I’ve found from my time on the internet that there is an important discrepancy, despite the name, between the folk-remedy black drawing salve that works well for drawing out gross acute infections, boils, splinters, and the like, and the other “black salves” made with bloodroot and terrifying compounds that are commercially marketed as alternative cancer cures. I find the website Quackwatch and most other bloodroot-condemners to be big industrial-medicine bullshit propaganda machines, and it’s difficult to find substantiated, unbiased medical information about the benefits of bloodroot, but since the jury still appears to be out on its efficacy and safety, I will not speak about the cancer-treatment drawing salve (obvs, since I have no experience with it). Also, many of those salves contain zinc chloride, which is a scary corrosive compound that is known for irritating the skin and respiratory tract, and that just freaks me out a little.
Black drawing salve, however, is a long-standing, usually-safe folk remedy that often contains drawing substances such as activated charcoal, bentonite clay, and ichthammol, as well as gentle herbs such as calendula, echinacea, and St. John’s wort; all together, the salve’s action is said to soften the skin where applied, allowing greater blood circulation and inviting more white blood cells to attack the nasty things under the skin. Various incarnations of it have been popular since the 1700s, and it’s still a well-established home remedy for minor infections and stickers (and as a germ-prophylactic for those times when you’re accidentally bitten by poop-eating dogs).
Last May I made a black drawing salve, loosely following this recipe. I have a lot of fun making salves: grating the beeswax, watching it simmer into liquid, mixing in those beautiful herbal oils (St. John’s wort is red!), then testing the consistency with slippery fingers as it gets harder and harder after coming off the heat. Reading about the essential oils that I added was a good lesson in other things whose validity Quackwatch disputes, despite overwhelming evidence of their healing properties. So there’s that.
I bought a candy thermometer at the thrift store, and beeswax, cocoa butter, shea butter, activated charcoal, and bentonite clay in bulk at the super-bourge food co-op in Asheville (but you can probably find most of them at your local health food store! or online, of course). Bentonite clay and activated charcoal are good things to have around, anyway; activated charcoal is one of the primary emergency treatments for ingested poisoning (EMT training will tell you this), and bentonite clay has also been touted as a good first-aid holistic treatment for poisoning¹.
Word to the wise (aka, learn from my fail): be sure that you sterilize your glass jars beforehand!
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- 2 tablespoons beeswax
- 3 tablespoons cocoa butter
- 3 tablespoons shea butter
- 2 tablespoons of (jojoba oil; original recipe calls for organic coconut oil)
- 1 tablespoon vitamin E oil
- 2 tablespoons activated charcoal powder
- 3 tablespoons bentonite clay
- 5 drops essential oil of lavender (and lemon, eucalyptus, and geranium, or whatever!)
- Clear jars and tops, sterilized
- Candy thermometer
Instructions
Total yield is four ounces.
- Place the bees wax, shea butter, cocoa butter and coconut oil in a small pot.
- Heat to 180 degree over medium heat. Hold at that temperature for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients except essential oil. Stir to blend.
- When the mixture is cool add the essential oil or any herb you wish to add.
- Spoon into sterile jars and cover tightly. Keep in a cool dark place.
¹ “Naturally absorbent and extremely gentle on the system, bentonite clay can treat various skin and internal ailments and attracts and neutralizes poisons in the intestinal tract. It can eliminate food allergies, food poisoning, mucus colitis, spastic colitis, viral infections, stomach flu, and parasites (parasites are unable to reproduce in the presence of clay). There is virtually no digestive disease that clay will not treat. It enriches and balances blood. It absorbs radiation (think cell phones, microwaves, x-rays, TVs and irradiated food, for starters). It has been used for alcoholism, arthritis, cataracts, diabetic neuropathy, pain treatment, open wounds, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, stomach ulcers, animal and poisonous insect bites, acne, anemia, in fact, the list of uses is too long for this article.” – source. I do remember reading someone’s anecdote a while back about orally dosing her dog with a combination of activated charcoal and bentonite clay after the dog had gotten into a significant amount of chocolate. From what I remember, she carefully monitored the dog afterward for poisoning symptoms, but the dog seemed to be fine! Now, since I’m all into the veterinary industry, apparently, and also because I always feel wary about perhaps-detrimentally projecting my politics about medicine onto other people or animals (like, yeah, maybe I can stand to let my own medical symptoms go a little bit, but if it’s happening to my animal, fuck no! I’m gonna get them medical attention right away), I would advise consulting with a veterinarian in the case of poisoning, but the bentonite clay/activated charcoal approach is probably a good in-the-meantime treatment.
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