Amish Black Drawing Salve Recipe With Activated Charcoal (2024)

Use this Amish black drawing salve on cuts, scrapes, splinters, and boils to naturally pull toxins and debris from the skin.

I am so excited to bring you this recipe because it was a few years in the making. We used to buy a great drawing salve, but we can't find it anywhere anymore. We tried a few other brands, but they didn't work as well as the original one.

I found a few recipes for Amish Black Drawing Salve, and they were all close to what we like. I took the best of each recipe, combined them, and came up with this Amish black drawing salve recipe.

This recipe shouldn't be confused with a black salve recipe. A true black salve can burn the skin, but this salve is safe.

It's made with mild ingredients that won't cause irritation.

Drawing salves pull from your skin, so they are great for bee stings and splinters. They also help with infections, so many people use them on boils, wounds, and cystic acne.

Last week, my son and I were at Cub Scout day camp. It was so hot--the "feels like" temp was 105!--so of course the kids were standing right next to a building for the shade. My son rubbed his arm on the wood and got several long, deep splinters.

I took him to first aid, where I found an ER nurse. She said they were so deep that she would numb the area before trying to extract them if he were in the ER.

She said he was fine to keep playing once we got it cleaned up, so she pulled out what she could and put some antibiotic cream and a bandage on it. I brought him home, and the splinters were so deep that we would have had to use a needle to extract them.

I put a thick layer of this salve on him and a large 4x4 bandage on him so it wouldn't leak. I was shocked the next day that I could pull out several more. There are still some that are fairly deep, but they are coming to the surface.

Keep track of your favorite essential oil recipes with my printable essential oil journal or my printable essential oil recipe cards.

Infusing Oils for Amish Black Drawing Salve Recipe

Before you can make the recipe, you'll want to infuse the olive oil. I used comfrey, plantain, and calendula for the benefits (see below). You can skip this, but I don't recommend it.

These herbs are a little hard to find in stores, but I will link you to a few stores that sell them.

I found a great Amish greenhouse that specializes in herbs and herbal remedies a few weeks ago, and they helped me pick the best herbs.

There are two ways to infuse oils. You can pour the oil in to a jar and place the herbs inside and set in a warm place for a few weeks. Give it a good shake or stir every day, and strain after two weeks.

I didn't want to wait that long, so I placed the jar in my crockpot filled with a few inches of water. I heated it on low for four hours and turned off the heat. The next day, I strained out the herbs.

Amish Black Drawing Salve Ingredients and How They Work

I'm going to link to both Mountain Rose Herbs and Starwest Botanicals. Both have high quality products. Starwest does offer free shipping, but Mountain Rose Herbs has lower prices.

Comfrey - An anti-inflammatory herb that can help wounds heal quicker. (Get it from Starwest Botanicals. or Mountain Rose Herbs)

Plaintain - An herb that has natural anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. (Get it from Starwest Botanicalsor Mountain Rose Herbs) Learn more about plantain leaf benefits for skin.

Calendula - Promotes collagen production to speed up healing. (Get it from Starwest Botanicalsor or Mountain Rose Herbs.)

Olive oil - Full of antioxidants and vitamin E. (Get it from Mountain Rose Herbs or Starwest Botanicals.)

Beeswax - Acts as a barrier trapping the healing ingredients next to your skin and thickens the oils. (Get it from or Mountain Rose Herbsor Starwest Botanicals.)

Vitamin E oil - An extra dose of this skin-loving vitamin. (Get it from Mountain Rose Herbsor Starwest Botanicals.)

Tea tree oil - Naturally anti-bacterial. (Get it from or Mountain Rose Herbs orSimply Earth)

Honey - Naturally anti-bacterial and moisturizing. (Get it from iHerb.)

Charcoal - Pulls bacteria and toxins and traps them. (Get it from iHerbor Starwest Botanicals.)

Bentonite clay - Draws toxins and chemicals out of your skin. Be sure to not use metal utensils with it or it won't work. (Get it from or Mountain Rose Herbsor Starwest Botanicals.)

Just a word of caution though, you'll want to cover the area with a bandage because the charcoal gets on everything. It cleans up fairly easily from your skin, but I can't say how well it comes off of fabric.

Ingredients

8 tablespoons olive oil infused with plantain, comfrey, and calendula
2 teaspoons beeswax
1/2 teaspoon vitamin E oil
10 drops tea tree essential oil
1 tablespoon local honey
3 teaspoons activated charcoal
3 teaspoons bentonite clay
Glass bowl
Wood spoon
4-ounce mason jar

Amish Black Drawing Salve Recipe

STEP 1

Place the infused oil, beeswax, and vitamin E oil in a Pyrex measuring cup. Microwave on high at 30 second intervals until melted.

STEP 2

Add tea tree oil, honey, charcoal, and bentonite.

STEP #3

Stir with a wooden spoon. Stir very well or the charcoal will sink to the bottom.

Pour in to a 4-ounce mason jar. Let sit until hard.

To use, smear a small amount on a cut, bite, or scrape and cover with a bandage so the charcoal doesn't stain.

Have you ever used an Amish Black Drawing Salve recipe?

This recipe was featured in the May/June 2018 issues of The Backwoodsman. Look for it at most major retailers.

Amish Black Drawing Salve Recipe

Author: Cari Dunn

Estimated cost: $5

prep time: 1 hourperform time: 1 hourtotal time: 2 H

Use this Amish black drawing salve on cuts, scrapes, splinters, and boils to naturally pull toxins and debris from the skin.

materials:

8 ounces olive oil infused with plantain, calendula, and comfrey
2 teaspoons beeswax
1/2 teaspoon vitamin E oil
10 drops tea tree oil
1 tablespoon raw honey
3 teaspoons activated charcoal
3 teaspoon bentonite clay

tools:

Glass bowl
Wood spoon
4 ounce mason jar

steps:

How to Infuse The Herbs and Oil

Place about 2 tablespoons of each herb in a mason jar.
Cover with olive oil.
Let sit for two weeks.
Strain and discard the herbs.

Amish Black Drawing Salve Recipe

Place the infused oil, beeswax, and vitamin E oil in a Pyrex measuring cup. Microwave on high at 30 second intervals until melted.
Add tea tree oil, honey, charcoal, and bentonite.
Stir with a wooden spoon. Stir very well or the charcoal will sink to the bottom.
Pour in to a 4-ounce mason jar.
Let sit until hard.
To use, smear a small amount on a cut, bite, or scrape and cover with a bandage so the charcoal doesn't stain.

NOTES:

Do not use metal utensils with bentonite clay.

https://www.yourbeautyblog.com/2015/06/amish-drawing-salve-with-activated.html

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FAQs

Amish Black Drawing Salve Recipe With Activated Charcoal? ›

A traditional drawing salve is meant to heal the skin as well as pull out substances such as venom, infections and splinters. It has been an effective remedy for hundreds of years. It was traditionally called a “black salve” since the main active ingredient is activated charcoal.

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Can activated charcoal be used as a drawing salve? ›

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How do you make charcoal salve? ›

In a double boiler, slowly heat up the coconut oil, jojoba oil, and beeswax until just melted. Remove from the stove and add the bentonite clay, coconut charcoal, and essential oils. Pour the activated charcoal drawing salve into a glass jar or tin and let cool before using.

Learn More ›

What is the salve that draws out infections? ›

ICHTHAMMOL (ik THAM awl) is a topical drawing salve. It is used to treat insect bites or stings and minor skin infections. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

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Is drawing charcoal the same as activated charcoal? ›

No, the artist's charcoal is not activated. It is charcoal made from willow stickers heated without oxygen. It is compact and moves across paper leaving small particles on the paper. Activated charcoal is made by heating wood products with low oxygen concentrations.

Is medicinal charcoal the same as activated charcoal? ›

Activated charcoal is a powder comprised of wood, bamboo, coal or coconut shells that have been burned at a very high temperature. In contrast, regular charcoal combines coal, peat, wood pulp, petroleum and coconut shells. As the name tells us, activated charcoal is charcoal that is activated by exposure to high heat.

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What are the ingredients in Amish black salve? ›

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons Shea Butter.
2 tablespoons Coconut oil.
2 tablespoons Beeswax.
3 tablespoons Calendula Infused Oil.
1 tablespoon Honey.
2 tablespoons Activated Charcoal Powder.
2 tablespoons Bentonite Clay.
1/4 teaspoon of Lavender Essential Oil.

Feb 27, 2023

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What is the best homemade drawing salve? ›

Drawing Salve Recipe

6 tablespoons infused olive oil*
2 tablespoons castor oil.
2 teaspoons beeswax.
3 teaspoons activated charcoal.
3 teaspoons clay (kaolin, French green, or bentonite)
essential oils: 30 drops lavender, 15 drops tea tree.

Dec 18, 2013

Is Ichthammol the same as black salve? ›

Ichthammol ointments, commonly known as black ointment or drawing salve, should not be confused with black salve, an escharotic (corrosive) paste intended to destroy skin tissue. In contrast, ichthammol does not have any corrosive properties on the skin.

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What is the main ingredient in drawing salve? ›

Drug Facts

Active ingredient	Purpose
lchthammol USP 10%	Drawing Salve