Wound Serum

Composition: essential oils of myrrh and frankincense, resin extract of myrrh, and organic sweet almond oil with 0,2% vitamin E of biological sunflower seeds (tocopherol) as antioxidant.

History: 2Mages’ wound serum main active ingredient is myrrh, which has been famous since antiquity for its antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory and skin-healing function. It was used intensively in ancient Egypt, whence it spread to the Middle East, India, China and the Roman empire. In those days, soldiers used myrrh as a battlefield drug to clean and heal their wounds and continue fighting. It was a standard though highly valuable product in drugstores until the beginning of the modern age, when, along with most herbal medicines, its use was replaced by pharmaceuticals.

Suggested uses: Wound serum can be used to disinfect wounds and treat them. It works well on first degree burns, as well as on scalds caused by (near) boiling water, reducing pain and rapidly healing the skin. Myrrh is analgesic. Wound serum is a potent way to soothe and heal insect bites. Massage all bites on your skin with wound serum before resting. Wound serum prevents the formation of scars by tightening the skin while healing it. This also makes it effective against cracked heels: at night rub several layers of oil into the dry parts of your clean feet, as much as it will absorb (wear socks to avoid staining your bedsheets). Wound serum appears to be effective against boils and furuncles. Myrrh is traditionally also used to cure oral infections, but for this application pure myrrh oil may be more suitable. Finally, thanks to the neurocosmetic properties of myrrh and frankincense, wound serum can also enhance your mood!

Caution: These applications of 2Mages wound serum have been tested on ourselves and people around us. In most cases the serum was found to be considerably more potent than the pharmacological products usually applied. The suggested uses above are based on traditional uses of myrrh and frankincense in different cultures and current medical research as published in peer reviewed papers, some of which can be found here. These back most of the applications here proposed, but proper clinical trials which are required by regulators to make medical claims have not been attempted, insofar we know. Therefore, do not read the above as claims, but as suggestions for use. As any form of self-medication, use with discernment and request professional advice when in doubt or when facing a complex problem.

Each person reacts differently to essential oils, but overall myrrh and frankincense provoke few irritations to the skin. On highly sensitive skins the serum should be carefully tested, and if required, diluted in up to twice the amount of neutral oil (such as almond, jojoba, aloe vera, argan, olive, avocado…)

Source: This wound serum has been elaborated with myrrh and frankincense collected by members of the Beeyo Maal cooperative in Somaliland: Abdillahi Said Awad harvested the frankincense and Said Awad Araale the myrrh. The biological sweet almond oil comes from Italy.

Storage and shelf life: Wound serum should be stored outside direct sunlight and not exposed to heat. In those conditions it has a shelf life of at least one year after opening.

Fair trade: We pay what the members of the cooperative think is a fair price. In addition, 10% of the listed price (excl VAT) is donated to the Beeyo Maal foundation to improve working conditions among harvesting communities and the regeneration of frankincense forests. See our page on conservation and trade issues. Another 10% is invested in the activities of Arawelo, which seeks to establish a new model for trade in products collected in the wild by indigenous communities worldwide by building short supply lines to consumers while facilitating research and advocacy.

Note by our Chief Scientist:

In Traditional Chinese Medicine the virtues of myrrh and frankincense are well known and can be openly stated. But in the West one must always be careful not to make so-called ‘unsubstantiated medical claims’. Only the largest pharmaceutical companies have the means to conduct the trials that are necessary to receive validation by regulatory agencies, which themselves are incessantly lobbied by those same companies. It is said that this is to protect consumers. This may be an objective but a side effect is that any non-pharma medicine, even though tried and tested for thousands of years, is relegated to the category of ‘unproven’ and retailers may not make medical claims about them. 

At 2Mages we try hard not to cross any regulatory red lines while acknowledging the truth: our products are potent!

Caption: the Greek hero Aeneas treated by the physician Iapyx after receiving a wound on the battlefield.  Iapyx surely had some myrrh powder or tincture on him and would have used our wound serum had he known of it.