Herbal infused oils are finally being given the attention they deserve as part of our home apothecaries. A lot of people are making calendula oil now. St. John’s wort oil is getting a lot of fanfare. But alongside these well-known oils, there are three other underrated herbal oils that play a central role in my personal apothecary, in my students’ apothecaries and in my clinical practice since 1991. These three oils will change the effectiveness of your home apothecary forever.
Note that we are not talking about essential oils. We’re talking about herbal infused oils that you make in your own kitchen.
#1 Hops Oil
The first underrated herbal oil that will change your home apothecary is hops (Humulus lupulus). We make the oil with the flowering strobiles.
Hops oil is amazing for tight spasming muscles, leg muscle cramps, and menstrual cramps. If you or someone you know deals with bad menstrual cramps, low back ache or belly ache cramps, put this oil on the low belly or low back. Then cover it with a heating pad, lie down, and let it go to work and relax your muscles. Muscles cramp when they’re tight. Once you start to relax the muscles, then the pain starts to dissipate.
This is not the kind of oil that you put on and then go out. This oil calms you down, is very relaxing and can put you to sleep. Use it when you feel like, “I’m really having really bad cramps. I need to take it easy. I need to slow down.”
#2 Ginger Oil
The second underrated herbal oil is ginger (Zingiber officinale). This incredible oil is anti-inflammatory, rubefacient and brings circulation. I carry my ginger oil in little spray bottles so it’s easy to use when needed.
Ginger oil helps relieve pain or stiffness in the joints. Some people wake up in the morning and the joints don’t quite get going quick enough — there’s achiness, stiffness, inflammation, joint pain. Put the ginger oil right on whatever joint you’re having trouble with.
If you work on the computer a lot and your wrists are getting yanked, rub ginger oil into your joints. The ginger oil warms up the area and brings in circulation, so your body gets things moving.
#3 Comfrey Oil
The third underrated herbal oil is comfrey (Symphytum officinale). Comfrey oil speeds up the healing of damaged tissue — anytime there are bruises, contusions, sprains, strains, pain, inflammation, joint swelling. This herb regenerates connective tissue. The connective tissue is the tissue that’s in the tendons and ligaments that help deliver blood to all the tissues. If you can regenerate the connective tissue, then it helps the body to heal itself.
Because comfrey heals up the skin so quickly, you want to avoid using it on deep wounds or puncture wounds where it could seal in an infection. You can use comfrey oil on very superficial scrapes and scratches if the skin is open, but not anything deeper than that.
Use comfrey for any story with words like, “I fell off…” or you have a painful sprain or strain. (However, comfrey is not for when things are broken, where the skin is broken through, and bones are sticking out.)
I have hundreds of comfrey success stories, from people with strained ankles to somebody I knew that fell off a tractor. I have a student whose 1,560-pound horse stepped on her. You can see her testimonial on YouTube. She used comfrey oil and though she still had the injury, the comfrey brought her pain from an 8 down to 2 and reduced the inflammation so that the body could start healing quickly.
My Comfrey Oil Story
One time, I was at an Ancestral Skills Camp with my son. I was walking through the field and weaving a basket while I was walking. You’re not supposed to do that. I stepped on a golfer hole. One minute, I was smiling, and everything was beautiful and then the next minute, I was on my back screaming at the top of my lungs because I went deep into the hole and my ankle was so, so painful.
We were way in the bush and it was the end of the day, so it was too late to get out. That night, if the sheet touched my toe, it sent rippling pain up through my whole body. My foot could not touch anything.
The next morning, it was unbelievable how much pain I was in. When I got home, I walked in the door and immediately got my mix of comfrey and St. John’s wort oil. I put a quart of oil in a foot basin and started soaking my foot in there. Within an hour, the pain almost went completely away. The inflammation went from a 10 to a 3. I just can’t tell you how amazing comfrey oil is.
Making and Using Comfrey Oil
Comfrey oil needs to be applied lavishly. That’s why it’s really important to make the oil yourself because if you really do injure yourself, you need a lot of oil. You basically soak that injury in the oil for a couple of hours and the pain and everything reduces.
I see way too many pictures of people making comfrey oil with fresh plant, which leads to mold. Do not make your comfrey oil with fresh plant. Trust me, I’ve been making oils for 34 years. I started when hardly anybody was teaching. I made every mistake in the book including a lot of moldy comfrey oils.
Comfrey, ginger, and hops may be underrated herbal oils, but they can really help you. They are inexpensive to make and you can craft them in your own kitchen once you get the frameworks for making herbal infused oils.
Ready to make your own high quality herbal infused oils? Check out Handcrafted Healing Herbal Oils
I would love to hear from you! What are the most-used herbal oils in your home apothecary? Do you have any success stories with hops, ginger, or comfrey oils? Please share in the comments below.
About a month apart, had 2 falls in my living room, landing on my right hip and forearm, resulting in extreme pain from cramped hip muscles and IT band that just wouldn’t let go. I’d just watched the video including St Johns Wort oil in which you said how great it was for pain. I had never heard that before. But I remembered it. Shortly after the video my SJW came into bloom. I harvested enough to make a pint of oil which was ready to be decanted when I needed it. Did that, used it and got such welcome… Read more »
That is great you had exactly what you needed, when you needed it!
I’ve been a home herbalist for 23 years. I’ve been growing comfrey and making oil since the beginning. Over the years I’ve used Comfrey plant and oil in salves, soaps, lotions, linaments, etc. In April last year I fell and broke my wrist. I was able to use a removable splint/brace during the healing. Three times a day, every day, for the first 3 weeks, I would soak my wrist in a very strong comfrey tea followed by a careful massage with comfrey oil. My Orthopedist was amazed at how fast and well my wrist healed. I wasn’t!
Hooray for herbs!
I love learning information like this. Medicines and medical supplies can be expensive, so anything cheaper and than can be produced at home even when things are in short supply or too pricey is of great interest and value to all of us.
Comfrey oil is one I make every year. it is awesome! I am excited to make hops and ginger infused oils.
Hi Kami are these oils made with dried herbs and made in like you make your lavender oil?
All the details are in my class: https://healingherbaloils.com/enroll-now
I Haven’t tried or used any of your recipes because I have just discovered you.
I just wanted to say thank you for sharing your knowledge and I can’t wait to give your recipes a go.