How to Treat Dry Winter Skin Naturally With an Olive Oil Salve
Winter means dry skin. Here's how to heal dry skin with a homemade olive oil-based moisturizing salve.
Quick Reference: Olive Oil Skin Salve
- What it does: heals dry, cracked, scaly winter skin with a homemade infused-oil-and-beeswax salve.
- Two phases: infuse dried herbs into olive oil (1 to 5 hours in a crockpot), then melt with beeswax into a pocket-size salve.
- Best herbs: calendula, chickweed, comfrey leaf or root, lavender, nettle, parsley.
- Ratio: 8 oz infused oil to 1 oz beeswax. Add a vitamin E capsule, 15 drops essential oil if you like fragrance.
- Application: rub on damp skin after a shower or hand wash to seal in moisture.
- Storage: a cool, dark spot. Lasts 6 to 12 months. Keep away from direct heat so it does not re-melt.
Dry skin is a common issue many people face, especially during the winter months. How to treat dry winter skin is a question with many answers. Here is a natural one to try: a homemade olive oil salve infused with skin-soothing herbs. The American Academy of Dermatology covers the underlying science (see the AAD’s dry-skin guide).
Dry skin occurs when your skin fails to retain adequate moisture. Contrary to the belief that summer heat causes the most dry skin, it is actually the lack of humidity during the winter. Cold air holds less moisture.
In winter, your skin faces constant challenges. Cold temperatures and harsh winds outdoors, along with dry heat indoors, can result in scaly, dry, and cracked skin. The answer in this kitchen: a homemade olive oil and herb-infused salve that locks in moisture while soothing and healing dry winter skin. This gentle remedy can be used anywhere on your body.
Although infused herbal oils are available for purchase online, creating your own allows customization and adaptation to suit your skincare requirements. Transforming herbal oil into a salve provides a mess-free application that can be conveniently carried in your pocket or purse.
Extra virgin olive oil, a rich green oil derived from pressed ripe Mediterranean olives, is not only excellent for its culinary properties but also treasured as an effective moisturizer and skin softener. It serves as the perfect carrier oil for infusing herbs and crafting a beneficial skin salve. Macadamia nut oil can be used as a substitute or combined with olive oil in this infusion.
Herbs for Infusing and Making Skin Salve
These herbs are ideal for incorporating into an oil and soothing skin salve. Choose one or a combination.
Calendula flowers: very healing, great for sensitive skin.
Chickweed: soothing, especially for irritated skin.
Comfrey leaf and root: healing for many skin conditions.
Lavender flowers: gentle, soothing, healing, great for various skin conditions and sensitive skin.
Nettle leaf: heals various skin conditions.
Parsley: soothing, helpful for psoriasis and irritable skin conditions.
Learn how to easily dry and preserve homegrown herbs for winter use.
Phase 1: Infusing Herbs Into Olive Oil Using The Crockpot Method
Ingredients:
1 cup of dried herbs (using a single herb or desired combination of herbs from the list above)
2 cups of extra virgin olive oil (you can also use macadamia nut oil, if desired)
Directions:
Place dried herbs in a crockpot or an electric yogurt maker, and cover with olive oil. Add extra oil if necessary to ensure the herbs are submerged. Heat the herbs on the lowest setting for one to five hours, until the oil takes on the scent and color of the herbs.
Turn off heat and allow the mixture to cool. Once cool, strain the herbs from the oil using a cheesecloth-lined strainer into a sterilized dark bottle to store.
Phase 2: Transforming Infused Herbal Oil Into Salve
Ingredients:
8 ounces herbal infused oil (from Phase 1)
1 ounce beeswax
1 vitamin E oil capsule
15 drops of fragrant essential oils (optional)
Small glass or tin containers with lids
Directions
Place herb-infused oil and beeswax in a double boiler and warm over low heat to melt the beeswax. Turn off the heat once the beeswax has melted. Open one vitamin E capsule and pour its contents into the pot. Add 15 drops of essential oil, if desired, and stir to combine.
Pour the salve into containers. Allow to cool and solidify overnight.
To use: For best results, apply the salve to damp skin after showering or after washing your hands to help retain moisture.
Notes on storage: Keep salve away from direct heat in a cool place to prevent re-melting.
Herb-to-Skin-Condition Cheat Sheet
| Herb | What it does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Calendula | Anti-inflammatory, mildly antimicrobial | Sensitive baby skin, minor cuts |
| Chickweed | Cooling, anti-itch | Eczema, rashes, mosquito bites |
| Comfrey | Cell-repair (allantoin) | Cracked skin, slow-to-heal abrasions |
| Lavender | Soothing, antiseptic, calming scent | Sensitive skin, sleep-time hand salve |
| Nettle | Mineral-rich, anti-inflammatory | Itchy, blotchy winter skin |
| Parsley | Antioxidant, mild brightening | Psoriasis patches, dull complexion |
Cold-dry weeks ahead?
Make the salve before the next polar vortex.
The Farmers’ Almanac extended forecast helps you spot the cold, dry stretches when this salve does the most good.
Dry Skin Salve FAQ
What is the best oil for dry winter skin?
Extra virgin olive oil and macadamia nut oil are both excellent. Both are rich in oleic acid and antioxidants that hold up to the beeswax melt without going rancid. Cold-pressed jojoba is another good option.
How long does a homemade olive oil salve last?
Six to twelve months in a cool, dark spot. The vitamin E capsule helps slow oxidation. If the salve smells off or changes color, discard it.
Can I use fresh herbs instead of dried?
Use dried. Fresh herbs add water, and water in an oil-and-beeswax salve invites mold. If you only have fresh herbs, dry them on a low oven rack for a few hours first.
What if I don’t have beeswax?
Plant-based options work: candelilla wax (use about half as much as beeswax) or carnauba (use about a third). Texture changes a little; effectiveness does not.
Why apply to damp skin?
The oil and beeswax form a thin occlusive layer that traps the water already on your skin. Applying to bone-dry skin seals nothing in.
Can I use this on babies?
Calendula in olive oil with no essential oils is a classic infant balm. Skip lavender essential oil for babies under 3 months; their skin is more reactive.
What essential oils work best for fragrance?
Lavender, geranium, frankincense, sweet orange, and roman chamomile are all gentle and skin-safe at the 15-drop ratio per 8 ounces. Patch-test before slathering on broken or sensitive skin.
Related
8 ways to combat dry skin. How to tell if you are dehydrated. 15 cooking oils and their uses.
For more home-skin reading from the Almanac kitchen, see our companion guides: witch hazel, nature’s magic potion, 6 surprising castor oil benefits, and combating cold sores.
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Deborah Tukua
Deborah Tukua is a natural living, healthy lifestyle writer and author of 7 non-fiction books, including Pearls of Garden Wisdom: Time-Saving Tips and Techniques from a Country Home, Pearls of Country Wisdom: Hints from a Small Town on Keeping Garden and Home, and Naturally Sweet Blender Treats. Tukua has been a writer for the Farmers' Almanac since 2004.
- Deborah Tukua
- Deborah Tukua
- Deborah Tukua
- Deborah Tukua
Where do I find the flowers to make the recipes. Especially the calendula and lavender.
Thank you.
Hi Mary Ozan, you can purchase dried lavender buds and dried calendula flowers on Amazon.com, Walmart.com, or sites like Mountain Rose Herbs: https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/products/calendula-flowers/profile Your local health food store carries lavender as well.
Can ORGANIC COCONUT OIL be a substituted for OLIVE OIL?
Hi Tenaya, yes! Coconut oil is a great carrier oil and is used in many skin care remedies.
I would think so. That’s what I’m going to use.
I like to add cinnamon oil to my olive oil. My skin has no effects from it when tested and it has been a great enhancer for circulation.
thanks for the recipe I have used olive oil straight from the bottle on my skin now i can do like wise i am grateful as i do have snake skin
Sounds wonderful, I would just like to know how long will it keep? Does it go bad?
thanks for the info to make make olive oil salve. I can use only natural skin products. Now I can work on making my own!
Thank you, always love to learn new techniques and recipes.