The yarrow plant grows commonly and is edible and medicinal. Yarrow’s benefits range from stopping blood flow from cuts to being good for dry skin. Make an herbal salve to easily access yarrow’s medicinal uses!
About Yarrow Plant
Yarrow grows almost everywhere and is a perennial plant in the Asteraceae family. It grows year-round in temperate climates with flowers that bloom in the spring.
The yarrow plant most often has white flowers, but can also have yellow or pink flowers. It’s easy to find growing in yards fields, or disturbed areas.
To harvest yarrow for salve, first, make sure to properly identify it. Yarrow has a few look-a-likes, including Queen Anne’s lace and one highly toxic plant, poison hemlock.
For more in-depth identification and look-a-like information, read my post on how to identify yarrow.
Harvest yarrow fresh, including the leaves and flowers. You’ll want to use dried yarrow to make this salve, so either hang the yarrow stalks upside down or spread out the leaves and flowers on a drying screen.
Both the flowers and leaves are okay to use to infuse the oil for this salve, so harvest and dry both if available.
Yarrow Benefits
While the yarrow plant is edible, for this post we will focus on the topical medicinal benefits since we are making a salve.
Yarrow leaves are known to stop bleeding from wounds. In salve form, yarrow works wonderfully to help heal minor cuts and wounds too.
This salve does wonders to moisturize very dry skin and will bring healing elements to skin that is cracked, flaky, or irritated.
Other benefits of the yarrow plant are for the skin, it can make a very soothing soap like this wild rose and yarrow soap. Yarrow has astringent properties and is super soothing for topical use.
You can also make an arnica and yarrow skin cream as another way to soothe the skin.
If you’re interested in the internal benefits of yarrow, try making this homemade soda with yarrow, rose, and strawberries. It’s delicious!
How to Make Yarrow Salve
Now that you know all about what the yarrow flower looks like, and yarrow benefits, it’s time to put it to use and make a salve! This is a simple process that is suitable for even the most beginner herbalists.
Ingredients
Dried yarrow: Use both the flowers and leaves, or one or the other is ok too depending on what you have available. The flowers aren’t always in bloom, so if you end up with mostly or only the leaves, that’s just fine!
Alternatively, if you don’t have any yarrow plants to forage, you can opt to buy dried yarrow. Mountain Rose Herbs is my favorite place to buy high-quality, organic herbs.
Carrier oil: Olive oil works great as a carrier oil and you likely already have some on hand. I usually use a blend of about 50% olive oil, 25% coconut oil, and 25% sweet almond oil.
All of these oils have their own benefits, and you can use any combination that you want.
Beeswax: I buy this beeswax from Mountain Rose Herbs. Feel free to use the pastilles if you prefer.
Make the Yarrow Infused Oil
To make the infused oil, add the dried yarrow plant (flowers, leaves, or both) into a jar until it’s about halfway full. Then pour the carrier oils of your choice over the herbs to fill the jar.
Place a lid on the jar and let the oil infuse for around 4-6 weeks or more. Keep the jar in a cool and dark place that is out of direct sunlight while it infuses.
Once the oil is infused and ready to use, strain the dried yarrow plant from the oil. I use a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth so I can squeeze the remaining oil out of the herbs with the cloth.
Make the Yarrow Salve
First, use a double boiler to heat the yarrow plant-infused oil.
Note: If necessary, it’s okay to use a makeshift double boiler by putting a small bowl or glass Pyrex measuring cup over a pot with about an inch of simmering water.
Once the infused oil is warmed, add the beeswax and stir it occasionally as it melts. I find that a bamboo skewer or chopstick works well for stirring the beeswax until it’s dissolved into the oil.
Take the oil and beeswax mixture off of the heat and continue to quickly stir until it melts completely, and pour the warm yarrow plant salve mixture into jars or tins.
Let the tins of salve rest for several hours to cool and set.
Once it is completely set, you can use your homemade yarrow salve!
How to Use Yarrow Salve
Use this yarrow plant salve on minor cuts, wounds, or burns, to stop bleeding and speed the healing process.
Yarrow salve is also wonderful for skin care. Use it on any dry skin, even severely dry skin that is cracked. It will moisturize super dry and flaky areas as well as heal irritation from dry weather.
Soothing and astringent, use yarrow salve anywhere your skin calls for it.
More Herbal Salve Recipes
- Make & Use Dandelion Salve
- Homemade Lavender Salve
- Plantain Salve for Itchy Skin
- Chickweed Salve Recipe
- Homemade Calendula Salve
- 10 Herbal Salve Recipes
- Pine Salve
Yarrow Plant Salve
Equipment
Ingredients
Yarrow Infused Oil
- 1 cup dried yarrow flowers and/or leaves
- 1 1/2 cups carrier oil I like to use a blend of olive oil, melted coconut oil, and sweet almond oil
Yarrow Salve
- 1 cup yarrow infused oil
- 1 ounce beeswax
Instructions
Yarrow Infused Oil
- Put the dried yarrow plant into a pint jar about halfway full. Then fill the jar with a carrier oil (or a blend of oils) of your choice.
- Cap the jar with a lid and let the oil infuse for 4-6 weeks (or more) in a cool spot out of direct sunlight.
- Once the yarrow oil is infused, strain out the leaves from the oil with a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth. Squeeze the remaining oil out of the yarrow in the cheesecloth.
Yarrow Salve
- Heat the yarrow-infused oil in a double boiler on your stove. You can 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.
- Add the beeswax and stir occasionally (a wooden or bamboo skewer or chopstick works well for this) until the beeswax completely dissolves into the oil.
- Then remove the oil/beeswax mixture from the heat, stirring quickly and constantly until it melts.
- Pour the salve mixture into tins or jars.
- Let the salve set up for several hours or until it is completely cooled before using.
Notes
- This yarrow salve recipe is easily adapted to smaller or larger batches. Simply double it for a larger batch or cut it in half for a smaller batch.
- Olive oil is a great choice as a carrier oil and is easy to find. I often use a blend of about 50% olive oil, 25% coconut oil, and 25% sweet almond oil. Each oil has its own benefits and it’s really up to you which one you’d like to use.
- You can alternatively use the quick method for making infused oils by heating the oil and dried flowers in a pot on low heat for up to 12 hours, but the infused oil may not be as potent.
- This salve will last for a year or more if kept in a dry place out of intense heat and sunlight.
Quick question – I picked my yarrow weeks ago, and somehow missed the instruction to dry it first before infusing in the oils :( Will the salve recipe still work if my oil has been infused with fresh rather than dry yarrow?
Hi Jessica. It should still work, but it won’t last as long if too much moisture was introduced into the oil.
Okay I’ll give it a try. Thanks!
Would you see any risk using this for bleeding hemorrhoids in a suppository form or for people who get frequent skin bleeds due to being on blood thinners or skin tears due to thinning aging skin? I have seen recipes for powdering it to use as a stypic but like the idea of an oil or salve. Thanks
I don’t see any risk, but that may be because I’m not a doctor. I suggest asking a doctor these questions prior to using this salve.