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  7. Is this the same value as Camphor Fanique?

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  8. Found camphor but in little blocks not balls so confused as to how to use it, would love to try.
    Kind regards
    Marinda (South Africa)

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    Replies
    1. That's a great observation. I rarely find camphor in the little balls anymore. I purchase it in more of powder form, now, & because it is rather moist, it glops into chunks that need broken up. Still works amazingly well.

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