I hope everyone loves salves as much as I do! I feel like I live in an apothecary! It’s so fun! So in honor of my hormonal break out on my face, I thought it would be smart to make a salve for blemished skin. Being a facialist, I have given and taken my fair share of “acne treatments”. Usually this simply means burning your skin off with a chemical. While exfoliation is wonderful for your skin, making your skin smooth and encouraging cell renewal, it can also be harsh for acne sufferers. With zits comes inflammation, infection and redness. If you are using too harsh a treatment, all these ailments are exacerbated. So making a healing, protective and nourishing salve that acts as an overnight spot treatment just makes sense.
Jojoba Oil is amazing for oily skin because it actually mimics the skin’s natural sebum which is imperative for healthy, balanced skin. When there is a lack of oil, the skin naturally tries to fix the issue and ends up overproducing oil which can clog the pores. If the skin feels that it is balanced, it will not over produce oil. Plus, LIKE DISSOLVES LIKE. Adding oil to already oily pores can actually purge the pores of the sebum and dirt that is clogging them!
Melaleuca essential oil/Tea Tree is the front runner oil for oily clogged skin. Tea tree contains terpinen-4-ol, which is antibacterial. It also acts as a solvent, so it can dissolve oil that could cause zits. A recent study compared 5 percent tea-tree-oil gel to 5 percent benzoyl peroxide in a treatment of mild acne. It was found that both treatments were equal in benefits!
Frankincense essential oil is incredibly gentle and healing. It is helpful in regenerating damaged skin. It is also antibacterial and can help ward off any infection.
Beeswax, believe it or not is helpful for blemished skin as well! Not only does it form a protective barrier holding the benefits of the coconut oil, tea tree and frankincense in, it also is a powerful anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-allergenic and a germicidal antioxidant ingredient.
Melaleuca (Tea Tree) Zit Zapper Salve
1 TBSP. Jojoba Oil (find it HERE)
10 drops Melaleuca (tea tree) essential oil (find it HERE)
5 drops Frankincense essential oil (find it HERE)
Directions:
- In a medium pot fill with water about halfway full.
- Place a glass bowl with a spout in the water.
- Place coconut oil and beeswax in your glass bowl and melt.
- Once everything is liquid remove from heat.
- Add essential oil and pour into 1 oz. tin. Find the tin HERE.
The excess can be put in a lip balm tube for a blemish stick-works great for a very accessible spot treatment!
To Use:
Apply a thin layer to the top of a blemish at bedtime. This balm is very hard but as the salve touches the skin, it will soften.
For my Skin Clearing Serum and more anti blemish tips and tricks go HERE.
For more blemished skin recipes go HERE.
xx, Jenni
P.S. You’re gonna need a label! I use Avery labels 8293. Just copy the label into Avery. The background is Kaivo by Marimekko.
P.S.S. Since this post I have discovered that coconut oil may not be the best option for skin that is vulnerable to clogging. It rates a 4 on the comedogenic scale, 10 being the most likely to clog your pores. I chose coconut oil because of it’s amazing capabilities to heal and reduce redness and puffiness. I decided to change the main ingredient to jojoba oil which is much more suited for acne prone skin.
PIN IT!!!
I noticed everything you recommend has lavender in it. I am highly allergic to lavender and was wondering what else can be use.
Miranda, You can replace lavender with any other oil you like! Rosemary is a favorite of mine as well as Frankincense. Chamomile has soothing qualities like Lavender. Anytime I add Lavender into something it is because it is a very universal oil but also because I love the smell and it covers the smell of other oils that aren’t so great! Thanks!
Can you combine say 1/2 coconut oil & 1/2 olive oil?
Rosa, You could, it will make a creamier salve. The only reason I didn’t in this recipe is because olive oil is so moisturizing and I was aiming this recipe for oilier skin types with blemishes. Coconut oil is great for blemished oily skin, olive oil is not. Thanks!
jenni
i love your labels….how do you make them?
also where do you get your containers and bottles?
Hi Mim! I google “retro fabric” to get my label backgrounds. I use avery labels 8293 usually and avery has a wonderful and user friendly program on their website to create labels!
I find some on amazon but mostly I use Specialty Bottle. I like them because you can by 1 or 2 bottles at a time. They have a great variety of glass and plastic containers!
thanks jenni
do you use a regular printer or aspecial label printer ?
i am just starting a new career as an aesthetician and dont want to use the products i learned on to give facials…..
too many bad chemicals…..i would love your input on the different facials you give and what products you use
for them…..it would be a huge help….
thanks so much….
mim
Mim, that’s so cool! I actually got into making my own products and this blog because I didn’t want to use chemicals on my clients and it was just easier to make my own so that I could truly know what I was putting on my client’s skin!
I no longer work on clients. I blog full time now. I used to do glycolic treatments, pumpkin peels, and vitamin C treatments. I used A Natural Difference-I loved the results of their masks. I don’t know about the chemical issue-the thing is, people come to aestheticians for a professional treatment that they typically get once a month or less. Finding a really good line that offers a thorough exfoliation (chemical or not) is a good idea. Check A Natural Difference out. I also used Dermalogica and Murad. I love the Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Exfoliant-I charged $70 for a facial with this treatment-you massage the exfoliator into the skin for 10 minutes-it was awesome. You can sometimes find it on Ebay or Amazon rather than paying a ton to carry their whole line.
My advice is to make your own everything and then find a professional treatment that exfoliates.
I hope all this makes sense! I’m happy to answer any questions you have!
I have a regular printer-nothing special!
Hi Jenni!
I’ve been worried about my commercial face products for a while now. I am so excited to start making my own creams with your recipes-thanks so much for sharing!! Is it possible to use fractionated coconut oil instead of the semisolid coconut oil?
Thanks
Nan
Hi Nan, thank you!! Yes you could. You could also just use aloe if you are dealing with oiliness.
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Hi Jenni, what’s an alternative to beeswax? I’m vegan and prefer to not use beeswax in my skincare. Can I use Candelilla wax?
Jamuna-I actually don’t know if it’s an alternative-I would love to know though-I have a lot of people wanting a vegan alternative and I didn’t know that candelilla wax was. I will check into this and see if I can come up with an answer-It would be a great post for those of you wanting vegan products! Thanks!
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