Calamine Salve

In this post, I’ll show you how to make a calamine salve. People usually use calamine to relieve the itching and discomfort of minor skin irritations.

The active ingredient in calamine lotion is a combination of zinc oxide and iron oxide. The iron oxide gives it its pink color.

A salve is a soothing mixture that combines herbs, wax, and infused oils. Oil-based ointments are not formulated with water, and this is why they do not require a preservative.

You can apply the calamine salve onto the affected area 3 to 4 times a day for skin irritation.

This recipe makes 50g. I’ve used a small aluminum tin, which is easy to use in products such as salve/balms.

Method:

1. In a heat resistant beaker add the coconut oil.

2. Add the mango butter to the beaker.

3. Add the camomile oil.

4. Add the beeswax.

5. Place the beaker in a double boiler on a medium heat.

6. In a different container add the arrowroot powder.

7. Add the calamine powder to another container.

8. Once phase A is melted, remove from the heat and add the ingredients from phase B. mix to combie.

9. Pour the mixture into a container.

10. Let the salve cool down before using.

Notes:

• If you want to make a vegan calamine salve, you can replace the beeswax with rice bran wax or candelilla wax, but since both are denser than beeswax, you will need to adjust the amount. I would suggest 1g instead of 1.5g of beeswax and add 0.5g to the mango butter, so in total, you’ll have 9.5g of mango butter.
• I’m using camomile oil since camomile oil can help soothe dry, red, and irritated skin. You can replace it with any carrier oil you like. If you want to read about infusing oils, please check this post.
• If you want to make calamine powder, you can mix zinc oxide (non-nano) 99.5% and Red Oxide .05%.
• You can replace the coconut oil with shea butter, but the consistency will be different.
• There is no need to check the PH level since there are no water-based ingredients.