You know you have a DIY problem when you get a blister and your first thought is how to develop some sort of homemade something or other for it to help it heal/give you something to blog about. At least I didn’t give myself the blister on purpose… that really would be very odd. But! It totally paid off and in just 36 hours my foot was practically as good as new!
Anyhow, after cavorting about downtown in a pair of very sturdy (and still relatively new) Frye boots, I had a blister. Actually, halfway through cavorting about downtown I had a blister. And then I still had another meeting to go to, and then I had to get myself home. I limped. I should really learn to carry moleskin. (Warning: blister pictures!)
Upon returning home I discovered a big ‘ol blister on my right heel, and a hot spot on the left heel. So, yuck, and ow, but hey, now I have a new DIY project to tackle!
The blister in question, right after limping home. Ow.
The carrier oils I chose for the base are andiroba, emu, tamanu, and virgin coconut. Andiroba helps increase circulation and has been used by natives in Brazil for ages to help heal cuts. It’s supposed to be good for burns, wounds, arthritis, insect bites, and eczema, and it’s a great anti-inflammatory. Emu oil is a long time favourite of Australian aborigines for treating burns and bites, and today it’s very popular for helping with soft tissue injuries, bruising, and joint stiffness.
Virgin coconut is a favourite of many. It’s a great moisturizer, and it smells wonderful. It’s also said to be anti-viral, antibacterial, and anti-fungal. Tamanu oil is a cure-all oil for skin ailments, great for acne, eczema, cuts, burns, bug bites, and more. Vitamin E is a great antioxidant and encourages skin regeneration.
The essential oils I’ve chosen were selected for their antibacterial (lavender, tea tree, origanum) and soothing (chamomile) properties. I’ve generally found that infection prevention + soothing = healing, hence my choices.
24 hours later. Less red, slightly deflated, and more sore than actually painful.
So, after all that, does it work? Here’s what happened. I applied the salve the first night, and every 12 hours or so after that. By morning, it was sore, and still fluid-filled, but less so.
The next evening (24 hours later) it had significantly dried out and didn’t hurt much at all (and I’d been on my feet for most of the day in a different pair of boots).
36 hours! No pain, totally deflated and dried out, and the skin isn’t even saggy!
The next morning (36 hours later); no pain, totally deflated, and well on the way to being totally healed! Victory!
The salve does tend to tingle when you get it on your hands due to the increased circulation, which I think is pretty cool.
Burn & Blister Salve
2 tsp virgin coconut oil
2 tsp andiroba oil
2 tsp emu oil (or more andiroba)
1 tsp tamanu oil
¾ tsp Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)15 drops lavender essential oil
7 drops tea tree essential oil
7 drops chamomile essential oil
3 drops origanum essential oilPlace everything in a small tin or bottle. Seal the container and put it in a small dish of hot water (from the tap is fine) to melt, giving it a shake every few minutes, until everything is melted together.
Apply to burns and blisters every 6–12 hours.
Is the email you listed at the top of your blog your main email or do you have one you check more regularly? There are a bunch of things I’d like to chat with you about but don’t feel comfortable including in a comment! It’s funny how many of my “recipes” come about by “accident”. I was making up a big batch of lip balm cause I bought this cool stand thing where you screw a bunch of tubes into the bottom, the idea being you can pour the balm in more steadily and not waste precious raw ingredients and get a smooth top. I decided to use soy bean oil so I could give some to a friend who is allergic to nut oils (I usually use sweet almond oil). I discovered that soy bean oil is incredibly moisturizing!
I had also discovered by accident that the best balm for my tootsies is basically shea butter mixed with an oil ( the original recipe called for rice bran oil, but I’m going to use calendula inflused soy bean oil and add some EOs like tea trea oil and lemon because they are anti septic and smell nice. I’m going to post today about “foot hygiene”, basically using a regular salt foot soak with a foot bath with things like honey and milk added, which are lovely natural moisturizers. And then I will suggest some simple balms people can make. I have plans to make pumice foot scrub in a shae butter base and that foot balm I mentioned for my Etsy shop. I’m planning to buy some shea butter this week, I ran out! Will send you a link when I write the post, probably this weekend! Glad you found some blister relief, blisters are the bain of my existence! In the past I have found Burts Bees Healing Salve quite Evective, but it can be hard to find in the winter.
Cheers,
Ruth
I check that address regularly, so feel free to get in touch there 🙂
I’ve found I also really like soy bean oil for soaps! I haven’t bought any recently, though—I just have so many other carrier oils that I really don’t need it, haha. I definitely have an ingredient problem, lol.
Shea butter really is great for feet, eh? When I first started using it I liked it for my hands, but it was just so greasy I couldn’t touch paper for ages after using it! So, I’ve since moved on to other butters, oils, and lotions for my hands, but nothing beats a good, thick slathering of shea and a pair of thick socks for dry feet!
The best blister balm I ever found had Myrrh and Golden-seal it was miraculous.
Oh, this sounds fantastic! I’ve never heard of goldenseal before, so I had to go read up on it, and it sounds fantastic! I need some—do you know where I can get some in Canada?
I used golden seal to heal both of my daughters’ umbilical cords after birth – took less than a week for the little nub to fall off and leave a healed and adorable belly button. Midwifery trick!! Would make sense that it would be healing for blisters or any open wound
Anyway, thank you for what you do, this website absolutely amazing!!
Would you put this on a blister that had opened up – like a rip on a hand? I’m working on a basket of DIY goodies for a giveaway at my gym and would like to include something for ripped up hands!
I did! It worked like a treat 🙂
i wanna make this like, now, because I have so many burns on my arms from baking stuff (and stupidly touching the oven grates on the way out) but was wondering if this is supposed to be a liquid consistency or if it hardens up? From the amounts of liquid oil to coconut oil, it seems to me like this would never harden. Let me know how this turned out… if it’s too liquidy I’ll probably add some cocoa butter or beeswax to harden a tad. I just wanna know beforehand so I can shave my beeswax before starting this project (though it’s about time I shaved the rest of my block and put the shavings in a mason jar for quick use!)
Thanks as always,
Thais
It’s very drooly! Add some wax if you want to it be solid 🙂
Thanks so much for such quick response. My emu, tamanu and andiroba oils are arriving today so YAY!!! I will try a 1:7 wax to oil ratio and see how that goes. Will report back!
Thank you again,
Thais
Happy making! 😀