Wound Warrior – A Guide To Healing Cuts And Bruises

Wound Warrior

by Jane Daley, ACP Student at Aroma Hut Institute

One of the main functions of our skin is to protect us from the germs, bacteria, viruses, allergens, and the like, that are constantly swimming around in our immediate atmosphere – in our own space. An open wound or cut will expose our insides to some or all of these stealthy predators. With a cut or wound, our objective is to keep the area clean and free of these germs in order to provide a healthy atmosphere for healing to take place. Once cleaned, applying a soothing salve on and around the wound site will help stimulate, and assist, the healing process.

What does it do?

The three essential oils in the Wound Warrior blend are all known for their anti-septic and anti-bacterial properties.  Frankincense, with all of it’s many therapeutic activities, is called “The Healer”. Lavender and Lemon will help to stimulate the production of white blood cells. They are also both anti-microbial, with Lavender able to affect airborne microbes. Lemon will help to stop the bleeding and cool things down.

The carriers are also important in this blend. Coconut oil is anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and used to promote healing. Shea butter will moisturize the area and help the skin rebuilding process.

Safety / Precautions

One of the things I kept in mind when developing this blend is that I intended it to be ‘child friendly’. Because children are the ones often likely to be getting little scrapes and cuts, and have more sensitive skin, I thought it important that the balm be as soothing as it is effective. Even with that said, Lemon may cause irritation to those with sensitive skin, so it’s advised to try the salve on a small area of unbroken skin first, before applying over the wound directly.

Ingredients:

½ cup coconut oil – I prefer organic virgin non-fractionated. Fractionated coconut oil will not allow the finished product to gel properly.
1 oz shea butter
½ oz beeswax  – I shaved off a block, but you can use pellets. Either makes melting quicker.
3 drops base Frankincense essential oil
6 drops middle Lavender essential oil
9 drops top Lemon essential oil

Tools:

Double-boiler; a small stir rod or whisk; ladle for pouring; tins, jars for finished product. It’s best to put wax paper down over your work area for quick and easy clean up at the end.

Blending:

Start warming coconut oil and shea butter in double-boiler over very low heat. The oil, butter, and wax will all melt while just warm. They do not have to get hot before melting happens.

Add beeswax into mix as soon as you see shea butter starting to melt. Stir continuously with wire whisk during this melting process to get well blended.

Expect the shea butter to melt quicker/sooner than the beeswax. This melting process should take less than 10 minutes, which is mostly taken up as the water at the bottom of the double-boiler heats up. Remove from the heat the top part of the double-boiler holding the mixture as soon as the butter and wax are fully melted. Don’t forget to turn the stove off!

Add essential oils immediately while the mixture is still in the pot. Start with 3 drops Frankincense, then 6 drops Lavender, and finally, 9 drops Lemon.

Stir the essential oils well into the blend using the whisk. Immediately ladle or pour the mix into awaiting tins and jars. If the mix has already started to set, simply put it over the hot water still in the lower portion of the pot. This will re-melt the mix and make it easy to pour. Label and date your containers. Know what’s in them and when you made them. Even blends with essential oils will lose efficacy over time with exposure to air and temperature, and need to be replaced.

Now you have a handy wound and cut salve for your medicine cabinet and first aid kit.

After Thoughts

It might be better to package this salve in tubs with screw-on lids. The tins may leak in Florida-style summer heat. I haven’t tested this yet.