Making Pine Resin Salve

#herbalism #selfreliance #firstaid #foraging

Pine resin, or “pitch” is an oleoresin that can be used to make a salve with drawing and warming properties.

Pine, and other resinous trees, contain an irritant called abietic acid. Abietic resins stimulate topical circulation, increasing blood and fluid flow.

This increased inflammation speeds up the body’s immune response causing it to more quickly flush out splinters and other foreign matter from wounds.

Pine resin is also antibacterial, making it good first aid for cuts and scrapes.

Foraging for resin

Resin is made by the tree to flush, fill, and protect wounds, keeping out bacteria, fungus, and insects that would otherwise damage the tree.

When harvesting resin it is best to take resin that is clearly excess, overflowing the wounded area or dripping down the side of the tree, so as not to damage the tree.

In warmer weather the resin with be softer and stickier. It is sometimes easier to gather in colder weather when the resin is firmer.

A butter knife and a glass jar are good gathering tools for resin. The resin is very difficult to clean up so you may want to have dedicated collecting tools.

Mixed fir and pine resin nuggets in parchment paper cones. Some went into a batch of salve and some I saved for making incense:

Jars of pine resin going into a water bath in the crockpot to melt them down:

After straining the melted resin through cheesecloth, and oil and beeswax ready to melt:

Finished salve:

Recipe:

2T beeswax pellets

½ cup avocado oil

1T jojoba oil

¼ cup melted and strained pine resin

Add oil and beeswax to a double boiler and heat gently until the beeswax is melted. Then continue to heat and stir occasionally for ten or so minutes more*. Next add the melted and strained resin and stir until everything is combined.

Pour into your desired receptacles and cool.

*This is to ensure that the beeswax melts fully. If, as your salve cools, little white spots appear the beeswax was not fully melted.