Several years ago a friend of mine had surgery on his leg. He had voiced his concern that after about ten days his wound had not begun to heal yet. Another mutual friend of ours had mentioned that cayenne pepper could help with this if applied topically. What!? "OUCH, no way am I letting you put cayenne pepper in my open wound!" Well, low and behold, soon after he gave in and cayenne was sprinkled on the wound. We were both shocked that within a day it had started to finally close up and heal. Now I happen to love the spicy kick to cayenne pepper and I am very well aware of the health benefits when added to foods, but had thought much about the external benefits until recently when a good friend of mine and fellow NTP, wrote this article on her blog with an amazing DIY salve. My suggestion, we all have this goodie on hand... Thank you thecoconutfrontier.com for this gem! Cayenne for Inflammation and Relief of Pain: Cayenne has many uses, but it is particularly famous for it’s ability to relieve different types of pain, including backaches, sore joints or muscles, bruises, migraine headaches, cramps, psoriasis, even shingles and nerve pain. How does it work? Capsaicin, a major constituent of the cayenne pepper, is believed to diminish pain sensations by temporarily depleting “substance P,” a neurotransmitter which relays pain signals to the brain. To use cayenne topically for pain relief, I will be sharing with you a simple cayenne salve that you can make at home. Even if you aren’t suffering from any aches or pains today, it’s good to have this salve on hand in your first aid kit. Simple Cayenne Salve (makes approximately 5 ounces): Ingredients: • 2 heaping teaspoons of organic cayenne powder* (or 15 grams) • 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil • 1/2 ounce of beeswax • cheesecloth • funnel • small jar or container *most herbs and spices are irradiated, rendering them ineffective medicinally, so using organic is key Process: Begin by making a cayenne infused oil. There are a couple ways to do this, but I used the “quick method”: 1. Add the cayenne and oil into a pot or crockpot (I used a crockpot and doubled the recipe, using 1 cup olive oil and 4 teaspoons cayenne just so that I would have extra infused oil on hand) 2. Gently heat the oil on very low heat, between 100-140° F (~38-60° C), for 1-5 hours, stirring occasionally. You may want to use a cooking thermometer to make sure the oil does not exceed 140° F. 3. Turn off the heat and allow the oil to cool 4. Use a cheesecloth to strain the oil from the cayenne powder into a bowl 5. Use a funnel to transfer the oil into a small jar Now you are ready to make the salve! 1. Add beeswax to a small glass container and place the container inside a small pot with 2-3 inches of water in it 2. Turn burner on medium-high heat and melt the beeswax completely (it kind of looks like melted butter!) 3. Turn of the heat once the wax is melted 4. Pour 1/2 cup of infused cayenne oil into the melted wax (the cooler temperature of the oil may cause some of the beeswax to re-solidify) 5. Stir, stir, stir until the wax and cayenne oil are completely melted together 6. Immediately pour the mixture into a small jar or tins 7. Let cool Now you will be armed and ready for any ache or pain that ails you! Caution: Avoid contact with eyes! The cayenne may burn your eyes, so make sure that you wash your hands thoroughly after applying the salve or working with the infused oil to make this recipe.
