How To Make Healing Yarrow Salve (Easy DIY Recipe)

Yarrow is a natural remedy for minor burns, cuts, rashes, and insect bites. This simple yarrow salve recipe is written for beginners and will guide you through how to make the salve to add to your herbal first aid kit.

Yarrow salve is a great natural remedy to have on hand. The herb can help with pain from insect bites, and heal minor wounds, burns, and rashes. 

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is from the Asteraceae family of plants, alongside dandelions, echinacea, and calendula, which also have a range of medicinal properties.

Foraging yarrow

If you’re foraging your yarrow, it’s best to harvest the herb in the summer when it is flowering. The whole yarrow plant can be used medicinally, including the yarrow leaves, flowers, and stems.

Harvest the plant in the mid-morning after the dew has evaporated but before the midday sun hits it. This will ensure that the plant’s medicinal essential oils are at their peak. You can then dry the plant and use it to make herbal remedies (like yarrow tincture and this salve) throughout the year.

Yarrow has a few lookalikes, such as Queen Anne’s Lace (wild carrot), wild chamomile, and poison hemlock, all of which have small white flowers and feathery leaves. Yarrow has fern-like leaves with a feathery texture and its flower clusters are typically white or pale pink and grow in flat-topped, umbrella-like bunches. Queen Anne’s Lace has a more dome-shaped flower cluster and bristly leaves, and hemlock has a smooth stem with purple blotches. Make sure to properly identify that the plant is yarrow before harvesting it.

Dried or fresh herbs

You can use either fresh or dried yarrow to make yarrow salve but I would strongly recommend using dried herbs. To make the salve we will be infusing an oil with yarrow and if there is a lot of water content in the yarrow during this process it could cause the oil to go bad. 

If you have fresh yarrow, I’d recommend that you hang it to dry for a week or so and then make this salve.

Benefits of yarrow

Anti-inflammatory properties – Yarrow contains flavonoids and other compounds that help reduce inflammation and soothe skin irritation, bee stings, mosquito bites, and other itchy bug bites.

Antimicrobial properties – Yarrow is high in compounds like azulene and camphor, which have mild antibacterial and antifungal properties.

Astringent properties – The tannins in yarrow help to tighten skin which makes this a great herbal salve if you have more oily skin. 

Antioxidants – Yarrow is high in antioxidants which can help counteract inflammation and slow signs of aging.

Help with mild pain – Plants For A Future says that fresh leaves can be applied to a sore tooth to help with the pain. You can also use yarrow salve to help with pain from varicose veins.

Yarrow salve recipe

Tools

Double boiler – If you don’t have one just use a small saucepan with a glass bowl on top. 

Glass mason jar with lid – I use these

Glass jar for storage – I use these amber glass jars

Cheesecloth or a mesh strainer

Small whisk

Supplies

Dried yarrow – Here’s a source for dried yarrow

Carrier oil of your choice – You can use jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, fractionated coconut oil, or even olive oil for a thicker salve

Organic beeswax pellets – Here’s a source for beeswax pellets

Optional – You can add a few drops of vitamin E oil for added shelf life, a few drops of essential oil like lavender essential oil or tea tree oil for extra benefits, or yarrow tincture for a stronger herbal effect.

For complete measurements, see the printable recipe card below.

Instructions

A note on beeswax: Make sure to use equipment that you don’t mind having beeswax on long-term. Once beeswax is melted, it’s pretty difficult to fully remove it. I bought a small glass bowl and whisk from a thrift store and use them as my dedicated beeswax tools!

Make yarrow oil

The first step is to infuse oil with yarrow and then we’ll then use this oil to make the final salve. 

First, add the dried yarrow flowers or leaves into a clean glass jar.

Then cover everything with your carrier oil until the plant material is fully submerged.

Add a lid to the oil, date, and label it. Set it in a room temperature place for 5-6 weeks. You can leave it for a shorter time (3-4 weeks) but I prefer a slow infusion to ensure that the oil has the most amount of healing properties. 

After 6 weeks, use cheesecloth or a strainer to strain off the yarrow from the oil.

Make yarrow salve

Add the beeswax to your double boiler and gently heat it until it’s fully melted. Make sure to use a low heat to avoid destroying some of the benefits in beeswax.

Turn off the heat and add the yarrow-infused oil.

You can also add in 2-3 droppers full of yarrow tincture to the beeswax at this time if you have that on hand. This will boost the medicinal properties of the salve.

Use a small whisk to mix everything together and pour the mixture into your storage jar. If the beeswax hardens on the side of your bowl, you can gently heat it again and then pour it in. Make sure not to harshly heat or burn the oil because this will destroy some of the medicinal properties in the beeswax and yarrow oil.

Allow the salve to cool and harden and that’s it! I hope this gives you the confidence to try making your own yarrow salve.

How much yarrow salve to use?

You can apply a small amount (about a pea-sized dab) to the affected area, like minor cuts, bruises, or dry skin patches. You can use it up to 2-3 times a day as needed but always do a patch test first, especially if you have sensitive skin. Avoid using it on open sores and large or deep wounds, because it can trap bacteria.

How long does yarrow salve last?

This salve will last a long time if stored in a dark place away from direct sunlight and heat. I like to say it’ll last about 1 year if stored in a cool, dry place!

Disclaimer – I’m not a medical professional and do not intend to offer medical or health advice in any content I create. I offer information for educational purposes and, as always, get your physician’s advice or the advice of your health care provider before trying a new herbal remedy. There are always possible unintended consequences of trying a new herbal remedy such as an allergic reaction or unexpected side effects like interactions with other medication. 

What to read next

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How To Make Homemade Beeswax Salve (Easy Recipe)

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