The world of herbal skincare remedies is vast, offering countless ways to support skin health and aid minor irritations. Among these time-tested preparations is the drawing salve (sometimes called a draw salve), a powerful preparation for dealing with splinters, stingers, and blemishes.

What is a Drawing Salve?

A drawing salve is a thick, topical ointment formulated to help "draw out" foreign materials or infections from beneath the skin. It works by using specific ingredients that create an osmotic effect, pulling fluid and impurities toward the surface.

Traditional Uses of a Draw Salve

In traditional and modern herbal skincare, drawing salves are valued for several specific applications:

• Splinters and Thorns: It is perhaps most famous for its ability to help loosen and expel painful, embedded splinters that are too deep to easily extract with tweezers.

• Insect Stingers: Applying a salve to an area with an embedded stinger (like a bee stinger) can help the body push it out.

• Ingrown Hairs, Minor Boils and Abscesses: For small, non-emergency skin infections or blemishes, a drawing salve may help bring the infection to a head, assisting the body's natural healing process.

Common, effective ingredients often found in a high-quality draw salve include activated charcoal, bentonite clay, and often an herbal powder like plantain or calendula, all blended into a base of oils and waxes.

Note: Please be safe, skin infections can be very dangerous. Always consult with your trusted healthcare provider when in doubt. 

Why Comfrey Should Not Be Used in a Drawing Salve?

While many herbs are wonderful additions to herbal skincare products, one popular herb, comfrey (Symphytum officinale), must be excluded from a drawing salve. In fact, using a comfrey salve to draw can be counterproductive and even dangerous in some cases.

Comfrey: The Bone-Knitting Herb

Comfrey has earned the folk name "knitbone" because it contains high levels of allantoin, a compound that powerfully accelerates cell proliferation. When used topically, a comfrey salve is excellent for:

• Healing surface cuts, scrapes, and bruises.

• Soothing strained muscles and joints.

• Promoting rapid repair of superficial skin tissue.

The Danger of Accelerated Healing

The problem arises when you use a comfrey preparation over an area that has an infection or a foreign object beneath the skin (the very things a drawing salve is meant to address).

1. Trapping Impurities: Because comfrey encourages rapid skin growth, applying a comfrey salve or comfrey cream to a boil, abscess, or splinter can actually cause the skin on the surface to heal too quickly, sealing over the infection or foreign object.

2. Driving Infection Deeper: By sealing the opening, the body loses the natural path to expel the impurity. This can trap the infection or splinter and potentially drive the issue deeper, leading to complications or requiring professional medical intervention to resolve.

The takeaway for safe herbal practice is clear: If your goal is to draw something out, avoid the accelerating, sealing power of comfrey. Reserve comfrey salve or comfrey cream for closed injuries like bruises and strains, or for healing superficial scrapes after the impurity has been expelled.

For an effective and safe drawing salve, stick to non-comfrey formulas designed explicitly for "pulling" rather than "knitting."

What Are Safe and Effective Herbs For A Draw Salve?

Calendula: An Ideal Ingredient In Drawing Salves

In contrast to comfrey, herbs like calendula (Calendula officinalis) are perfectly suited for inclusion in a drawing salve. Calendula is renowned in herbalism for its exceptional skin-soothing, anti-inflammatory, and gentle antiseptic properties. Its primary role in a drawing salve formulation is to support the skin's overall health and manage the local inflammatory response. By reducing swelling and inflammation around the embedded object or infection, calendula helps to create a less hostile environment, often making the foreign material easier for the body to expel naturally.

Also, calendula provides a gentle healing action that does not accelerate cell proliferation or seal the skin the way comfrey does. It aids in the quality of the healing process. 

This minimizes irritation and redness instead of the speed of the surface closure. This supportive role is crucial: the salve's primary goal is extraction, and calendula ensures the area remains calm and receptive to the drawing action without prematurely closing off the skin's exit path. This makes it a safe, effective, and beneficial ingredient for any herbal skincare formula intended to draw out impurities.

Castor Oil: Another Powerful Ingredient In Drawing Salves

Castor oil (Ricinus communis) is often included in drawing salves and draw creams due to its unique properties that enhance the extraction process. Castor oil's drawing power comes from its high concentration of ricinoleic acid, which is believed to help penetrate and break down impurities in the skin. When applied topically, castor oil creates a mild, localized action that helps soften the surrounding tissue and encourage the movement of foreign objects or encapsulated infections toward the surface. This gentle yet effective lubricating and mobilizing effect makes castor oil a valuable non-irritating base ingredient, supporting the primary while simultaneously moisturizing and protecting the skin.

Experience the gentle yet effective power of a true drawing salve with minimal ingredients, such as Ora’s Amazing Herbal Calendula Salve. In addition to being a great draw salve, it’s also an excellent addition to your regular herbal skincare routine thanks to its potent blend of all-natural ingredients. Calendula and licorice root work together to relieve inflammation, redness, and pain, while the castor oil enhances the salve's drawing capabilities. It is free from coconut oil and essential oils so it is perfect for sensitive and reactive skin types. It is so gentle that it is also the same formula as Ora’s Amazing Herbals Newborn Salve.

Disclaimer: This blog post is for educational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment or making changes to your current healthcare regimen.