Jewelweed salve is an all-natural home remedy you can make on your own, that you’ll be able to use to treat skin problems on your own, either after a long-term disaster, when doctors may not be available, or even pre-SHTF, to learn and practice treating various skin conditions.

Please note this salve should NOT be taken orally!
Recipe Ingredients
- Chopped jewelweed – enough to fill a 1 quart Mason jar at least halfway full
- 1/2 cups of your favorite carrier oil – olive oil, almond oil, or coconut oil recommended
- 2 tablespoons Beeswax pastilles or pellets
- Up to 1 tablespoon of either cocoa butter or shea butter
- 1 teaspoon of coconut oil – optional but recommended
- ½ of a teaspoon of vitamin E
- Up to 15 drops of your favorite healing essential oils – optional, but lavender or eucalyptus are recommended
- Up to four pinches of broadleaf plantain – optional, but highly beneficial.

First Things First: Steeping
Before you start making the salve, the jewelweed (and plantain bits if using) must be steeped in the carrier oil for several hours. Unless you are in a survival situation and in dire need of the salve, you never want to directly introduce natural plant matter directly into a salve.
When the salve is stored long term, the plant matter almost always creates mold that will cause the healing salve to become rancid and potentially extremely harmful to apply to the skin.
Steeping Instructions
- Fill the 1 quart Mason jar ½ to ¾ of the way full with the jewelweed chopped bit and the plantain bits.
- Fill the jar the rest of the way up to the lip – leaving a small amount of headspace, with your chosen carrier oil. Typically, it takes a little more than three ounces of the oil to fill the Mason jar full enough to ensure that quality steeping will occur. During the steeping process, it is possible that you might need to add just a tiny bit more of the carrier oil to keep the natural plant matter fully covered.
- Fill a cook pot with a few inches of water and place it on the stove over low heat.
- Place the filled Mason jar into the cook pot.
- Allow the basis for the jewelweed salve mixture to steep for several hours. Do not ever let the mixture come to a boil. To steep, you only want to subject the mixture to enough heat to make the glass jar warm but not hot to the touch. Do not skimp on the steeping timing or the salve will either turn out runny, or far less potent.
- Strain the salve steeping mixture through cheesecloth or a coffee filter, keeping the orange to green shaded liquid, and pitching the natural plant material.

Making The Jewelweed Salve
Step 1. Put a clean Mason jar and a fresh cook pot with a few inches of water inside, back on the stove.
Step 2. Pour the cocoa butter or shea butter, beeswax, and coconut oil into the Mason jar.
Step 3. Turn the stove back onto low heat.
Step 4. Stir the mixture constantly to avoid scorching as it melts completely into a liquid state. Because beeswax does not melt until it exposed to a 170 F temperature (76 Celsius), it will take about five minutes for all of the ingredients to liquify.

Step 5. Remove the pot carefully from the stove and allow the mixture to cool for only a few moments,
Step 6. Pour in the steeped liquid, and stir completely to combine.
Step 7. Stir in the vitamin E, and any essential oils you chose to use.
Step 8. Stir again to combine completely.
Step 9. Pour the jewelweed salve into small Mason jars, and seal it with a firm-fitting lid and ring. This recipe will fill about 3 small Mason jars.
Step 10. Store in a cool, dry place until ready to use.

Consider giving a jar of the jewelweed salve and sharing your newly acquired knowledge about this edible and medicinal weed with friends, loved ones, and neighbors who are not preppers to help increase their self-reliance skills.
Hopefully, doing so will entice them to learn more about natural healing remedies that could one day save their lives during a survival situation.

Disclaimer
Keep in mind that this advice is for information purposes only. The author is not a doctor. Neither the author, nor the website www.SurvivalSullivan.com, or the company behind it she shall be held responsible and liable for any any injury or other side effects as a direct or indirect result of applying the advice in this article. Before making and trying out this home remedy, please consult your physician.

Tara Dodrill is a homesteading and survival journalist and author. She lives on a small ranch with her family in Appalachia. She has been both a host and frequent guest on preparedness radio shows. In addition to the publication of her first book, ‘Power Grid Down: How to Prepare, Survive, and Thrive after the Lights go Out’, Dodrill also travels to offer prepping tips and hands-on training and survival camps and expos.
You say one quart mason jar, but the size of the mason jar you’re putting the jewelweed into looks more like a pint. Can you reassure me of that because that would alter the amount of beeswax, etc used. Thank you.
Brenda
See step 9.
How long can it be kept before it molds? Will the mold be obvious?