May contain affiliate links or sponsored content. Please see my privacy policy and affiliate disclosure.
Originally published on. Last updated on
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
Learn how to make your own homemade comfrey salve. Comfrey has many medicinal benefits and is excellent for helping to heal minor wounds. This homemade comfrey salve helps to heal minor wounds fast!
Medicinal Benefits of Comfrey
I’m always amazed by the power of herbal medicine!
Comfrey is one of those herbs that truly has healing properties and is excellent when used in a salve. It is a plant that I will always have growing in my medicinal herb garden, even if it does have a tendency to spread.
Comfrey is a potent anti-inflammatory wound healer and both the root and leaves can be used. Also known as knitbone, comfrey is commonly used externally as a poultice for wounds, sores, burns, and fractures.
It makes an excellent salve, either on its own or combined with other healing herbs like calendula, plantain, yarrow, or lavender.
Comfrey speeds healing and promotes the growth of new skin cells. It should not be used on deep or infected wounds as it will heal the surface first and could potentially seal in an infection.
There is conflicting evidence on the safety of using comfrey internally, so please do your own research and proceed with caution.
Using it externally, like in this salve or as a poultice, is perfectly safe!
Besides being medicinal, comfrey is also great for the garden and makes an excellent natural compost tea.
How to Make Comfrey Infused Oil
Before making this salve, you will need to make a comfrey infused oil.
I use dried comfrey leaf that I harvest from my garden and dry on homemade drying screens.
Fill a pint jar about ½ to ⅔rds full of dried comfrey leaf, then cover the plant material with your carrier oil of choice.
You can use a single carrier oil or a combination of oils. My favorite combination for making salves is equal parts of olive, coconut, and sweet almond oils.
Let the oil infuse in a cool and dark place for 4-6 weeks (or longer) before making this salve. Strain out the comfrey leaf before using in this recipe.
Comfrey Salve Recipe
To make the salve, first create a makeshift double boiler by putting a small bowl or a glass Pyrex measuring cup over a pot with about an inch of simmering water.
Put the comfrey oil and beeswax into the small bowl or Pyrex, and heat until the beeswax completely dissolves into the oil, stirring occasionally.
Add the shea butter and stir until it completely dissolves.
Carefully pour the mixture into small jars or tins and let sit until the salve sets up completely.
This comfrey salve is one that I always have on hand in my herbal medicine cabinet.
Comfrey has so many healing benefits, and this salve is amazing for healing minor cuts, scrapes, and wounds. It really works wonders!
Herbal Salve Recipes
Here are some other herbal salve recipes you may like:
Dandelion Salve
How to Make a Yarrow Plant Salve
Plantain Salve
Calendula Salve
St. John’s Wort Salve
How to Make an Herbal Salve
Herbal Bug Balm Salve
Diaper Rash Salve
10 Herbal Salve Recipes
Pine Salve
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
4.04 from 26 votes
Comfrey Salve
Learn how to make your own homemade comfrey salve. Comfrey has many medicinal benefits and is excellent for helping to heal minor wounds.
Fill a pint jar about ½ to ⅔rds full of dried comfrey leaf, then cover the plant material with your carrier oil of choice.
Let the oil infuse in a cool and dark place for 4-6 weeks (or longer).
Strain out the comfrey leaf before using in this recipe.
Comfrey Salve
Create a makeshift double boiler by putting a small bowl or a glass Pyrex measuring cup over a pot with about an inch of simmering water.
Put the comfrey oil and beeswax into the small bowl or Pyrex, and heat until the beeswax completely dissolves into the oil, stirring occasionally.
Add the shea butter and stir until it completely dissolves.
Carefully pour the mixture into small jars or tins and let sit until the salve sets up completely.
Notes
You can use a single carrier oil or a combination of oils. My favorite combination for making salves is equal parts of olive, coconut, and sweet almond oils.
This recipe makes approximately 12 ounces of salve total, or six 2 ounce tins.
Summary. Comfrey cream, a topical herbal product, is thought to reduce inflammation and pain when applied to the skin. Researchers have found it does seem to reduce pain in some conditions, including back pain, osteoarthritis, and ankle sprains.
Pregnancy and breast-feeding: Comfrey is likely unsafe when taken by mouth or applied to the skin while pregnant or breast-feeding. The PAs in comfrey are absorbed through the skin and might cause birth defects. Avoid use. Broken or damaged skin: Don't apply comfrey to broken or damaged skin.
Modern scientific studies have found some evidence to support comfrey's use in treating minor wounds and joint pain, but oral preparations of the plant have also been linked to liver damage and cancer. You should never take comfrey by mouth. You should also avoid using it on open wounds.
You can make this by combining eight tablespoons of olive oil and eight of coconut oil in a pan on a low heat. Then add the comfrey as directed in step 2. Once the mixture has been strained, return to the pan on a low heat and melt in four tablespoons of beeswax pellets.
For arthritis relief, try creating a poultice of comfrey with pain-relieving essential oils such as peppermint oil and applying it to the painful areas two to three times a day. Please note: comfrey should only be used topically up to 10 consecutive days, in order to avoid bioaccumulation.
A herbal practitioner survey of the external use of comfrey in the United Kingdom indicated that comfrey is rated most effective for fractures, wounds, post-surgery healing, and problems with tendon, ligament, and muscle; while it is less effective for treating boils, hemorrhoids, and varicose veins (Frost et al., 2014 ...
Comfrey root extract can mainly be used for topical nerve pain management, swelling in muscle, acute myalgia in the back, strain, contusion and distortion, epicondylitis, tendovaginitis, and periarthritis [19].
Miracle Comfrey Ointment is a petroleum jelly-based ointment containing antibiotics, moisturizers and skin-soothing agents that can help alleviate many skin conditions. This ointment has been found to be helpful in treating scabies, eczema, general irritation and irritation caused by insect bites.
The pyrrolizidine alkaloids in comfrey can cause severe liver damage, liver cancer, mutagenicity, and even death. [8,9] For this reason, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has banned the sale of oral comfrey products in the United States.
While comfrey is an herb with a long history of many different uses, its internal use has become quite controversial due to scientific studies, some dating back 40-60 years, that revealed potentially harmful effects of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) (Moreira et al., 2018), which are found in comfrey.
a cancer-causing agent. The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday asked makers of dietary supplements containing the herb comfrey to withdraw their products due to the danger of liver damage and its possible role as a cancer-causing agent.
However, only slight absorption occurs with external application. As such, a compress or poultice is considered more suitable for home use. Part of comfrey's magic is down to the presence of allantoin, a chemical that stimulates cell production and thus supports wound-healing.
For arthritis relief, try creating a poultice of comfrey with pain-relieving essential oils such as peppermint oil and applying it to the painful areas two to three times a day. Please note: comfrey should only be used topically up to 10 consecutive days, in order to avoid bioaccumulation.
1 However, in recent years, because of safety concerns, most consumers only use comfrey externally. While you can make comfrey tea at home, health experts do not advise that you drink the tea.
Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) acts as an anti-inflammatory to promote healing of bruises, sprains, and open wounds when applied topically. The roots and leaves of this plant contain the protein allantoin, which stimulates cell proliferation and promote wound and bone healings.
Address: 5789 Michel Vista, West Domenic, OR 80464-9452
Phone: +97313824072371
Job: Education Orchestrator
Hobby: Lockpicking, Crocheting, Baton twirling, Video gaming, Jogging, Whittling, Model building
Introduction: My name is Rob Wisoky, I am a smiling, helpful, encouraging, zealous, energetic, faithful, fantastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
