A great recipe on how to make Black Salve, from an anonymous Australian source
I discovered an excellent online resource that provides detailed instructions on creating Bloodroot Black Salve, which closely resemble our own.
For those unfortunate individuals who struggle to obtain Black Salve due to strict regulations, they will need to procure the necessary ingredients and create their own formulation. However, this process is far from simple and can be quite costly. I have Australia in mind when considering this matter.
The Article can be accessed at this link: https://www.blacksalveaustralia.com/post/how-to-make-black-salve-aka-cancema
How to Make Black Salve (aka Cancema, Cansema, Bloodroot Salve)
Updated: Dec 12, 2023
Due to many, many people asking how to make black salve, I’ve decided to put a short instruction together. Black salve is also commonly referred to as Cancema or bloodroot paste (Note by Zenith Herbal: Wrong, bloodroot paste is a different product). Please note that I cannot give you advice about what this is for, how to use it or any other piece of information that could be deemed a claim. You are encouraged to do your due diligence and understand fully what you are doing in full before making this or using this.
What you need (the traditional recipe)
- 25g Bloodroot powder
- 25g Chaparral powder
- 25g Galangal powder
- 25g Graviola powder – – find the four herbs blended (see “Things to know below) >> here or here
- 12ml DMSO 70% – find it >> here, here or here
- 250ml Distilled water
- 125g Zinc chloride – find it >> here
- 25ml+ Vegetable Glycerine – find it >> here or here
- Glass saucepan, wooden spoon, stove (ebay or op shop for glass saucepans)
- Glass storage jars (enough to hold 450g approximately ie – 5 x 100g jars or 13 x 30g jars)
- Safety glass, gloves and an apron.
| Makes >> | 500g approx | 400g approx | 1Kg |
| Bloodroot | 25g | 20g | 50g |
| Galangal | 25g | 20g | 50g |
| Graviola | 25g | 20g | 50g |
| Chaparral | 25g | 20g | 50g |
| OR Four Herb blend with chapparal insead of bloodroot | 100g | 80g | 200g |
| Zinc Chloride | 125g | 100g | 250g |
| Distilled water | 250ml | 200ml | 500ml |
| DMSO | 12ml | 10ml | 25ml |
| Vegetable glycerine | 25ml | 20ml | 50ml |
Things to know…
Galangal, graviola, chaparral, bloodroot: In Australia, bloodroot has been scheduled in such a way as it may not legally be sold anymore. You can substitute the “Four herb blend” for the four herbs in this recipe. There is no bloodroot, but greater celandine has been formulated into the recipe.
Glass saucepan: yes it needs to be glass. You can purchase one on ebay, or in a Lifeline store if you look around a bit. Alternatively you can put a pyrex jug in a saucepan of water on the stove. If you do this be sure the pyrex jug is not sitting on the bottom of the saucepan, we don’t want an explosion! Use a tea towel or something under it to insulate. You won’t reach as high a temperature doing it this way, but it still works.
Water: Distilled water, not demineralised. It can be demineralised, only if it is demineralised via distillation only, not with chemicals. (Note from Zenith Herbal: The Zinc Chloride will sterilize the salve, so don’t worry about a sterile environment)
What to do
- Firstly, check you have everything you need, once you start you cannot stop.
- Safety Safety, your safety glasses, gloves & apron need to be on before starting to make black salve, and right to the end.
- Once dissolved, add your herbs progressively as you stir. It will thicken substantially.
- Add your water to the saucepan, bring to boil.
- Add your zinc chloride. There will be spitting and bubbling, so do this slowly & gently while stirring. I pour the zinc over the spoon to lessen the splatter.
- Once well mixed (this may take 10-15 minutes of stirring on the heat)
- Add your DMSO (care with measurements here) and mix in well.
- Now add your vegetable glycerine. Take off the heat and give it a really good stir so it is a nice consistency.
- Cover with glass saucepan lid and set aside for a day.
- Next day, stir well again and pour into your jars.
DISCLAIMER
Again, please note this information is for research purposes only. We cannot and do not imply that this makes a product that is legal to sell. We cannot and do not make claim that this product will do anything medically. (Note from Zenith Herbal: bloodroot has always been very popular in Australia, and the recent regulations have made it impossible to make black salve commercially. Sad situation.)
There it is, folks!
I truly hope that this will help some people along the way, and bring greater acceptance of Black Salve generally, and inspire others to actually make Black Salve themselves.
