Rose Petals Soothing Salve (Perfect for Glowing Sweetly Scented Skin)

This article contains my recipe for herbal Rose Petal Salve...a wonderful, handmade, easy skin-soothing gift for a friend or yourself.

It’s spring! This means it’s time to harvest rose petals, at least in the Northern hemisphere. Wild roses bloom profusely in the spring months, and it’s likely you have some blooming near you, as they grow all over the United States and Europe. If not, you can certainly use the petals of domesticated roses, as long as they’ve not been sprayed with pesticides.

I don't know anyone who doesn't love roses! Their soft petals, beautiful colors, and incredible scent are a special gift to us. Not only are roses beautiful in all ways, as an herb, they also contain chemicals that provide us with many health benefits.

Roses can be used internally and externally, and have astringent, cooling, anti-aging properties. This means they are incredibly good for your skin. 

And....Salve.

That word (salve) connotes healing. Soothing. Softness. Beauty.

Besides these things, are you wondering what this salve is good for?

• Soothing itchy skin

• Speeding recovery from bug bites

• Keeping skin soft and supple

• Smelling A-Mazing!

This Rose Petal Salve is pretty much guaranteed to bring a smile to your face, softness to your skin, even as its peaceful scent calms and soothes your soul. 

You can partner this Rose Petal Salve with:

Rose Petal Body Scrub & Bath Soak, 

Rose Petal Handmade Soap, and perhaps some

Rosy Chocolate Chai loose leaf tea! What an awesome rose-themed gift that would be!

You may also be interested in these other salve recipes:

How to Make Pain Relief Salve,

St. John's Wort Healing Salve, and

Vapor Rub Salve---and many more. 

FTC Disclosure: There are affiliate links scattered throughout this article. If you click through and make any kind of purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

How to Make Rose Petal Salve

First of all, you'll need some dried rose petals. If you are fortunate to grow your own roses, then it's likely you have plenty of rose petals! My great-grandmother had some beautiful rose bushes, and she always had some dried petals here and there. They smelled so good! I have some lovely memories of dried roses from a very early age.

If you don't have roses near you (they don't do very well here in our dry desert mountain), then I suggest purchasing them from a good supplier. You want to be sure they are organic and not treated with chemicals or pesticides. I buy my organic roses from Amazon or Starwest Botanicals, for both quality and price considerations. 

How to Dry Rose Petals:

There are several ways to dry rose petals, if you are planning to use fresh ones:

One of the easiest ways is to just lay them out on a towel for about a week and air dry them. The biggest problem with this method is your petals are open to the environment: dust and animals (in my case), since we live on a dirt road and have tons of animal friends! 

Alternatively, you can hang the roses in groups upside down in a brown paper bag. The bag is porous, allowing air circulation to dry the petals, while the bag keeps the petals free from dust or falling onto the floor. Just tie the bag opening around the stems and hang upside down. 

Finally, you can use a dehydrator for a quick method of drying. This is my favorite way to dry herbs in the summer time. We are on solar power, and summer is about the only time I can use my dehydrator (lots of sun at that time)!

How to Make an Oil & Rose Petal Infusion

You'll want to use rose infused oil as the base for this salve. You can find out more details about how to make an infused oil in this article, but it's really pretty simple. 

My favorite way is to fill a Mason jar about halfway full with dried rose petals, then add your oil (olive or almond oil are my two favorites) to within an inch of the top of the jar. Shake well, and place in a sunny window for four to six weeks, or even longer. You can double infuse the oil, too, if you want. 

Visit How to Make an Herbal Oil Infusion for other methods and more details. 

NOTE: If you don’t have time to make the rose infused oil, that’s ok. You can just use regular almond oil or coconut oil if you like.

Ingredients for Rose Petal Salve:

1/2 cup Rose petal infused olive or almond oil

1 tablespoon powdered Rose petals (optional)

1/2 teaspoon Alkanet infused olive oil for a bit of color (optional)

1/8 cup beeswax

40 drops Geranium (rose) essential oil

60 drops Love Vanilla essential oil blend from Plant Therapy (OR 40 drops Vanilla essential oil and 20 drops Ylang Ylang essential oil)

A Note About the Fragrance: 

It's tempting to use fragrance oils, but remember---they contain chemicals that have been proven to be dangerous to your health. I prefer to use pure essential oils because they come directly from the plant and instead of being harmful, can actually help you in many ways. 

I wanted a Rose scent for this salve, but Rose essential oil can cost hundreds of dollars. If you ever find inexpensive rose essential oil, it's very likely been adulterated with fillers and chemicals. Just beware. 

So I chose Rose Geranium essential oil, which is similar, but I wanted a little extra sweetness. I added the Love Vanilla blend to mine, but you could also use Vanilla with a little Ylang Ylang added if you like. 

 I have fallen in love with Love Vanilla from Plant Therapy. It's incredibly warm and feminine. You could actually just use this alone in this salve--but you would lose the rose part of the scent. 

I like to purchase my essential oils from reputable companies, and my favorites are Rocky Mountain Oils, Plant Therapy, Organic Aromas,    

Directions for Making the Rose Petal Salve:

Step 1) Combine the infused oil and beeswax in a double boiler. (I just use a Mason jar set in a pan  filled a couple inches with water.) Heat on low until the beeswax is completely melted. 

Step 2) Remove from heat, and add the other ingredients, including your essential oils.

Step 3) Stir REALLY well to combine everything. 

Step 4) Carefully pour the liquid into tins. I used two one ounce tins and a four ounce small Mason jelly jar. (This recipe makes about five total ounces.)

Step 5) Allow the salves to cool completely.

Step 6) Enjoy!

Final Thoughts on Rose Petal Salve

I love this salve! I tend to keep a lotion bar or salve of some type near the kitchen sink to rub on my dry hands during the day, and usually this is one of my more "healing" salves. I'm super happy to have this lovely scented Rose Petal Salve there now! It makes my hands smell lovely! 

There are other ways you can use this salve too!

• It's great for rubbing on dry and cracked skin, especially elbows and heels.

• You can use it to tame your eyebrows! Yep! It's a great substitute for other brow tamers.

• It also makes a wonderful lip salve for dry, chapped lips.

• Rub it on your temples for an immediate emotional uplift!

• As an overall body butter, it's great--just don't use very much. A very small amount goes a long way!

• Keep it in your gym bag to refresh yourself after a work out!

This salve is truly multi-purpose. AND....it makes a wonderful homemade gift, especially when paired with Rose Petal Body Scrub and/or Rose Petal Handmade Soap! 

What I would do differently: The next time I make this rose petal salve, I'll wait until the end to add the rose petal powder or perhaps not add it at all. Also, I would not color it with the alkanet infused oil. I was trying to get a pink color, and it just didn't really do what I wanted it to. A tiny touch of madder root powder would most likely work better.

That's just a good lesson for us all! Creating and experimenting---you learn new things and figure out what to do better as you go along!

Have you made herbal salves before? I'd love to know your experiences. Also, if you have other ideas for the scent, please share in the comments section. I'm always trying to find ways to recreate the scent of roses.

Hugs, Health, & Self-Reliance,

Heidi

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