I made some plantain oil today!
Plantain is great for soothing painful or itchy bites, wounds or rashes, and bee stings. Making it into an oil is a great way to harness the magic of plantain year round.

If you are signed up for our 5 part eBook series (right top margin), you will know all about plantain! If you’re not signed up yet, please do so now.

Here is a step by step to making the oil:

I harvested a bunch of plantain leaves. My garden is filled with the thin leafed English variety, called Plantago minor or Plantago lanceolata, so that is what I used:

Harvested Plantago lanceolata

Then I pulled out everything I needed: knife and cutting board, jar and oil:

Olive oil, jar, plantain, knife, cutting board

I chopped the plantain and begin filling the jar:

Filling the jar with chopped plantain

I covered with olive oil:

Plantain steeping in olive oil

Finally, I labeled it, of course:

Plantain in Olive Oil

I covered it and put it in my cupboard. In about 4 to 6 weeks, I’ll strain the plantain out, saving the oil to use as a wonderful skin soother!

During the growing season, plantain is great to use fresh. If you or someone you love gets stung by a bee, reach for a plantain leave, chew it up (or otherwise crush it) and place it on the sting for instant relief.

For more chronic skin conditions, plantain oil is an excellent remedy to have around. When you can’t get to sleep at night because of itchy mosquito bites: plantain oil. It’s also safe to use on animals…so if your dog has red itchy skin, apply some plantain oil.

Have you ever made an oil from a plant? Let us know what you did and what you used it for in the comments below. Thanks!

~ Melissa