DIY Natural Wood Salve

If you want to make your own wooden baby rattle, an all-natural, organic wood salve is a must. It protects the wood, is completely safe for babies, and brings out the natural beauty of wood pieces. Plus, it can also be used on wooden utensils, cutting boards, and any other wood objects that need a little love.

This DIY wood salve is easy to make, organic, and completely natural. Most store bought wood salves are made with mineral oil, which isn’t something you want in your baby’s mouth!

You will need:

• a clean, lidded jar
• jojoba oil
• organic beeswax (You can usually find this at your farmer’s market, at the booth selling honey. It isn’t always advertised that they sell the beeswax, so make sure to ask)

Directions:

1. Grate the beeswax with a cheese grater.
2. Simmer a small amount of water in a saucepan.
3. Fill the jar with grated beeswax. Add jojoba oil to the beeswax. (You want to end up with about 2 parts jojoba oil to 1 part beeswax)
4. Place the jar into the pot of water, making sure that the water level is lower than the lip of the jar. Turn the heat down so that the water is not yet simmering, but still very warm.
5. Stir with a toothpick until all of the wax has melted.
6. Remove the jar from the pot of water and let cool until hardened.

To use your wood salve:

1. Clean the wooden toy or object and make sure it is thoroughly dry.
2. Apply wood salve liberally with a clean cloth or with your hands. (I like to use my hands because the wood salve also makes a great hand moisturizer!)
3. Let the wood salve sit on the wood for a few minutes.
4. Wipe off any excess salve with a clean cloth.