Learn how to make helpful herbal salves using purple dead nettle and other beneficial plants.
Purple dead nettle (Lamium purpureum) is an edible weed that pops up in yards and gardens in early spring.
You might often see it growing near henbit (Lamium amplexicaule), which is said to be its closest look-a-like. (They both have purple flowers and grow around the same time.)
Identifying Purple Dead Nettle
To help you definitively tell the difference between the two weeds, check out this in depth article I wrote for Unruly Gardening (my family’s website that we work on together): ?
Differences Between Henbit and Purple Dead Nettle
If you’re a beginner forager, make sure your purple dead nettle has flowers and purple tops before gathering to ensure you’re getting the correct plant.
Here are some foraging tips for purple dead nettle:
- has hairy leaves, turning purple towards the tips of the plant
- opposite leaves are densely crowded together along stem
- has a square stem, indicative of being in the mint family
- purple flowers, bilateral with lips
- there are no toxic look-a-likes while the tops are purple and flowering
While its nutritious leaves can be used in salads, pesto, and smoothies, purple dead nettle’s anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties also make it a good candidate to include in salves and balms.
Looking for more creative ways to use purple dead nettle?
You may also enjoy my article, 9+ Things to Make with Purple Dead Nettle. In it you’ll learn to make a tincture for seasonal allergies, a lotion for itchy skin, and more!
What’s a Salve?
Salves and balms are soft spreadable preparations for your skin consisting of herbal infused oils and beeswax (or another wax.) They can be applied to help heal, soothe, or improve various skin or health conditions.
Infused Oil + Salve Recipes
In this article, I’m sharing three salve recipe ideas:
- Basic Purple Dead Nettle Salve
- Purple Dead Nettle First Aid Salve
- Purple Dead Nettle Aches & Pains Salve
Before you can make the salve though, you first must make an infused oil.
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How to Make the Infused Oil
By steeping an herb in oil, we can extract its beneficial properties for our use in salves, balms, and other products.
To dry purple dead nettle, spread the plant pieces out in a single layer over a dish towel, paper towel, or wax paper and allow to air dry for several days. We’re using dried plant material here, since fresh plants are more likely to spoil when mixed into oil.
There are a few ways to infuse oil, we’ll cover a quick way, a medium way, and slower way.
The Quick Infusing Method
This method works best if you don’t have the time or desire to wait a few weeks for infused oil.
- Fill a glass canning jar 1/4 to 1/2 of the way with crumbled up dried purple dead nettle. (You can also mix in other dried herbs such as calendula, yarrow, etc – see the salve recipes below for ideas.)
- Fill the jar almost to the top with your chosen oil – olive or sunflower oil can be good for most skin types. For a slightly lighter feel, try apricot kernel or rice bran oil. You can also mix and match your favorite oils.
- Set the uncovered jar down into a saucepan containing a few inches of water, forming a makeshift double boiler of sorts.
- Place the pan over a low burner and heat for around 2 to 3 hours.
- Don’t allow the water to evaporate out of the pan, and monitor the oil while it’s heating.
- Remove from the heat and strain out enough oil for your recipe when needed. You can top off the jar with more oil and allow it to continue infusing the slow way until needed again.
- Store the remaining infused oil in a dark spot or cabinet out of direct sunlight and heat. Shelf life should be about 1+ year.
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The Medium Sunny Window Infusing Method
Repeat steps 1 and 2 from above, and fill a jar with crumbled dried purple dead nettle, plus any extra herbs you want to add, and fill with oil. Put a lid on the jar.
Place the jar in a warm sunny window for a week or two, then transfer to a darker spot to infuse another week or so. The heat from the warm sunny window helps gently speed up the infusing process a bit.
The Slower Traditional Infusing Method
This way requires more patience and time, but results in a strongly infused and lovely oil.
Repeat steps 1 and 2 above, and fill a jar with crumbled dried purple dead nettle (and any extra herbs you’d like to include) and oil.
Instead of infusing over heat, you’ll put a lid on the jar and tuck it away in a cabinet or on a shelf and let it infuse for at least 4 to 6 weeks, shaking occasionally as you remember to.
Strain out the oil needed for your recipe.
Basic Purple Dead Nettle Salve Recipe
This is an ultra-basic salve that contains just 2 (or 3) ingredients. It can be used on itchy, dry, irritated, chapped, or sore skin.
Yield: about 2 ounces of salve
Ingredients
- 1.65 oz (47 g) purple dead nettle infused oil
- 0.25 oz (7 g) beeswax
- optional – 2 to 3 drops lavender essential oil
How to Make Purple Dead Nettle Salve
- Combine the infused oil and beeswax in a heatproof jar or container.
- Place the jar down into a saucepan with a few inches of water, forming a double boiler.
- Heat over medium-low heat until completely melted.
- Remove from heat and add the lavender essential oil, if using.
- Pour into a 2-ounce tin or glass jar.
- Let cool before putting the top on the container.
- Store in a cool dry place.
- Shelf life is at least 1 year.
First Aid Salve with Purple Dead Nettle
This is a general all-purpose first aid salve that features purple dead nettle plus calendula flowers and/or plantain leaves and/or yarrow.
Calendula (Calenduala officinalis) has antiseptic, anti-itching, and anti-inflammatory properties. (It’s sometimes called pot marigold, but shouldn’t be confused with regular marigolds. Here’s a good article on the difference between calendula and marigold flowers.)
Plantain (Plantago major) is a common leafy weed found in many backyards and driveways. It cools, soothes, and moistens and is one of the best herbs for skin irritations, cuts, bug bites, and scrapes.
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is antiseptic and anti-inflammatory and is helpful for minor wounds and cracked damaged skin.
You can buy high quality organic dried calendula flowers, yarrow, and plantain leaves at Mountain Rose Herbs.
Yield: about 2 ounces of salve
Ingredients
- 1.65 oz (47 g) oil infused with purple dead nettle and calendula and/or plantain and/or yarrow
- 0.25 oz (7 g) beeswax
- optional – 1 drop tea tree essential oil
- optional – 3 to 4 drops lavender essential oil
How to Make
Follow the directions above for making Basic Purple Dead Nettle Salve.
Aches & Pains Salve with Purple Dead Nettle
This salve features purple dead nettle, arnica, and comfrey, though you could also include goldenrod, daisy, and/or dandelion flowers if you’d like. I also included tamanu oil – which is fantastic for soothing all sorts of skin problems and achy/sore situations.
Arnica (Arnica montana) is an anti-inflammatory herb that’s traditionally used to treat swelling, bruising, sore muscles, and arthritic joints.
Comfrey root (Symphytum officinale) can be helpful for bruising, pulled muscles, sprains and strains. (Comfrey leaf can be used as well.)
Yield: About 2 ounces of salve
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz (43 g) oil infused with purple dead nettle, arnica, and comfrey root (plus other herbs as desired)
- 0.15 oz (4 g) tamanu oil (or more infused oil)
- 0.25 oz (7 g) beeswax
- 30 drops peppermint essential oil
- 5 drops juniper berry (or cedarwood atlas, or cypress, or fir needle) essential oil
- 4 drops rosemary essential oil
How to Make
Follow the directions above for making Basic Purple Dead Nettle Salve. This salve has an essential oil dilution rate of a little over 3%.
References and Sources:
Purple Dead Nettle & Henbit – University of Tennessee Extension Website
Five New Phenylethanoid Glycosides from the Whole Plants of Lamium purpureum L – compounds in Purple Dead Nettle have potent free radical scavenging activity
Antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities of some medicinal plants from the Lamiaceae. (including Purple Dead Nettle/Lamium purpureum)
In vivo anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive actions of some Lamium species. Several Lamium species have been used to relieve pain in arthritic ailments in Turkish folk medicine.
Antimicrobial properties of calendula (multiple studies)
Medicinal Plants Used in the Treatment of Inflammatory Skin Diseases
Making Plant Medicine, Richo Cech.
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Purple Dead Nettle Salve (3 Recipes!)
Learn how to make a simple purple dead nettle salve, a salve for sore muscles, and a salve for basic first aid.
Keyword purple dead nettle, quick project, salve
Total Time 1 hour hour
Servings 2 ounces
Equipment
kitchen scale, to weigh ingredients
heatproof jar or container
small sauce pan, with several inches of water in it
2-ounce tin or glass jar, with lid
Ingredients
For the Basic Purple Dead Nettle Salve
- 1.65 oz purple dead nettle infused oil
- 0.25 oz beeswax (grated, or pastilles)
- 2 drops lavender essential oil (optional)
For the First Aid Purple Dead Nettle Salve
- 1.65 oz oil infused with purple dead nettle and calendula and/or plantain and/or yarrow
- 0.25 oz beeswax
- 1 drop tea tree essential oil
- 3 drops lavender essential oil
For the Purple Dead Nettle Aches & Pains Salve
- 1.5 oz oil infused with purple dead nettle, arnica, and comfrey root (plus other herbs as desired)
- 0.15 oz tamanu oil (or more infused oil)
- 0.25 oz beeswax
- 30 drops peppermint essential oil
- 5 drops juniper berry (or cedarwood atlas, or cypress, or fir needle) essential oil
- 4 drops rosemary essential oil
Instructions
To Make All Versions of Purple Dead Nettle Salve
Combine the infused oil and beeswax in a heatproof jar or container. If including tamanu oil (for the aches & pains version) include it here too.
Place the jar down into a saucepan with a few inches of water, forming a double boiler.
Heat over medium-low heat until completely melted.
Remove from heat and add essential oils, if using.
Pour into a 2-ounce tin or glass jar.
Let cool before putting the top on the container.
Store in a cool dry place.
Shelf life is at least 1 year.
