Borage Oil is a wonderful emmolient, and today we’ll use it to make a salve. Our Borage Oil is organic and is cold-pressed.
It’s also full of GLA! GLA is short for gamma-linolenic acid, and GLA fatty acid is a special member of the omega-6 fatty acid family. It helps prevent moisture loss by strengthening the protective barriers of our skin. That is great news! Well moisturized skin stays younger looking and does not have as many problems as dry skin.
Borage Oil contains tannins, which make it feel less oily on the skin. This characteristic is important to note; finding less oily-feeling oils is like winning the lottery!
What else should we add to this salve? Beeswax, of course, as a hardener. Some Aloe Extract to help skin feel its best. We need a butter. Thinking, thinking. Shea Butter is my go-to for salves, but today I am going to use Mango Butter. It’s a drier-feel butter, yet it shares many of the same characteristics as Shea Butter.
If you’re making this along with me, let’s gather some supplies.
What You’ll Need
Supplies |
EquipmentScale |
Formula
55% Borage Oil
10% Beeswax
30% Mango Butter
5% Aloe Extract
50-gram Test Batch27.5 grams Borage Oil |
12-ounce batch6.6 ounces Borage Oil |
Instructions
Weigh all but the Aloe Extract into a microwave-safe container and heat using short time bursts. Stir after each heating. Beeswax will be the last thing to melt, and stirring will help it melt. Don’t overheat the oils trying to melt the beeswax. You can also do this step in a double boiler.
Once the oils are all melted, stir in the Aloe Extract.
Pour the melted salve into tins and allow it to harden fully before adding lids.
 Ingredients before melting. |
 Pouring into tins. |
Notes
Use this salve any place you have problem dry skin. Just smooth it over the skin and rub it in thoroughly.
I think it would be a great salve for the backs of my hands, which really show signs of aging. When I applied it to my hands, it was not at all greasy. Just what I wanted!
The only downside I discovered is that it smells somewhat unpleasant, faintly like a wet dog. I think adding a non-photoactive essential oil or a small amount of a fragrance oil would greatly help make it smell more appealing. I think I’d add our Lemon Verbena Fragrance Oil at 0.5%, removing that amount from the Borage Oil. What fragrance would you add?
