DIY Comfrey and Cayenne Pepper Healing Salve
Let nature work its magic on sore muscles and aching joints.
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Medical Disclaimer: This is a home remedy tutorial based strictly on personal experience and is not meant to be taken as medical advice — consult your healthcare provider for medical advice.
If you are someone who lives with achy joints, inflammation and tension in your muscles like I am, you are going to want to give this salve a try. It works exceptionally well on giving some relief to those aches and pains we all have, especially in your joints.
Many have found pain relief for conditions like arthritis and other joint stiffness and function. It’s also been known to help with things like ankle sprains, or even some musculoskeletal conditions like tendon, ligament and muscle issues. And some have even found that it helps to heal these conditions as well.
So why not give this homemade warming salve for sore muscles a try and see if it helps?
I often get tension and swelling in my forearms and hands, where my arm feels tight and achy, and my fingers feel swollen. This comfrey and cayenne salve for pain relief has been particularly helpful with it. As soon as it flares up, I rub a bunch of it on my arm. Almost instantly the swelling feeling, and tightness in my hands & fingers is gone. After another couple minutes, I don’t even notice the pain in my arm at all.
What Makes a Comfrey and Cayenne Salve Work?
The base of the salve is Comfrey infused Avocado oil and Cayenne Pepper infused Olive oil. Together, these nourishing herbal oils create a DIY comfrey and cayenne salve for pain relief that deeply soothes sore muscles and joints.
Comfrey, known for its high allantoin content, helps repair tissue, reduce inflammation, and speed up healing — making it a staple in any herbal pain relief salve.
Cayenne pepper, infused into olive oil, delivers gentle warmth through capsaicin, a natural compound that stimulates blood flow, reduces stiffness, and eases muscle pain.
When blended into a rich homemade healing balm, these ingredients work synergistically to provide natural pain relief for muscle aches, joint pain, arthritis, and general soreness. This warming herbal salve not only supports circulation but also offers a chemical-free, plant-based remedy for everyday aches and pains — a perfect addition to any natural first aid kit or DIY wellness routine.
All You Need to Have
If you wanted to, you could just use the infused oils plus some beeswax to create a salve. In my recipe I also like to add a number of essential oils. I’ve picked ones that are known for their calming, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and muscle-relaxing properties that give this salve a boost, and help to relax muscles and ease various types of pain.
The essential oil blend, when combined with the herbal infused oils, also give this salve an amazing scent that I just love.
Note: Because of the comfrey and high concentration of essential oil in this salve (around 4%-5%), it should not be used for more than 2 weeks at a time. Or as an all-over body oil; it is best used to target specific areas causing you discomfort. Do your research and use with caution if needed.
Comfrey Infused Oil
To learn how to make herbal infused oil, check out my blog How to Make Herbal Infused Oil. The star of this remedy, comfrey has been used for centuries in herbal medicine. It has been shown to be very effective in the treatment of bruises, joint and back pain, arthritis and sprains. Comfrey is prized for its healing properties because of it’s ability to help cells multiply. When applied topically, it penetrates deep into tissues, helping to reduce swelling, soothe stiff joints, and bring a gentle healing effect that eases discomfort and reduces pain.
Buy dried Comfrey leaves in Canada or Buy in USA
Cayenne Infused Oil
To learn how to make herbal infused oil, check out my blog How to Make Herbal Infused Oil. This spicy powerhouse contains capsaicin, a natural compound known for its powerful pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties. When applied topically, the heat from cayenne helps increase blood circulation, reduce stiffness, and block pain signals in the body. Any super hot pepper will do, cayenne is just the best.
I recommend buying cayenne peppers from your local groceries store and drying them.
Beeswax
Beeswax acts as the natural thickener and stabilizer in your salve, giving it a smooth, spreadable texture. It helps lock in moisture and creates a gentle protective barrier on the skin without clogging pores. Beeswax also adds a subtle anti-inflammatory and antibacterial benefit, helping the healing salve last longer while enhancing its soothing, pain-relieving effects.
Essential Oils
There’s a wide variety of essential oils you can. The ones I use in this recipe are Frankincense, Peppermint, Lavender, Eucalyptus, Lemongrass, Rosemary and Bergamot. If you don’t have any of these, or can’t use them for different reasons, feel free to switch it up.
Some other great options are: Ginger, Black Pepper, Copaiba, and German Chamomile.
Below I’ve provided a description of a few of the essential oils to give you an idea of why they work.
Frankincense Essential Oil
Frankincense is a powerful oil often used for joint and muscle pain. It’s known to help calm inflammation, improve circulation, and support mobility. Adding frankincense to your comfrey and cayenne salve enhances its soothing effects and promotes faster relief.
Lavender Essential Oil
Lavender doesn’t just smell relaxing — it also has anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. It helps calm irritated tissues and promotes relaxation, which can be especially helpful when pain disrupts rest or sleep. Lavender makes this remedy both healing and calming.
Lemongrass Essential Oil
Lemongrass is often used in natural remedies for joint health thanks to its circulation-boosting and anti-inflammatory effects. It can help reduce fluid retention and ease swelling around painful joints, making it a great addition to this natural pain relief remedy.
Peppermint Essential Oil
Refreshing and cooling, peppermint oil provides a mild numbing sensation that offers quick comfort. Its menthol content also supports circulation and helps reduce tension in the affected area, complementing the warming, soothing properties of cayenne infused oil.
Blended Together
When combined, these ingredients create a DIY comfrey and cayenne salve for pain relief that is safe, effective, and easy to make.
DIY Comfrey and Cayenne Pepper Healing Salve
Difficulty: Intermediate8
Ounces20
minutes10
minutes30
minutesAdditional time is added for infusing the oils in advance of making the salve.
Equipment:
– 4 2oz tin cans with lids. Buy in CAN or buy in USA
– Kitchen Scale (buy in CAN or USA)
– Stainless Steel Melting Pot (buy in CAN or USA)
Ingredients
3/4 Cup (6oz) Comfrey Infused Oil
1/4 Cup (2oz) Cayenne Infused Oil
1/4 Cup (2oz) Beeswax Pellets
100-140 Drops Essential Oils. I used:
15 Frankincense, 25 Peppermint, 35 Lavender, 25 Eucalyptus, 10 Lemongrass, 10 Rosemary and 10 Bergamot
Directions
- On your stovetop put a couple inches of water in a pot and bring to a light boil.
- Place your melting pot on a kitchen scale, add the 2 infused oils and the beeswax.
- Place the melting pot with carrier oils and beeswax over boiling water and stir until the beeswax is melted. Try to do this on as low of heat as possible and take off as soon as the beeswax is melted.
- Remove the melting pot from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
- Once the carrier oils and beeswax has cooled down, add in all the essential oils, and stir them in for a least 3 mins. The longer you stir, they better they disperse and work.
- Pour the oils into the tin cans and let them sit with the lid off until they have completely cooled and solidified.
Notes
- Always remember to sterilize the tin cans first.
- Store in a cool place. Heat can affect the effectiveness of the salve and cause it to melt.
- If you would like a firmer salve, add a bit more beeswax. This ratio provides a nice soft and smooth texture for rubbing in.
- Label the tins and add a date. Salves will be good for 6 mths-3 yrs depending on how you store them. Another factor is making sure no water gets into the salve.
⚠️ Safety Tips for Using Comfrey and Cayenne Salve
- Avoid broken skin or open wounds – Both comfrey and cayenne are powerful herbs. Apply your herbal pain relief salve only to intact skin, as cayenne may cause irritation and comfrey should not be used on open cuts due to its fast-healing properties that can trap bacteria inside.
- Patch test before use – Always do a small skin patch test on your inner arm before using your DIY comfrey and cayenne salve more broadly. Some people may be sensitive to capsaicin (from cayenne) or other herbal ingredients.
- Wash hands thoroughly after application – Cayenne contains capsaicin, which can cause burning if it comes in contact with your eyes, nose, or mouth. Use gloves during application if you have sensitive skin.
- Use externally only – This natural pain relief balm is for topical use only. Do not ingest or apply internally.
- Avoid heat or tight wraps after applying – Adding extra heat or wrapping the area can intensify cayenne’s warming effect, which may cause discomfort or skin irritation.
- Not recommended for children or during pregnancy – Comfrey contains compounds that should be avoided during pregnancy or while nursing, and cayenne’s heat can be too strong for young skin. Always check with a healthcare provider before use if unsure.
- Not recommended for people with liver conditions – Comfrey contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), which can be toxic to the liver if absorbed into the bloodstream or taken internally. For this reason, it should be used only on unbroken skin and avoided by anyone with liver conditions.
- Discontinue if irritation occurs – If redness, burning, or itching persists, wash off with cool water and discontinue use immediately.
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