Plantain is an extremely common “weed” that most people would tear out of their yard and throw in the compost bin. Alternatively, you could use it to make a soothing salve for burns, scrapes, insect bites, etc.*
collecting the plantain
When collecting the plantain, you want to first make sure that you are in an area that has not been chemically sprayed or heavily trampled. (You never know what people could be carrying on the bottom of their shoes!) Pick a relatively “clean” place (i.e. not a dog park). We have plantain growing abundantly throughout our property, and I have seen it at many local parks as well.
Once you have a location to collect the plantain, make sure you are collecting the correct plant. You can look up pictures online, or find a book that will show you what the plant looks like. The scientific name to look up is plantago major. You will most likely find both the broad and narrow leaf. I collected a combination of the two.
making the plantain salve
Once you have collected the plantain leaves you are ready to make the salve. I will list the steps below, but be sure to print out the ingredient and instruction list at the bottom of the post:
- let the leaves air dry in a well ventilated, dark area
- roughly chop up the leaves and pour a neutral oil over them
- infuse the oil by warming it for 1 to 2 days
- strain the leaves out of the oil
- melt the beeswax and stir in the oil
- pour the mixture into tins or glass jars
Be sure to store your plantain salve in a cool, dark place such as a medicine cabinet. It is also handy to have a small amount of it in your purse or diaper bag in case you need it while away from the home. You can store it in a small container, such as an old Altoid tin. Just make sure to put the tin in a ziplock baggie in case the oil begins to melt.
* I am not a medical doctor or certified herbalist. Please do your own research and test for allergic reaction before using this salve.
plantain salve
Ingredients
- 1 pint mason jar full of plantain leaves
- 1 cup neutral oil (I used avocado oil)
- 1 oz beeswax
Instructions
- Collect a pint mason jar worth of plantain leaves (see above for tips)
- Place the leaves on a rack in a dark, well-ventilated area to dry
- Once they have dried, cut the leaves into smaller pieces and place in a pint mason jar
- Pour the oil over the leaves, completely submerging the leaves
- At this point, you can infuse the oil by capping the jar and leaving it in a dark place for 4 to 6 weeks. Alternatively, you can speed up the process by placing the jar (without a lid) on a trivet in a crockpot (you can use mason jar lid rings to form a trivet)
- Fill the crockpot with water until the water comes halfway to 3/4 of the way up the side of the jar
- Turn the crockpot on the "keep warm" setting and let the water temperature get up to 120 degrees
- You will need to turn the crockpot on and off for the next 24 to 48 to keep the water around 110 to 120 degrees*
- After the oil has been infused, strain out the plantain leaves and discard them
- Melt the beeswax slowly over a double boiler.
- When the beeswax is completely melted, stir in the infused oil
- Pour the beeswax/oil mixture into heat-resistant glass jars (such as half pint jars) or into tins
- Store in a cool, dark place
Notes
*When I did this, the water in the crockpot went far below 110 degrees at night or when we needed to leave the house. I didn't stress it, but just brought it back up to temp.
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