Dateline: 8 February 2015
Old Fashioned Black Salve
"For Man or Beast"
I am intrigued by drawing salves. I first learned of the whole concept of a salve that can draw out splinters just a few years ago from a friend who said his mother always had it on hand, and used it often. It turns out that a lot of families once kept a container of drawing salve in the cupboard. It isn’t just for splinters, it is for most any skin irritation, like sunburn, insect bites, pimples, boils, and so on.
When I mentioned drawing salves to a neighbor last summer, she said, “Oh, yes. ichthammol. That’s good stuff. Doc Mackey used a lot of it.” Doc Mackey (now deceased) was the veterinarian in these parts for a very long time. He is something of a legend. Most everyone has a Doc Mackey story. I’ve heard it said that, on occasion, he treated needy humans with veterinary medicines.
I'm pretty sure that Ichthammol is a brand name of ammonium bituminosultfate. Here is an internet definition of ammonium bituminosultfate:
"A viscous fluid, reddish brown to brownish black, with a strong, characteristic, empyreumatic odor, soluble in water and in glycerine; obtained by the destructive distillation of certain bituminous schists, sulfonating the distillate and neutralizing the product with ammonia. It is used in skin disorders; its beneficial effect is due to its mild irritant, stimulant, antiseptic, and analgesic action; used in 10-20% concentrations in ointment ("drawing salve").
In other words, it's made from a rock.
It is possible to mix up your own drawing salve, and I plan to do that someday. There are a few recipes on the internet (Here is one), but they differ quite a bit. None have ichthammol because I don’t think it can be purchased in it’s pure form by just anyone.
Many drawing salves have pine tar as an ingredient. I’m partial to pine tar and I’m pretty sure I want to use pine tar in my recipe. I bought a container of high-quality, organic pine tar a few years ago, with the intention of making some pine tar soap, but that didn’t happen. So it will go into my homemade drawing salve.... someday.
In the meantime, I have purchased several different drawing salves and found others on the internet. I'm listing them below, along with their ingredients and instructions.
If there is an Amazon.com link for the product, I’m including it because you can go to the links and read the comments and testimonials from people who have used the product. The comments make for some interesting reading.
One important point I should make clear is that some of these general purpose drawing salves are black in color but they are not the same as the black salve with bloodroot that is a traditional remedy for skin cancers (as shown in This You Tube Movie).
QURET
Drawing Salve
“Since 1918”
Amazon Link: Quret Drawing Salve
Manufacturer: Jamark Labratories, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Color: dark amber
Smell: wintergreen
Ingredients: Petrolatum, Beeswax, Castile Soap, Tallow, Rosin, Methyl Salicylate, Chlorothymol.
Information on container: “An effective drawing agent and soothing ointment. Place Quret on bandage, apply to affected area. For minor skin irritations, sunburn, etc. place a small amount on fingertip, dip in water, smooth on area. Repeat application twice a day or as needed.”
Comments: My family has used this for a couple of years. I don’t have any medical miracle stories. It certainly seems to have helped with splinter removal and healing of minor skin irritations.
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Smile’s PRID
Homeopathic Salve
All Natural Drawing Salve
Amazon Link: Smiles PRID Drawing Salve
Manufacturer: Hylands, Inc., Los Angeles, California
Web Site: Hylands Homeopathic
Color: Dark amber (darker than Quret) with a reddish hue.
Smell: mild medicinal
Ingredients: Carbolicum Acidum, Ichthammol, Arnica Mont, Calendula Off, Echinacea Ang, Sulphur, Hepar Sulph, Silicea, Rosin, Beeswax, Petrolatum, Stearyl Alcohol, Methyl and Propyl Paraben.
Information on Container: “Uses: Temporary relief of pain and irritation associated with boils, minor skin eruptions and redness. Also aids in relieving the discomfort of minor skin irritations, superficial cuts and scratches”
“Directions: Wash affected area with hot water, dry and apply PRID twice daily on clean bandage or gauze. Do not squeeze or pressure irritated skin area. After irritation subsides, repeat application once a day for several days. Children under two years, consult a physician.”
Comments: I purchased a tin of this at WalMart
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Pa Smith’s
Black Drawing Salve
Manufacturer: Applachian Heritage Soaps, Marietta, Ohio
Web Site: Pa Smith's Black Drawing Salve
Color: Black
Smell: Medicinal
Ingredients: Olive oil (infused with alfalfa, comfrey, plantain, and poke root), Pine Tar, Castor Oil, Beeswax, Vitamin E.
Information on Container: “This old-time recipe was used to draw out infection, splinters and boils. Every farmer valued this salve and even the delicate used it for psoriasis and excema.”
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Grandma’s Black Salve
Healing and Drawing Ointment
Manufacturer: Grandma’s Black Salve, Cameron Park, California
Web Site: Grandma’s Black Salve
Color: Black
Smell: (unknown)
Ingredients: Lard, Onions, Olive Oil, Beeswax, Pine Tar, Grapefruit Seed Extract.
Comment: This is the only drawing salve I know of with onions!
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Union (Black) Salve
Manufacturer: H & H Remedies, New Philadelphia, Ohio
Web Site: H & H Remedies
Color: Dark Brown
Smell: Medicinal
Ingredients: Sheep Tallow, Pine Tar, Carbolic Acid, Castor Oil, Mineral Oil, Lanolin, Beeswax, Petrolatum.
Description: “Fantastic product for healing cuts and abrasions, and relief for minor burns, sunburns, minor skin irritations, and bites of non-poisonous insects.”
Comment: This is an old (100 years) family business and recipe. The company is now operated by the great grandson of the man who developed the salve. It is described not only as a drawing salve, but a healing salve too. There are numerous testimonies of this salve being used with amazing results on serious burns. A free mini-sample is available upon request.
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Hills Remedy
Black Drawing Salve
Manufacturer: Hills Remedy, Toledo, Ohio
Web Site: hillsremedy.com
Color: Black
Smell: Unknown
Ingredients: Olive Oil, Beeswax, Honey Powder, Activated Charcoal, Kaolin Clay, Cocoa Buttr, Shea Butter, Calendula, Chamomile, Chaparral, Chickweed, Comfrey, Echinacea, Golden Seal Root, Lobelia, Marshmallow Root, Mullein, Plantain, Red Clover, Eucalyptus Essential Oil, Lavender Essential Oil, Myrrh Essential Oil, Vitamin E.
Description: “Black Salve works by softening the skin surrounding the infection or foreign body. This allows the foreign body or substance to be “drawn” to the surface of the skin. Hills Remedy’s BLACK SALVE also contains many healing herbs which aid in quick healing.”
Comment: Web site provides insights into the useful qualities of each ingredient.
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Dr. Christopher’s
Black Ointment
Amazon Link: Dr. Christopher’s Black Ointment
Manufacturer: Wholistic Botanicals, Spanish Fork, Utah
Web Site: drchristopher.com
Color: Black
Smell: Strongly medicinal
Ingredients: Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Chaparral Leaf, Comfrey Root, Red Clover Blossom, Mullein Leaf, Plantain, Chickweed Herb, Marshmallow Root, Goldenseal Root, Lobelia, Poke Root, Pine Tar, Mutton Tallow and Beeswax.
Information on Container: “Apply externally as needed or as directed by your health care professional.”
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Vet One
Drawing Salve
Amazon Link: Vet One Drawing Salve
Distributed by: www.vetone.net
Color: Black
Smell: None
Active Ingredients: Ammonium Bituminosulfonate, 20%
Inactive Ingredients: Anhydrous lanolin, amber petrolatum
Information on Container: “Purpose: For hooves, nails and skin of horses and dogs.” “For external use only. Not for human use.”
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I'm far from an authority on drawing salves, and I haven't tried all of them, so I can't tell you which one is the best to get. It may well be that every one of them is a worthwhile formulation. But I am partial to the, empyreumatic pine tar formulations, like Pa Smith's, Union Black Salve, and Dr. Christopher's, even if they lack Ichthammol.
As far as getting the most ointment for your money, the veterinary drawing salve is by far the best value.
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I'm wondering.... Do you have any experience with, or insights into, drawing salves? Please share in the comments below.
