I first learned to make salves from Adele Dawson, now deceased, who lived in Marshfield, VT. 'Boiling oil' was her method and I thought this was the way all salves were made. It's a rather painstaking process, but the salves are very effective. So I continue to make my salves this way.
Gather your chosen ingredients. Some suggestions: Comfrey, Plantain, St. Johnswort, Chickweed, Callendula, etc. You can use a single herb or a mix of these or any other herbs you know to be effective. See the ingredient lists for my salves in the Lotions, Potions, etc. Section. Fresh is best for the boiling oil method. However, since not all herbs are at their peak at the same time, it's a good idea to harvest some of your favorites to dry, so they are available whenever you need them.
Place your herbs in the bottom of a large sauce pan or soup pot - depending on how large a batch you are making. Just cover with water. Set to simmer for 30 to 40 minutes. Cool slightly, until safe to handle. Strain out the plant material. Measure the resulting 'tea.' Place the tea back in the pot. Place an equal amount of oil in the pot as well. This can be olive oil or an olive oil blend. Place the pot back on to simmer and continue simmering until all the water is evaporated. You can tell that the boiling oil is ready when the pot gets 'quiet' with no more water bubbles popping to the surface. Stir occasionally, as the plant residue had a tendency to stick to the bottom of the pot and can burn.
If you are making a salve - add the beeswax at this point. And this brings up determining how much beeswax to add to the oil to get the consistency you want. As we proceed to recipes for salves and balms, etc. there will be amounts specified. But you will want to be able to spontaneously thicken a random amount of oil into a salve-like firmness without worrying about measuring and weighing.
Adele Dawson was the Grandmother of spontaneous herbal preparations. She often used a pendulum over her mixtures to determine if they were right. Adele said that for 1-2 cups of hot oil one should start with a 'silver dollar' sized piece of beeswax. (We don't see too many silver dollars these days, but you can use your imagination.) Stir the beeswax into your hot oil until melted. Then take a china saucer and put a drop of your oil and beeswax mix on the edge. Tip it. If the oil runs very much - add more beeswax. Better to keep doing this than add too much the first time.
Cool slightly and then either pour into salve jars or into a large container for putting up later.
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