St. John's Wort oil and salve are traditional remedies known for soothing burns, bruises, and nerve pain. In this easy guide, you'll learn how to make both at home using simple ingredients and time-tested methods. You may also want to try making dandelion salve!
One of the things I love most about living in Montana is learning about the local plants and their many uses. I forage arnica, yarrow, plantain, selfheal, St. John's wort, and even cottonwood buds to make healing salves like balm of Gilead.
This St. John's Wort oil is one of my favorite herbal-infused oils. This oil is meant to be used topically and not to be taken internally.
Jump to:
- What Is St. John's Wort Oil?
- Why You'll Love This Post
- Benefits of St. John's Wort
- Ingredients & Substitutions
- How To Make St. John's Wort Oil
- How to Use St. John's Wort Oil
- Foraging & Identifying St. John's Wort
- Helpful Tools For Making Infused Oils & Salves
- Storage, Shelf Life, and Safety Tips
- FAQ
- Pro Tips
- More Foraging Recipes
- Comments
What Is St. John's Wort Oil?
St. John's Wort, or Hypericum Perforatum, is a flowering plant found in North and South America, Eurasia, South Africa, and Australia. Although it's commonly considered an invasive weed, this flower and its leaves have many beneficial properties.
It is said that St. John's wort is named after St. John the Baptist because it blooms on his birthday, June 24th.
Common St. John's Wort is what I have growing on my property, but Western St. John's Wort can be used as well, although its effects are less potent.
Infusing St. John's wort flowers in oil for an extended period extracts the plant's beneficial properties into the oil, making it a wonderful, natural, medicinal oil that can be used as a massage oil to relieve muscle aches and pains and is also excellent for wound healing, including minor burns and bruises.
Why You'll Love This Post
- You only need 2 ingredients to make this amazing St. John's wort oil!
- This oil is a natural pain reliever and a great alternative to traditional anti-inflammatories.
- You can use the oil to make St. John's wort salves, which make great gifts and stocking stuffers.
Benefits of St. John's Wort
St. John's Wort is used to make tea, supplements, oils, and salve. According to many sources, including PubMed, St. John's wort has many health benefits, including:
- Relief of neuralgia
- Soothing skin inflammation
- Healing wounds and bruises
- Soothing sore muscles
- Aids with Depression (not meant for major or severe depression), ADHD, and OCD symptoms.
- Ease of premenstrual syndrome & menopause symptoms
Ingredients & Substitutions
- St. John's wort flowers: Although you can use dried flowers, fresh flowers are a better option and will tint your oil red.
- Oil: Grapeseed oil is great for your skin and will not clog your pores. However, you can also use jojoba oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, or organic olive oil.
- Cayenne pepper: Optionally, you can add a few cayenne peppers to make a warming oil, great for massage.
*If you choose to make the salve, you will also need beeswax and shea butter. Beeswax comes in bars, too, but the pellets are easier to melt.
How To Make St. John's Wort Oil
- Snip fresh St. John's wort flowers and buds off from plant until you have approximately 4 cups of flowers. If you have less, you can make a smaller batch.
- Lay flowers out in a single layer on a tray and air dry for a couple of hours. Add dry St. John’s wort flowers to a sterilized mason jar and pour enough grape seed oil to fully submerge them.
Pro Tip: If you want to make St. John's wort warming oil, add a couple of fresh or dried cayenne peppers.
- Screw the cap onto the jar, write the date and contents of the jar, then place it in a sunny location. Shake daily during the first week to redistribute the flowers and keep them submerged. After that, shake occasionally.
- After 4 to 6 weeks, strain the oil using a fine mesh strainer or a soup bag, then pour into a sterilized jar. The oil is now ready to use on your aches and pains, and makes a great massage oil!
How to Make St John's Wort Salve
- Add 1 cup of St. John’s Wort-infused oil, 1 ounce of beeswax pellets, and ½ ounce of shea butter to a saucepan.
- Turn the heat to the lowest setting and allow the wax and shea butter to melt completely, stir to combine, then pour into 1 or 2-ounce tins and add labels.
Pro Tip: You can also add vitamin E oil or a few drops of your favorite essential oils to the oil mixture before you pour it into the tins.
How to Use St. John's Wort Oil
Saint John's Wort oil can be used in the following ways:
- As a massage oil
- To heal minor burns
- For healing bruises
- To soothe joint pain
- To relieve nerve pain
Foraging & Identifying St. John's Wort
St. John's wort typically grows in meadows and forests, but because of its ability to thrive in less-than-ideal environments, it can be found along roads and in cities as well. It typically begins blooming around the end of June and throughout July.
St. John's wort can be identified by its bright yellow flowers, which smell similar to lemons and grow in clusters on woody stems that can reach up to 3 feet in height. The flowers themselves have five petals covered in tiny, discreet black dots, and many long stamens in the center. The leaves are stalkless and are shaped like small pointed oblongs.
Helpful Tools For Making Infused Oils & Salves
- Quart-sized mason jar
- I highly recommend this candle-making pot. It makes pouring the oil into the canisters much easier!
- Soup bag or fine mesh strainer
- 1-ounce or 2-ounce tins
- Labels
Storage, Shelf Life, and Safety Tips
Store dandelion oil and salve in a dark bottle, when possible, in a cool location, away from direct sunlight. You can expect the shelf life to be approximately one year. Refrigerating the oil can lengthen its shelf life, however, I like to make a new batch every year.
St. John's wort may cause increased sensitivity to sunlight, so caution must be exercised. Just to be safe, do not use if nursing or pregnant.
Disclaimer
In rare cases, hypericin may cause rashes and hives when ingested or applied externally. It also should not be taken by those on some antidepressants, such as SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) or those with Bipolar Disorder, as it may increase the risk of mania. St. John's wort, when taken orally, can interfere with birth control pills and other medications. If unsure, have a discussion with your healthcare provider before taking St. John's wort internally. It can also be dangerous for animals to ingest.
FAQ
Depending on several factors, such as the variety and quality of the flowers, St. John's wort oil should start turning red after 2-3 days, but can sometimes take a week or two before you start seeing a change in the color. Make sure to shake often!
Unlike the making of most floral or herb-infused oils, this oil needs to be made with fresh flowers, rather than dried ones, to get the full benefits. If you use dried flowers to make it, your oil won't be as concentrated with hypericin, the beneficial substance that gives the oil its red color.
Yes, although you may want to note what kind of oil it is made with, as some oils are more likely to clog your pores than others.
Grapeseed oil, safflower oil, argan oil, hemp seed oil, or sweet almond oil are all great carrier oil options! They are all low on the comedogenic {kämədəˈjenik} scale (a rating from 0-5), with 0 being the least comedogenic (less likely to clog your pores) and 5 being the most comedogenic (most likely to clog pores and cause acne and blackheads).
Pro Tips
- This recipe uses 4 cups of flowers, but you can make a smaller batch, for example, 1 cup of flowers to 1 cup of oil.
- As you shake the jar to crush the flowers and the sun warms the oil, it will slowly turn red.
- If some sediment remains in the oil, you can strain it again using a coffee filter.
- If you're unsure if the variety of St. John's wort you have access to will be beneficial, try crushing the flowers between your fingers. They should stain your fingers red; the more red pigment, the more beneficial it will be!
- You can increase the flower-to-oil ratio to make the oil even more potent.
- Some herbalists recommend infusing the oil in a dark location, while others recommend keeping the jar in sunlight. I've found that either will work.
- This oil should be good for at least one year. Adding vitamin E can help lengthen its stability.
- Store the oil in dark bottles in a cool, dark location. Refrigerate or freeze for longer storage.
More Foraging Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
How to Make St. John's Wort Oil & Salve
Equipment
- 1 soup bag
- 12 1-ounce tins
Ingredients
- 4 cups St. John's Wort flowers
- 3¼ cups grapeseed oil
- 1 ounce beeswax pellets
- 2 cayenne peppers (optional)
St. John's Wort Salve Ingredients
- 1 cup St. John’s Wort-infused oil
- 1 ounce beeswax pellets
- ½ ounce shea butter
Instructions
- Snip fresh St. John's wort flowers and buds off from plant until you have approximately 4 cups of flowers. If you have less, you can make a smaller batch.
- Lay flowers out in a single layer on a tray and air dry for an hour or two. Add dry St. John’s wort flowers to a sterilized mason jar and pour enough grape seed oil to fully submerge them.
- Screw the cap onto the jar, write the date and contents of the jar, then place it in a sunny location. Shake daily during the first week to redistribute the flowers and keep them submerged. After that, shake occasionally.
- fter 4 to 6 weeks, strain the oil using a fine mesh strainer or a soup bag, then pour into a sterilized jar. The oil is now ready to use on your aches and pains, and makes a great massage oil!
How to Make Dandelion Salve
- Add 1 cup of St. John’s Wort-infused oil, 1 ounce of beeswax pellets, and ½ ounce of shea butter to a saucepan.
- Turn the heat to the lowest setting and allow the wax and shea butter to melt completely, stir to combine, then pour into 1 or 2-ounce tins and add labels.
Notes
- If you want to make St. John's wort warming oil, add a couple of fresh or dried cayenne peppers.
- If you're unsure if the variety of St. John's wort you have access to will be beneficial, try crushing the flowers between your fingers. They should stain your fingers red; the more red pigment, the more beneficial it will be!
- You can also add vitamin E oil or a few drops of your favorite essential oils to the oil mixture before you pour it into the tins.
- In this recipe, we're using 4 cups, but you can make a smaller batch, for example, 1 cup of flowers to 1 cup of oil.
- You can increase the flower-to-oil ratio to make the oil even more potent.
- Some herbalists recommend infusing the oil in a dark location, while others recommend keeping the jar in sunlight. I've found that either will work.
- If some sediment remains in the oil, you can strain it again using a coffee filter.
- St. John's wort oil should be good for at least one year. Adding vitamin E can help lengthen its stability.
- Store the oil in dark bottles in a cool, dark location. Refrigerate or freeze for longer storage.
Hilda Sterner says
I hope you enjoy using St. John's Wort oil & salve!