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    Home » DIY Projects

    Making Jewelweed Salve to Help with Poison Ivy and other Skin Problems.

    July 13, 2017 by Patti Estep 48 Comments

    Jump to How-to Card
    Infused jewelweed image over a table with homemade jewelweed salve in a lip balm tube, tin and small glass container.

    Jewelweed salve is easy to make and may aid irritated skin from poison ivy and bug bites. Learn more about identifying and preserving this helpful plant.

    Jewelweed salve is easy to make and may aid irritated skin from poison ivy and bug bites. Learn more about identifying and preserving this helpful plant.

    This jewelweed salve tutorial reminds me of when I was a Girl Scout back in the day. We had the most wonderful camp within walking distance of my house. Every year during the summer, they would host a week long day camp. I have such fond memories of that experience.

    Sadly the camp is no longer owned by the Scouts, however, the township did purchase the property for community use, so at least it hasn't turned into some ugly industrial site.  

    This post contains some affiliate links (that means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, there's no additional cost to you, but I will earn a very small commission. ) i.e. as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Click here to read my full disclosure policy

    Impatiens pallida aka jewelweed.

    I guess that it is no surprise that even at the young age of seven, one of the highlights of day camp for me was the visit from Mother Nature. She would tell us all about the native plants that grew in the camp. One of my favorites was all about Impatiens pallida aka Jewelweed. 

    Sap from jewelweed stems.

    The first thing Mother Nature showed us, was this folk remedy of using the sap from jewelweed to treat poison ivy and other bothersome itchy skin problems such as bug bites.

    Jewelweed stem cut to make a whistle.

    She also showed us how to make a whistle by cutting slits into the hollow stem. That's right, another common name for this plant is "whistle weed."

    In addition, you may know it as "touch-me-not," because the seed heads pop open and shoot seeds everywhere when touched. A clever way to ensure this plant comes back again and again.

    Jewelweed in olive oil.

    How to Make Jewelweed Salve

    You can make a salve out of this weed. All you need to do is chop it up, and place it in a mason jar. Then fill it with olive oil.

    Disclaimer: This information is not meant to replace medical advice. Be mindful of any plant allergies that may cause a problem, and consult a qualified health care practitioner before self-treatment with any product. Also, take care with anyone who may have a plant allergy.

    Hot infusion of jewelweed and olive oil.

    Some people have made a cold infusion with dried jewelweed. However, I have read, and Mother Nature taught me, that the sap is what you want for this remedy, so I made a warm infusion.

    This is done by gently heating the jar in a bath of simmering water for a few hours.

    Straining the jewelweed infusion.

    Then simply strain the oil by using a coffee filter, napkin, or paper towel.

    Materials to make jewelweed salve.

    Supplies

    Olive Oil
    Fresh Jewelweed
    Beeswax pellets
    Essential Oils (optional)
    Vitamin E
    Tins or lip balm containers, small mason jars

    Use the infused jewelweed oil, combined with beeswax, essential oils (optional), and vitamin E.  

    Melting beeswax with infused jewelweed oil.

    For this batch of jewelweed salve, I used 2 tablespoons of beeswax to 1/2 cup of infused oil in a glass jar.

    Heat the jar in a water bath on the stove until the beeswax is dissolved.

    Let cool slightly before adding in your essential oils (about 15 drops), and vitamin E to act as a preservative.

    Stir and pour into the containers.

    Orange flowered jewelweed.

    Jewelweed grows everywhere around here. Sometimes you see it growing near water sources with a pretty spotted orange flower. This one is Impatiens capensis. Some say that the orange-flowered jewelweed one is better at treating skin issues than the yellow one shown here.  

    Jewelweed salve is easy to make and may aid irritated skin from poison ivy and bug bites. Learn more about identifying and preserving this helpful plant.

    Both have a shallow root system, making them easy to remove from the garden, and the added bonus of something that you can use to make your own jewelweed salve, or maybe just a fun whistle.

    Lip balm tube, small glass container and tin of jewelweed salve next to a branch of impatiens pallida
    Jewel salve tutorial.
    Print
    4.64 from 11 votes

    Making Jewelweed Salve to Help with Poison Ivy and other Skin Problems.

    This jewelweed salve tutorial is easy to make and comes in really handy with bug bites and poison ivy. Great to take with you on a camping trip!
    Prep Time10 mins
    Active Time20 mins
    Total Time30 mins
    Course: Crafts
    Yield: 1 Container
    Author: Patti Estep
    Cost: $5-$10

    Equipment

    • Puritan's Pride Vitamin E 450 Mg Supports Immune Function
    • Earthwise White Beeswax Pellets - 1 Pound - (16 oz) - Cosmetic Grade

    Materials

    • Olive Oil
    • Fresh Jewelweed
    • Beeswax pellets
    • Essential Oils optional
    • Vitamin E - 2 capsules 180 mg ~ 1/2 teaspoon
    • Tins or lip balm containers small mason jars

    Instructions

    • Chop up the jewelweed and place it in a mason jar.
    • Fill it with olive oil.
    • Make a warm infusion by gently heating the jar in a bath of simmering water for a few hours.
    • Strain the oil by using a coffee filter, napkin, or paper towel.
    • Use the infused jewelweed oil, combined with beeswax, essential oils (optional), and vitamin E.
    • Mix 2 tablespoons of beeswax to 1/2 cup infused oil in a glass jar.
    • Heat the jar in a water bath on the stove until the beeswax is dissolved.
    • Let cool slightly before adding in your essential oils (about 15 drops), and vitamin E to act as a preservative.
    • Stir and pour into the containers.

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    About Patti Estep

    Patti is the creator of Hearth and Vine, a home and garden blog filled with projects to inspire your creative side. She loves crafting, gardening, decorating and entertaining at her home in Pennsylvania. When she is not working on a project at home or searching for treasures at nurseries and thrift stores with her girlfriends, you’ll probably find her with family and friends, at a restaurant, or home party enjoying new and different food adventures.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Bella Rounds

      September 24, 2022 at 6:12 pm

      Hello! I was wondering how long does it usually last without the vitamin E, and do you have to use the vitamin E? I could never find any!

      (Also, if you mesh the flowers onto your skin that helps really good as well!)

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        September 25, 2022 at 8:09 am

        Bella, whenever you make homemade salves and balms it's tricky. Vitamin E is said to help keep oil from turning rancid. You'll know when they turn because they smell bad. You can find it at any drugstore sold in capsules with vitamins and other supplements. There are many other and perhaps better natural preservatives that people use. This information can be found on herbal-specific sites or those that sell ingredients for making herbal soaps and other concoctions. Thanks for sharing the info about the flowers.

        Reply
    2. Andrea C.

      September 11, 2022 at 7:08 pm

      Hi! I've recently found tons of jewelweed growing nearby, and am proactively making some salve since I'm weeding flower beds heavy in poison ivy right now.
      But you don't specify how much vitamin e oil to add for preservation. A few drops per half cup of oil used? A teaspoon? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        September 12, 2022 at 7:55 am

        Andrea, I've used about 2 capsules that I poke a hole in and squeeze out the liquid. I'm guessing that's probably about 1/2 teaspoon.

        Reply
    3. Sunnie DeAngelis

      June 18, 2022 at 10:20 pm

      I’m suffering with the mother of all poison Ivy rashes as I write. So glad i found you! It’s week two for me and I am still itching like crazy!! Probably doesn’t help that I pulled something out of the ground without wearing gloves. Of course it was covered in tiny prickly things. I couldn’t remove anything despite trying my best. The Ivy came a week after that. I have a chemical allergy so always have something steroid related on me along with benedryl in cream and oral medicine. Nothing is working for me. It’s horrible. I’m in Pennsylvania too but unfortunately Jewelweed was nowhere near me. I’m going to go out to look for some tomorrow and will make a batch of the salve. I am excited actually. I think I might have to bring some seeds home if they happen to be there. This sounds like a great flower for me to have on hand all the time!

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        June 19, 2022 at 7:02 am

        Sunnie, I'm sorry to hear that you are suffering. I hope the jewelweed gives you relief.

        Reply
      • Mary Rogers

        September 09, 2022 at 8:27 pm

        I'm in PA and the jewelweed is in full bloom

        Reply
        • Patti Estep

          September 10, 2022 at 7:09 am

          Mary, I've seen it growing on the road sides here too.

    4. Mark

      June 03, 2021 at 7:13 pm

      Generally speaking when you infuse fresh herbs in oil you introduce water into the mixture which can promote mold growth. How do you prevent this in your salve?

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        June 03, 2021 at 7:36 pm

        Mark, I try to make sure the plant material has dried out a bit first. Often I will make the infusion and salve in small batches so that it will be used up quickly. However, as with many homemade preparations the risk is there.

        Reply
        • Dan

          June 24, 2021 at 9:56 am

          Hi Patti, how long would you let it dry out or rather I s there a texture to feel for? I’m trying to determine that fine line between its potency and preventing molding. Thanks!

        • Patti Estep

          June 24, 2021 at 10:38 am

          Dan, since jewelweed is somewhat watery I'm not sure letting it dry out really matters much. It's probably more important to make the oil infusion with the plant and strain out any plant material before making the salve. There are some natural preservatives that you can add. Websites that specialize in homemade cosmetics, soaps, and salves often discuss them. I personally have not used any. Instead, I tend to make very small batches and try to use them before they can spoil.

    5. Stephanie Cain

      July 01, 2020 at 12:53 pm

      Do you melt the beeswax into the jewelweed infused oil? Is it okay to keep it in the cooking jar for storage? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        July 01, 2020 at 1:22 pm

        Stephanie, yes you melt the beeswax in the infused oil. You can keep the infused oil for a good while. A cool, dark place is best. Eventually, it will go rancid depending on the oil. You can easily tell by the smell.

        Reply
    6. Wendy Cheek

      June 12, 2020 at 11:41 am

      Hi, Patti, I've made this salve before (but used a slightly-different recipe I'd found online before finding yours) and it turned out wonderfully. I didn't use essential oil at that time. Also, I used Olive Oil. My salve worked out GREAT and we shared with many friends/family. Also I wanted to tell you that ours lasted at LEAST a couple of years and rancidity wasn't a problem (at room temp) at all ( we DID add the vitamin E). THIS year, I'm about to make a whole, new batch and I'm using your recipe, and adding Plantain, which I've read about on several occasions as a great addition. I'm going to use Coconut Oil as I have an abundance on hand, and I'm adding the Essential Oil per your recipe. Can't wait to see/try the final result. Upon my past research, I learned that Jewelweed is great for hemorroids. It contains an anti-inflammatory, antifungal chemical called 2-methoxy-1, 4-napthoquinine which is the active ingredient in Preparation H. I'm lol but MY take on this is: If it works as an anti-itch salve for hemorroidal tissue, IT'S GOTTA BE GOOD!!!!! Another interesting note: My husband is a golfer and the weeds along the sides of the fairway is where he first learned of the anti-itch properties of Jewelweed, as the fellows (if they had a bug bite) would walk to the side, grab some of the plant, and break the stem and rub the bite with the sap. They swore by it! One more interesting fact (which I realize has nothing to do with making the salve): Late in the summer, if you place your hands around the seed pods, you can "catch" the little seeds as the pod splits and spits out the little seeds, which are edible. Just a fun, little fact I thought your followers might enjoy....especially if they have children or grandkids. Thanks for your lovely site, Patti. I appreciate you. I hope to be able to post back after my salve is made this year. Kind regards, Wendy

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        June 12, 2020 at 1:18 pm

        Wendy, so much great information here. Thanks for sharing!

        Reply
    7. Paul

      April 18, 2020 at 10:57 am

      Do you find olive oil goes rancid over time in the salve? As olive oil ages it becomes more acid and can irritate the skin. I was thinking of trying coconut and mineral oil. What are your thoughts?

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        April 18, 2020 at 3:48 pm

        Paul, you are right. Olive can go rancid. I have used coconut oil and it has a longer shelf life. I'm not sure about mineral oil but another one you might try is jojoba oil. It is also said to have a long shelf life.

        Reply
    8. Tommy

      August 21, 2019 at 5:31 pm

      My question is when making the salve.can u choppy the jewel weed in a chopper like puree it .or do you cook it with water.like making a spray. And how much jewel weed do you need cups lbs. And do you need all these ingredients. Coconut oil Shea butter cocoa butter and bees wax. Olive oil vitamin E. I want to make this. Do u have a video step by step to follow. I'm new to this. Help please

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        August 22, 2019 at 6:52 am

        Tommy, I do not have a video but I'm sure that there a many out there. To make a basic salve you usually need oil and beeswax. To make a jewelweed salve you need to first make an oil infusion. That means the plant material needs to be infused into some kind of oil. I like olive oil because I always have it on hand and it has a pretty good shelf life. The vitamin is extra but helps the salve last longer. My post shares 2 tablespoons of beeswax to 1/2 cup of infused jewelweed oil. You can adjust that to be harder or softer if you want by adding more wax to make it harder or more oil for a softer salve.

        Reply
      • Aimee

        January 23, 2020 at 3:30 pm

        We always say that Jewelweed grows in close proximity to poison ivy- as if mother nature is providing means of relief right along with the itch producing culprit! Sometimes this seems to be the case, sometimes not.

        Also, we always believed that the yellow (Pale) jewelweed is more medicinal than the orange kind. Don't know if that's true.
        One time, I even saw a variety of jewelweed with pink flowers, on a 'garden walk' in a nearby large city. The homeowner was rather elusive about how she came to have seeds for pink jewelweed. I think it involved some variety of breaking customs laws!

        Reply
        • Patti Estep

          January 24, 2020 at 6:17 am

          Aimee that's so interesting. I once heard that the orange or red Jewelweed was considered better? Also, I've never heard of pink Jewelweed and now I want some. Thanks for sharing.

    9. Vicki

      June 29, 2019 at 2:47 pm

      Hi Patti, I want to try this recipe and was wondering if you could use sweet almond oil or perhaps grape seed oil instead of the olive oil? Thank you!

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        June 30, 2019 at 6:57 am

        Yes, you can use sweet almond or grapeseed oil for this. The reason I used olive oil is that I always have it on hand. Sweet almond is a great basic carrier oil and grapeseed oil is very light. The only concern is their shelf life. I believe grapeseed doesn't last very long. You could just make small batches so that they get used up quickly.

        Reply
        • Vicki

          June 30, 2019 at 7:46 am

          Thank you so much ! I’m making some today.

    10. J

      September 11, 2018 at 1:42 am

      How long would you say this recipe is shelf stable? I got a lead on some jewelweed and I STRUGGLE with poison ivy every year. If I could make it now and save it over winter, I'd be a happy camper 🙂

      Also, how well do you think jewelweed would grow indoors over the winter with grow lights?

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        September 11, 2018 at 7:02 am

        My best guess would be to freeze or refrigerate the infusion (jewelweed in oil) That would help keep it stable much longer. Then you could make small batches of the salve as needed.

        Reply
    11. Kim

      August 26, 2018 at 10:20 pm

      This is a great recipe! I can’t wait to try it. Which olive oil do you use?

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        August 27, 2018 at 7:38 am

        Kim, I use whatever olive oil I have on hand.

        Reply
    12. Jo Ellen

      August 22, 2018 at 9:01 am

      I noticed that you are just using the stalks of the plant. Can you use the leaves, flowers and stalk all chopped up? or is it the stalk that holds most of the resin? Thanks

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        August 22, 2018 at 9:22 am

        I learned that the juice in the stalks was the part that you needed to use but since you are making an infusion it wouldn't surprise me if you could use other parts of the plants.

        Reply
    13. Karen

      August 01, 2018 at 12:05 pm

      Do you break open the vitamin E capsules?

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        August 01, 2018 at 2:54 pm

        Yes. I poke the capsule with a pin and squeeze out the liquid

        Reply
    14. Lorren

      July 12, 2018 at 3:35 pm

      Do I need to refrigerate it or is it fine to stay put. How long can it stay out. I had someone make some jewel weed salve ( not your recipe) and she said it would go ransid if not refrigerated. Is this the same? Love the recipe by the way. Just made some and have it cooling

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        July 13, 2018 at 6:50 am

        Lorren, Many people like to refrigerate their homemade concoctions. It's not required but it will prolong the shelf life.

        Reply
      • Lori

        August 16, 2019 at 1:22 pm

        If you use the vit E this will protect against rancidity

        Reply
        • Patti Estep

          August 16, 2019 at 1:57 pm

          Lori, Vitamin is supposed to act as a preservative and should help slow down the process so the oil won't go rancid as fast.

        • Lori

          August 16, 2019 at 6:49 pm

          yes it will! I think you though I was asking? I was letting the other reader know that the Vit E would, indeed protect against rancidity ...vit E is an anti-oxidant and helps oils resists oxidation; which is why they smell rancid (as the oil beaks down ) - love your blog! <3

    15. Pat

      June 29, 2018 at 5:24 pm

      What essential oil would you recommend? Lavendar? Lemongrass? Lemon? Cedarwood? Theives? Peppermint?

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        June 30, 2018 at 8:23 am

        I personally would use lavender and maybe a bit of lemon. Lavender is supposedly great for all kinds of skin issues. Also, I like the smell of lemons, and sometimes lavender on it's own can be too strong.

        Reply
    16. Rebecca

      June 28, 2018 at 8:26 pm

      How much vitamin E do you use?

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        June 29, 2018 at 7:36 am

        Rebecca, I usually use the capsules that you can buy at the grocery store (180 mg). For the 1/2 cup of oil I use 2 capsules of Vitamin E.

        Reply
    17. Zoot

      June 25, 2018 at 11:06 am

      How do you make that whistle??

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        June 25, 2018 at 12:07 pm

        All you do is cut a length of the stalk about 5 inches long. Make sure that you cut a piece between the nodes so it looks like a straw. Then cut a couple of notches on the side and it makes a whistle or flute like object.

        Reply
    18. trendle ellwood

      June 07, 2018 at 11:57 am

      Patti, Thank you so much for this great article. I can tell you know what you are talking about! So many sites are saying to use dried jewel weed. What good will that do?! The power is in the juice ( : The jewel weed is huge this year! We always used it for poison ivy and I have it about my gardens wherever it decides to come up and it is SO lush this year that I got to wanting to save some. I am making your salve today, with the grandkids ( : God bless you!

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        June 07, 2018 at 12:07 pm

        I'm so glad you like the post. Have fun with the kids.

        Reply
    19. Carole

      July 13, 2017 at 8:11 am

      This is so cool - I'm not sure if we have that growing around here but man I could use a good salve because the bugs are driving me nuts which means I'm itchy all the time and it would be good for when we go to the property. I've learned more about plants with bite too this year. It's like I'm under attack.. LOL

      I'm saving this and hunting down these ingredients. I'm guessing the essential oils make it smell nice? My Go to oils are lavender, T-Tree, peppermint and lemon.. Which of these would you recommend?

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        July 13, 2017 at 9:16 am

        Hi Carole,

        According the the USDA forestry map Texas has the plant growing somewhere. Of course it's everywhere here in PA. The essential oils do make it smell good, but as you know can also benefit the skin. I think all of your go-to oils would work. There are some articles that caution against citrus for photo sensitivity on the skin so maybe not the lemon, the others would work great.

        Have a great week!
        Patti

        Reply

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