How to Make Comfrey Oil

Making any type of herbal oil is a simple process of infusing the herb into a good quality oil that will allow absorption into the skin.  I prefer Almond and Coconut oils for making ointments, oils and lotions. You could add the Comfrey infused almond oil to this goat’s milk lotion recipe. You will get a super wonderfully healing lotion!  Don’t use this everyday though, as there are chemicals in Comfrey that can cause liver problems if used long term even topically.

To make Comfrey oil you will need both almond oil and Comfrey leaves that are dried.  I like to grow Comfrey as it requires so little effort. It also comes back from year to year without me having to do much.

Harvesting Comfrey Leaves

Each fall I harvest the Comfrey leaves and dry them on clothes drying rack. Clothes drying racks are an awesome way to dry your herbs and greens.

(This is dill in the picture, I still had some wrapped up from last fall)

Gather the stems together in little bunches. Next rubber band them then use little pieces of wire like come with garbage bags or bread wrappers. I save mine in an old plastic bottle. Then thread the wire wrapper through the rubber band then attach the wire to the clothes rack. Sometimes I even put a bit of chicken wire between the racks so I can dry even more on one rack. This works well for drying peppers too.

Back to how to make comfrey oil. Take your Comfrey leaves crumble them up. Next rub them a bit to release their natural oils. Figure about 1/4 cup Comfrey leaves crumbled to one pint of almond oil. Heat the mixture up until it is warm and let it sit while warm for several hours.

Make Comfrey Oil with a Crock Pot

A good way to do this is in a crock pot on the low setting. Place a wet dish towel in the crock pot first. Then add your pints of almond oil/comfrey on top of the towel.  Next fill the crock pot about halfway up the jars then let it sit at low heat for about eight to twelve hours.  I like to start mine in the evening and then they are ready in the morning.

Make Comfrey Oil in Your Oven

You can also make your Comfrey oil in your oven. Heat the oven up to 200 degrees then turn it off. Put your Comfrey oil in a roasting pan or a pot.  If you’re only doing one jar, that has hot, but not boiling water in it, fill them about halfway up the jar. Leave these in the oven for 8 to 12 hours replacing the water and reheating the oven once or twice during the process. This method doesn’t work so well at night as you need to do more with it. And, hey, who likes to wake up in the middle of the night to be “fiddling” with stuff?

I’m all about easy, fast and efficient  in my world so the crock pot method works well for me.

After eight to twelve hours of infusing the Comfrey leaves you will need to strain them out of the oil. This is best accomplished by straining the oil/leaf mixture through cheese cloth. A neckerchief, or a piece of thin, clean cotton like muslin also work. Be sure to squeeze all of the oil out of the Comfrey leaves. Then label your Comfrey Oil. It is best stored in a cool dark place.

What are the Comfrey Leaf Benefits?

Comfrey leaves and roots have been used for centuries for heal bruises, bones and contusions. It is thought, by the medical community, that ingesting Comfrey leaves in the form of Comfrey tea can have detrimental effects on your liver. But using it in a topical application has been shown time and again to really work to speed up the healing process.

In 2016 I broke my ankle falling down the basement stairs. I used comfrey as a compress and was amazed at how quickly I healed. The bones was better in 3 weeks instead of 4!

The University of Maryland describes Comfrey:

Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) is sometimes used on the skin to treat wounds and reduce inflammation from sprains and broken bones. Its roots and leaves contain allantoin, a substance that helps new skin cells grow, along with other substances that reduce inflammation and keep skin healthy. Comfrey ointments have been used to heal bruises as well as pulled muscles and ligaments, fractures, sprains, strains, and osteoarthritis.

Around here we like to either use Comfrey leaves crumbled, rubbed a bit and then put in a clean sock. Next we apply boiling water to the sock. You can dip it into a cup with boiling water in it. Then once the sock has cooled to warm (do not apply the boiling hot sock to your skin it will hurt and could burn you) apply the sock/Comfrey leaf poultice to your injured area. Use an ace bandage to hold it in place.

Comfrey the Natural Remedy for carpel tunnel

This works as a carpel tunnel natural remedy. It also works for tennis elbow, or runners’ knee, shin splints or even back pain.

Use this in addition to the Comfrey oil you should notice significant relief fairly quickly. A trick for applying essential oils. Put it on the soles of your feet at night with socks to protect your bedding. By morning you will find that the medicinal properties of whatever you put on your feet have traveled to where the ingredients were needed most!

The next time you have a cold, instead of applying the herbal ointment to your chest, put it on your feet. See if the results don’t blow you away by how well this works.

If you don’t want to make your own comfrey oil  you can buy it here and if you’d like to grow Comfrey and make your own oil, check out these deals on Comfrey seeds. Comfrey grows like a weed – a very special weed indeed.

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