Drawing Salve

Drawing salve or draw-out salve is an ointment that has a seemingly miraculous ability to draw out splinters and boils from skin. The version that we reviewed is a thick black paste that is packaged in a small tube, but it is also available in small jars. Your first impression upon opening the package will invariable be one of disgust - this stuff smells foul! Once you overcome the pungent odor, you can marvel at its abilities.

The listed ingredients are: green soap, white petrolatum, ichthammol, sulfated tallow sodium salt, white beeswax, light mineral oil and 8-hydroxyquinoline benzoate; ichthammol is the active ingredient. The package claims that drawing salve is effective at drawing out boils, infections and stings. It is also said to soothe scrapes, ingrown toenails and insect bites. We cannot specifically vouch for all of these applications, but it is particularly effective at raising difficult-to-remove splinters to the surface of your skin. You simply put a small dab directly on the skin and cover with a bandage. After several hours you will notice that the skin in the application area has softened and the splinter has been lifted out.

The product seems to be an anachronism insofar as it seems to hail from another era. We would have given it a perfect score if it wasn't for the foul odor and mildly offensive black color.

• purchase price - $2.99
• availability - online retailers, some pharmacies

Unique Reviews overall rating: 94 out of 100

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