Nature’s Pharmacy DIY Homemade Healing Salves: A Beginner’s Guide to Herbal Remedies

If you’ve ever wanted to try making your own herbal salves, this book is for you. Shannon McCarthy starts by introducing herself and explaining why she’s qualified to write this book. She also explains how the book is laid out.In the first chapter, she talks briefly about herbal medicine and why it’s not a thing of the past. She also explains what a healing salve is, why you should make them, why it’s important to protect your skin, and precautionary steps you should take.In the second chapter, she explains the different types of ingredients that are used in salve making, like herbs, essential oils, base oils, infused oils, clays, and alcohol. She also explains that all parts of the different herbs in healing salves could be used, such as the leaves, stems, flowers, and roots. She also discusses the importance of ethical wildcrafting. Also covered are the different types of oils used when making herbal salves as well as how to dry herbs properly.In chapter three, she provides information on the different tools needed for salve making, like a blender, bowls, coffee filters, a coffee grinder, a cutting board, and a double boiler among other things.In chapter four, she finally starts providing different recipes for healing salves. These salves can be used for a variety of conditions, such as anxiety, arthritis, skincare, bruise treatment, burn relief, herbal treatments for children, cold and flu herbal treatment, and anti-aging treatmentsThe very last chapter provides information on terminology, how to convert metric measurements to English measurements and back, and answers some frequently asked questions about salve making.Overall, I thought this book was very well organized. The author obviously knows what she’s talking about, and presents the information in a way that most people will be able to understand. The only improvements I would suggest are to check spellings - there were a few small spelling errors I caught - and consider moving the information on the different types of herbs and the measurements conversions to the front of the book, before the recipes. It means it would take longer for the reader to get to the recipes, but I think the information is more appropriate there than at the end of the book.Overall, I think this is a great book. It’s a must-read for anyone who’s considered making their own herbal salves for different conditions.

I am happy to have found a book that helped me understand in very simple terms, the basics of making my own healing salves. I have read other books which go into complicated techniques which need expensive and specialized products to put them together.I love that the essential oils and the herbs are easy to find and the Author definitely has a great way of explaining how to use them easily and efficiently. I have always been fascinated by Wildcrafting as well. Learning to gather native and local plants that are in my area to make my own blends has been explained so well in this book.If you are new, like me, to the idea of creating your own salves and lotions, this book is great. I love how well the ingredients are explained and exactly what they do in the balm or salve. Why things exist in our healing solutions is a fantastic thing to know, then when we see things that are unnecessary in something, we will know.In a world full of artificial fragrances, petroleum-based creams and balms, and toxic chemicals, this book is a breath of fresh air. I give this book an easy 5 stars and recommend it to anyone interested in starting out.Thank youMargaret

I grew up with the belief that if something hurts like a headache, go get some fresh air! We didn’t take medicine unless it was really necessary because my pediatrician believed so much could be solved with living a healthy lifestyle like nutritious food, plenty of time outdoors and staying hydrated. That has translated into my adult life always looking for natural remedies to any issues that arise. Natures Pharmacy does just that. Not only are you becoming more educated on how to make your own remedies with natural ingredients, it is broken down step by step for the basics and the beginners who don’t know much yet. I really enjoyed learning more about the different essential oils and spices used for each ailment.

I loved this book, making healing salves is something I was unfamiliar with until now. I did not know the history or the benefits, but my skin needed it more than I could have imagined. As a male, we don't really talk about skincare or how important your skin is, I gained a lot of knowledge and now a new healing remedy for my skin. This taught me about each oil, each leaf and other ingredients that are important for the skin and healing salves. This is a step by step guide to heal your skin.

I stumbled upon this book and became intrigued with its different approaches to more natural healing ointments. Though I can’t speak on the science of the claims, it does give you more organic options to healing injuries like scraps and burns, as opposed to synthetically made ones. I would recommend this book to people who are looking for more options to healing that are more natural and organic.