3 Categories of Skin Issues, Part 1 - Salve


Jamie Jackson MissouriHerbs.com
Originally published in The Essential Herbal Magazine 2017

One of the first salves I made was a simple plantain salve.  Like most budding herbalists, I learned that plantain was good for cuts, scrapes, bites and dry skin.  Plantain did seem to work for most things when we were in upstate NY and I slathered it on any sort of skin issue I had except poison ivy. 

After moving to property in Missouri that borders a state forest, there is barely a day that goes by that we don’t have some sort of bite, cut or rash to tend to.  I figured out that plantain is wonderful for many things, but not everything.  Even when I wasn’t sure what type of bite or rash I had, they seemed to form patterns and fit into 3 general categories.  I’m not a clinical herbalist or formally trained, so this may be old news to some of you.  But I hope this helps others who have been taught that plantain salve is the be-all and end-all for skin issues.  

 For the most common skin issues, relief seems to fit into the categories of herbal infused oil based salves, raw unpasteurized vinegar or astringent tea.  Fresh poultices have been either a helpful supporter or the first to turn to for all of these categories, but today I’m not focusing on poultices.  



I normally use plantain salve for mosquito bites, small cuts and scrapes and for skin issues that initially fell into another category, but have almost healed.  The salve helps when you have a few chigger bites, splinters and for some stings if it’s all you have handy.  It’s nice for people with dry nostrils who use saline spray; just a thin layer in the nostrils can remove the urge to spray.  Plantain salve in the nose is also helpful when having an allergy attack. It doesn’t stop the sneezing, but slows it down while waiting for the goldenrod extract to kick in.  People who have dry skin, especially those that have to wash their hands all day, like using the salve, though Shea butter whipped with herbal infused oil and 1 – 2% sunflower lecithin works better.