Pain Relieving Cayenne Salve

Cayenne (capsicum annuum) is well known as a culinary spice, but that same spice on your pantry shelf or in your garden can be turned into a powerful salve to apply to achy muscles, painful joints, arthritis and more.  Cayenne’s natural chemical compound, Capsaicin, is often found in commercial pain relief creams and is said to work by blocking specific nerve receptors that transmit pain signals, reducing inflammatory responses, and creating a warming sensation by increasing blood circulation at the application site. While this salve can possibly help provide relief from achy muscles and painful joints, it doesn’t fix what caused them in the first place, so care should be taken not to push through the pain and aggravate a deteriorating physical condition.  This salve should never be used on an open wound or near the eyes.  Look for ground cayenne pepper at the grocery store that doesn’t have any additives, or grind your own dried peppers from your garden. There are many ways to make salve, this is just one. 

 Cayenne Salve

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons ground cayenne pepper
• 1/2 ounce grated beeswax or beeswax pastilles

Combine the cayenne and olive oil in a small pot.  Heat the mixture until warm, then turn off the heat and let it cool for 20-30 minutes.  Reheat and allow to cool again.  Repeat this cycle 6 or 7 times, then strain out the oil using fine cheesecloth.  Some powder will make it through the cheesecloth, but that’s ok.  It will settle to the bottom of your jar in the finished product.

Place the strained oil back into your clean pot and add the beeswax.  Heat slowly, just enough to melt the beeswax into the oil.  Do not allow to simmer or boil.

Pour into containers. Salve size jars and tins can be ordered or found at places like Hobby Lobby. You can even use a ¼ pint jelly jar.  Let the salve cool completely before putting the lid on, then label it.  Makes about 4 ounces.