11 Homemade Arnica Salve Recipes to Easily DIY
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Arnica is one of those herbs that we may not all be super familiar with, but one that should still be in your medicine cabinet all the same. In fact, it should be right beside your elderberry syrup!
Though it’s recommended that you don’t use arnica salve on cuts or scrapes, I have to admit I do. Even if you don’t, it is amazing what it can do when you put it on bumps and bruises.
Sore muscles and even tension headaches may be relieved a little by rubbing some arnica salve into them, thanks to how anti-inflammatory it is.
So, get some of this flower, pick a recipe form below, and tell us how it turned out!
What’s Inside:
- 1. Homemade Arnica Salve Recipe by Earth Mama’s World
- 2. Homemade Arnica Salve Recipe by Homesteading Family
- 3. Arnica Salve Recipe by No Fuss Natural
- 4. Arnica Ointment by Learning Herbs
- 5. Arnica Pain Relief Salve Recipe by Soap Deli News
- 6. Natural Pain Relief Salve Recipe by Soap Deli News
- 7. Arnica Oil and Salve by Practical Self Reliance
- 8. Coconut Oil Arnica Salve by Delicious Obsessions
- 9. Homemade Arnica Salve by Learning And Yearning
- 10. Yarrow and Arnica Bruise Cream by Joybilee Farm
- 11. The Perfect Fool-Proof Arnica Salve by Holistic Health Herbalist
- Which Is Your Favorite Arnica Salve Recipe?
1. Homemade Arnica Salve Recipe by Earth Mama’s World
Angela over at Earth Mama’s World shares her arnica salve as well as a lot of helpful pictures. Arnica salves are always nice to have on hand, and the pictures help make sure that you do it right.
This arnica salve recipe has some St. John’s Wort as well, an herb that has benefits of its own. You even have an option to add some wintergreen to the salve if you are looking for something a little different.
Check it out over at Earth Mama’s World.
2. Homemade Arnica Salve Recipe by Homesteading Family
Carolyn over at
What I loved most about her recipe is the fact that she tells how she starts off from the fresh flowers around her home and first makes arnica oil with them.
Check it out over at Homesteading Family.
3. Arnica Salve Recipe by No Fuss Natural
Stacy dives right into the recipe on this blog, with no extra fluff or explanations. This recipe is also a super simple one that has the bare minimum of arnica, oil, and beeswax.
So, if you are looking for a direct recipe with nothing else in it, then this is the one for you!
Check it out over at No Fuss Natural.
4. Arnica Ointment by Learning Herbs
Rosalee goes over why inflammation is so bad for you and how arnica helps so much with it before she gets into the recipe.
As an ointment, this recipe is slightly less oily than a salve, which is nice for those with skin that is already oily like me. The recipe itself is a bit fancy too, with St. John’s Wort, helichrysum, and lavender in it as well as some shea butter.
Check it out over at Learning Herbs.
5. Arnica Pain Relief Salve Recipe by Soap Deli News
Rebecca has a lovely recipe on her site, and this arnica salve has a bit more spiciness to it. Besides the arnica, it has ginger, orange, and chili seed essential oils in it to give it a nice scent and a good-feeling heat when you rub it into your skin.
This arnica salve also has a little shea butter and baobab oil so that it doesn’t have too much of a burn.
Check it out over at Soap Deli News.
6. Natural Pain Relief Salve Recipe by Soap Deli News
Rebecca has a second arnica salve recipe if you don’t like her first one. This salve recipe is a super simple one, with only arnica, oil, beeswax, and some ginger.
Be sure to keep reading after her recipe, where she gives tips on substitutions, ways you can decorate your salve containers, and some other goodies.
Check it out over at Soap Deli News.
7. Arnica Oil and Salve by Practical Self Reliance
Ashley goes through all of the stages for making this arnica salve recipe on her website, going so far as to tell you both how to grow it as well as how to harvest the flowers yourself.
From there, she tells you how to make the arnica oil and what to do with the oil.
Check it out over at Practical Self Reliance.
8. Coconut Oil Arnica Salve by Delicious Obsessions
Jessica gives not only an arnica salve recipe on her Delicious Obsessions blog, but a different variation of it as well. So, you can choose a soothing salve with lavender and peppermint, or you can have a spicy one with cayenne powder and rosemary.
Either recipe makes arnica salve, and there is also some great info from Jessica on why it is important to make your own salve instead of buying it.
Check it out over at Delicious Obsessions.
9. Homemade Arnica Salve by Learning And Yearning
Susan offers another simple arnica salve recipe that just has the arnica and the bare minimum of other things in it. The recipe is in a convenient printable form and with instructions for making the arnica oil first.
Check it out over at Learning And Yearning
10. Yarrow and Arnica Bruise Cream by Joybilee Farm
This is the only arnica salve that I found that also has yarrow in it. They also tell you a little about growing each plant and how to infuse them into oil.
The recipe for this arnica cream is straightforward and simple while still being original.
Check it out over at Joybilee Farm.
11. The Perfect Fool-Proof Arnica Salve by Holistic Health Herbalist
Tish has a pretty good simple arnica salve recipe as well, and she does a great job of making her recipe as fool-proof as possible. There are a lot of other herbal recipes on this site too, if you want to look at them.
Check it out over at Holistic Health Herbalist
Which Is Your Favorite Arnica Salve Recipe?
So, do you like your arnica salve with only arnica in it? Or do you prefer to have other helpful herbs in it? Do you like to get straight to the recipe or to read about the benefits too?
Let us know in the comments what you think!
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Thank you for this collection of recipes. Just a note about the arnica salve recipes that contain yarrow. The two herbs have opposite actions and therefore are not a good combination. Arnica increases blood and lymph flow and thereby removes the bruising and inflammation, conversely yarrow restricts blood flow. It is better to choose additional herbs with complimentary actions.
Thank you Jennifer, that’s a great point! I suppose they included yarrow for its pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties but you’re right – best to separate the two!