Cannabis-based salve experiments

Hola!
Okay... This thread got me thinking:
http://boards.cannabis.com/medicinal...substance.html

I'm aware that people have been making cannabis creams and lotions here and there, but we've seen sadly little of it around these parts! So I wanted to get some discussion going over here in 'methods'.

The two major applications I am interested in are:
-Arthritis pain (joint inflammation)
-Psoriasis and other inflammations of the skin

I was chatting with daihashi over the pros and cons of a transdermal agent in increasing effectiveness, and I think it would certainly add to the resins' ability to penetrate the skin; however, DMSO is a controlled substance and not available to most of us, so I'm going to try a skin infammation product first, which should not require it. I think for an arthritis treatment it would be far more important.

So then I was thinking about what I'd like the base of this goop to be. Is it important for it to be vegetable based, or is the addition of lanolin (derived from wool) acceptable? I settled on olive oil, lanolin, beeswax, and essential oils as prospective ingredients, with soy lechitin to bind it all together with whatever water is required. I may, in fact, add mint leaves to the cannabis oil extract for their menthol, although I'd kinda like to try it first with ONLY the cannabis for testing purposes.

I submit myself as guinea pig. My dry skin is not THAT bad though, so I'm also going to find a friend with a skin condition who will let himself be used and abused in my lab ; )

I haven't been able to find beeswax at the health food store yet, but got the lanolin and lecithin. I've got extra canna olive oil from a while back, that's too old to trust as food- I never strained out all the leaf bits and fear they may have gone yuck on me.

Okay... it's off to the kitchen! Wish me luck! :jointsmile:

ahh stinky i was waiting for this every since i read your reply in that other thread :D cant wait for the results, will be very helpful, perhaps this would also work as a dermatological *WTF lol* break through for blemishes :o :beatdeadhorse:

Stink here are some skin penetrators that anyone can obtain. No where near the penetration ability of DMSO but these are a good second place for items that are easy for others to obtain:

a. Organic carriers- aloe vera, while aloe vera gel is effective, the use of pure liquid aloe vera is better and thus recommended. This carrier also hydrates the skin

b. Menthol either diluted (see oil list below) or in a cream base like Aspercreme (1%menthol) or Bengay (16%menthol) (which may itself have some localized effects- aspirin has been shown to inhibit oxidative phosphoralation) salicylic acid (aspirin is also a penetration enhancer). This category includes peppermint (50% l-menthol), wintergreen(50-70%) and spearmint oils(50-70%)- all of which are excellent carriers and penetration enhancers- if using oils be sure to dilute about 8 parts water or aloe vera to 1 part oil.

c. Capsicum- contained in several cream products (the more capsicum the better)- will increase absorption

d. Alcohol- that's right plain alcohol

e. isopropyl myristate- a widely available, cheap, cosmetic ingredient ...

I would probably use a combination of peppermint, aloe vera (in place of water) and a touch plain alcohol for my skin penetrator and then thicken it up with some lanolin and a very light oil to hold the cannabinoids in (don't want a heavy oil that will leave you feeling greasy).

The peppermint should give a good tingling sensation that could be slightly warming. Seems like it would be good for arthritus pain.

and let's not forget acetone. Although I do not recommend the use of this as a skin penetrator but it is worth mentioning that it is also a very good skin penetrator and is used in many commercial products.

Acetone is the one in Absorbine and I'd consider it for arthritis, but want to avoid it for the moment.
Salicylic acid is an anti-inflammatory itself and worth consideration; I'd be interested in what forms it's available in as a cosmetics additive.
Wintergreen grows wild and abundantly in my area and harvesting enough to process for oil would be a cinch. Oh geez, if this means I get to learn to steam-distill essential oils... lol! I love having o-chem glassware at my disposal... :D

That I ran across was about little old ladies in Mexico, soaking bud in tequila and using it as a rub for arthritic hands. Apparently alcohol is an adequate carrier.

Have you thought about hemp oil- prohibitively expensive? Perhaps as a secondary oil?

I would think lanolin would be OK, except with the extreme vegans. It is derived from the wool and doesn't hurt the sheep to get it (humiliates them, maybe,-but sheep aren't too smart, they forget soon ;) )

Personally, I like the smell of wintergreen and its pain-killing properties are a plus. Aloe is good.

Here's a study with an additional product idea- :)


Marijuana Might Help Cure Allergic Contact Dermatitis (a.k.a. Poison Ivy)
Skin Cancer - Marijuana Might Help Cure Allergic Contact Dermatitis (a.k.a. Poison Ivy)


Other places to find bees wax are sewing stores (sold in tiny cakes), local apiaries - look for local honey at the HF store and farmer's markets and get the #/web site from the jar, and craft stores in the candle section. I'd go for the apiary- you're going to need a steady source.

GO FOR IT, GIRL!

Granny:hippy:

That's a great idea, Stormy! I live in an apple-producing region and there are a multitude of local beekeepers who really must be considered part of the orchard industry.
I found this simple base that I think will suit an intensive dry-skin salve:

Making your own herbal ointments, salves and balms [SN Aromatherapy & Natural Skin Care Handbooks]

'
Preparing a skin balm base

The ingredients in a skin balm are basically two: one or more liquid oils, and some beeswax or vegetable wax (such as macadamia wax). Skin balms, salves, ointments and pomades are relatively soft and easy to spread, and require 4 to 7 parts of liquid oil(s) for each part of beeswax.

• Measure out the ingredients by weight into your chosen melting pot.
• Place this container into the double boiler, half-filled with water, and heat until the beeswax is melted.
• Remove from the heat and let cool for several hours.
• Once the balm is set, check its consistency and "feel". If the balm is too hard or feels "waxy", add an extra part of liquid oil, and remelt it in the double boiler.
• Repeat the previous step until your balm reaches the desired consistency. Remember to take notes, which will guide you when you wish to replicate the same recipe.
• When the desired consistency has been reached, melt down the balm once more if you would like to add any essential oils or Vitamin E.
• If essential oils or Vitamin E are used, mix well before pouring into individual storage containers.

Simple enough? Seems it would be anyway!

Tincture? The way I'm making it these days, it's an alcoholic tincture of cannabis, cardamom & peppermint.

From the previous posts, it seems like you could either apply the stuff directly to the skin, or whip it into a wax/oil balm.

I made some tincture for a friend who is specifically interested in the anti-inflammatory properties of mj (achilles tendon). I'll have him try rubbing some tincture directly on the skin & see if it works.

I'm a retired Chef and you can safely assume your olive oil is still food grade, Olive oil is a natural preservitive when the added herbs are first dried, just as they sell Sun dried Tomatoes packed in Olive oil at the store, the oil is never heated for the purpose of packing the Tomatoes hence it would breakdown and degrade the overall quality of the product, It should be stored in a cool dark place away from extreme heat and light.:cool:

Stinky, let me know how this works as a topical. Probably in the next week when I get can borrow my friends small distiller I'm going to make my own essential oils and make chapstick like topical as well as a muscular ointment.

My formula will probably differ quite a bit from yours. I'll post the recipe and the reason for my ingredient selection when I'm finished.