Chickweed (Stellaria Media) is most identifiable by it's pedals. There are 5 white pedals, but each pedal has a slit down the center making it look like 10 pedals.
My son says they smell like bananas, which is funny because chickweed is a good source of potassium as well as numerous other vitamins and minerals. It's a densely nutritive herb!
Chickweed is also great for skin ailments! Another one of Mother Nature's band aids! You can eat it, make a tincture or make it into salve!!
Salves are a personal favorite of mine when first learning about herbs! It's a very good place to start!
For a simple salve to treat any type of skin condition follow the recipe below:
*Make 1 cup herbal oil.
To make herbal oil:
Let your fresh Chickweed wilt and dry up for about 48 hours. You don't want water getting into your oil forcing it to go rancid.
After you've patiently waited for your Chickweed to wilt, measure out 1 1/4 cup of Olive Oil and place Chickweed, about a cup not packed down into your Olive Oil.
*Olive Oil is the best as it's readily available and works fine with this recipe. Though any carrier oil will work.*
The easiest way that I've found to do this is in an wide mouth jar on a candle warmer. I leave it on all day, cover it when it cools at night and turn it back on for another full day when I wake up. This way, there is no worry of accidently burning your oil. If you don't have a candle warmer, a double boiler works fine too.
On the double boiler, heat your oil and Chickweed on low for hours. Never let your oil boil, keep it on a very low simmer. When it seemingly is getting too hot, turn your heat off, let it cool and warm up again.
You'll want your oil to be a nice green when it's finished.
Strain out Chickweed with a mesh strainer and cheese cloth.
Now you have your Chickweed Oil and are ready to make your salve!!
You could ultimately stop here and have a great oil to rub on your skin, but the salves are a little easier to manage.
With your double boiler:
*Add in 1/4 cup grated bees wax *1tsp of vitamin e oil (or 2 of those capsules) *Essential oil of choice. *Lavender and Rosemary are good for skin conditions.*
Heat until all is melted together.
*Pour in a small jar or tin. Let set and use!!
If your salve is too hard for your taste you can re-melt it add a little more oil and reset it. It's really preference.
I like at add multiple herbs to oils for salves sometimes. Adding Plantain and Burdock to your herbal oil will add so many more benefits to your salve. These salves are perfect for conditions like eczema and psoriasis.
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