Sometimes the plants growing quietly beneath our feet have the longest stories to tell.
Our Purple Dead Nettle Herbal Salve is a simple, traditional-style botanical salve handcrafted with farm-grown Purple Dead Nettle ( Lamium purpureum
), olive oil, beeswax, and lavender essential oil.
At High Thyme FARMacy, we grow and harvest our own Purple Dead Nettle right here on our Tennessee herb farm. Each spring and early summer, we gather the plant during its peak growing season, then carefully dry the freshly harvested herbs before promptly infusing them into olive oil.
This slow herbal infusion allows the olive oil to take on the naturally occurring botanical compounds found within the plant. Once the infusion is ready, we blend it with beeswax to create a rich, smooth salve that melts easily against the warmth of the skin and leaves behind a light protective layer. A small amount of lavender essential oil gives the finished salve its soft herbal aroma while complementing the simplicity of the formula.
A Traditional Springtime Herb
Purple Dead Nettle has been gathered and used by herbalists for generations. Despite its name, it is not a stinging nettle. It belongs to the mint family and gets the “dead nettle” name because its leaves resemble nettles but have no sting.
Historically, Purple Dead Nettle and related dead nettles have been valued in European folk herbal traditions, particularly in preparations intended for the skin. Herbalists traditionally incorporated the plant into infused oils, poultices, washes, and salve-like preparations and regarded it as an astringent and comforting botanical for everyday skin care.
That traditional reputation is one reason Purple Dead Nettle remains a favorite among modern herbalists for botanical salves designed for dry, rough, weathered, or simply hardworking skin.
Purple Dead Nettle also naturally contains a variety of plant constituents, including flavonoids and other phenolic compounds. Rather than isolating a single constituent, we prefer the old-fashioned approach: using the harvested herb itself and allowing it to slowly infuse into oil.
From Our Farm to Your Tin
We grow it, harvest it, dry it, and infuse it ourselves.
Purple Dead Nettle is one of the first herbs to make its appearance around our Tennessee farm each spring. We harvest during its peak season, carefully dry the freshly gathered plant material, and use it to create our own herbal-infused olive oil.
The finished infusion is combined with beeswax and lavender essential oil in small batches to create a simple salve inspired by traditional herbal preparations.
Every batch is handcrafted in small quantities to help maintain freshness and quality. With only four ingredients, this is the kind of uncomplicated herbal skincare we love most—plants we know, ingredients we recognize, and a process that begins right here on our farm.
Simple, Botanical Skin Care
Olive oil provides a rich, conditioning base that helps soften and moisturize the skin, while beeswax gives the salve its smooth consistency and leaves behind a protective, moisture-sealing barrier.
Purple Dead Nettle brings the character of a traditional spring herb to the infusion, while lavender essential oil adds a gentle botanical aroma.
The result is an easy-to-use herbal salve that is wonderful to keep nearby whenever your skin could use a little extra attention.
Use it to condition and moisturize areas such as:
Dry hands and knuckles
Elbows and knees
Rough or weather-exposed skin
Heels and feet
Cuticles
Hands after gardening or outdoor work
Any small area of skin that could use a little extra botanical moisture and care
Made With Just Four Ingredients. No synthetic fragrances. No artificial colors. No added preservatives. Just a simple, small-batch herbal salve made with Purple Dead Nettle grown and harvested on our Tennessee farm.
Each salve is packaged in a 2-ounce reusable metal tin and includes a small cosmetic spatula/spoon.
Using the included spatula makes it easy to scoop out just the amount you need while helping keep fingers, and the everyday dirt and bacteria they can carry, out of your salve.
To Use:
Using the included cosmetic spatula, scoop out a small amount of salve and apply topically to the desired area. Massage gently into the skin until distributed. A little goes a long way, so begin with a small amount and add more as needed.
For external use only.
Avoid contact with eyes and discontinue use if irritation occurs.
Handcrafted in small batches at High Thyme FARMacy in Tennessee.
