FARMINGTON — Last summer, when Julia Staples learned her sister had breast cancer and had to undergo radiation treatments, she was determined to concoct a healing herbal ointment that could be used to prevent any damage to her sibling’s skin.

Staples’ new product, called Burn Balm, has turned out to be an effective, all-natural salve that helps heal burns and also minimizes scarring.

Staples is the owner of the Chickadee’s Nest, an herbal products shop at 161 Front St. in Farmington where she makes her own soaps, lotions, and bath and culinary items using many herbs and plants she grows on her family’s farm.

“I read everything I could find about herbs and other natural products that are good for burns. The recipe I use is pretty basic but has a few tweaks,” she said.

“I really wanted to make my sister something special,” Staples said. “She used it from day one of her radiation treatments, and even the nurses noticed how well her skin healed.”

Staples’ sister, Karen Ladd, said she received her radiation treatments at the Alfond Cancer Center in Augusta where she went every day for six weeks last fall. She said having an herbalist as a sister has opened her eyes to the vast array of healing resources found in the natural world.

“I put the balm on right after my treatment every day and again before I went to bed,” she said. “I did burn a little under my arm because I didn’t know the radiation was hitting there. It got ahead of me and the skin turned red and started peeling, like a sunburn.”

“As soon as I realized what it was, I started putting the balm on, and it was gone in two days,” she said.

When Ladd went in for a post-treatment checkup in December, she said the staff was amazed at the healing and lack of scarring.

She said the normal recommendation by the oncology department is to apply pure aloe vera gel daily to the radiation site.

Staples said she has heard similar success stories about the healing properties of her Burn Balm and a similar product, Herbal Salve.

The salve is an all-around ointment shown to help heal injured or scarred skin but is also recommended for rashes and diaper rash, bug bites, minor burn, dry and cracked skin, and hemorrhoids, she said.

The Burn Balm contains tamanu oil, a topical healing ointment from the tamanu tree that grows in Southeast Asia and Melanesia and has been used for centuries to treat skin ailments and burns. It also contains calendula, aloe butter, St. John’s Wart, vitamin E, comfrey, Maine beeswax, jojoba oil, olive oil and essential oils.

The Herbal Salve contains calendula, comfrey, St. John’s War, beeswax, olive oil, tea tree oil, lemon balm, lavender, eucalyptus, rosemary extract and vitamin E.

At the Martha B. Webber Breast Care Center at Franklin Memorial Hospital, breast care support nurse Jaime Lucas said she has been impressed with the anecdotal feedback she has heard from patients about Staples’ products.

“I’ve known about calendula for years as a medicinal cream. When I worked as a labor and delivery nurse, we would suggest it to breast-feeding mothers,” she said.

According to the National Institutes of Health, it is thought that the chemicals in calendula, the flowers of which are used to make medicines, can help new tissue grow in wounds. The product seems to be safe for most people who apply it to the skin. It may cause an allergic reaction in those who are allergic to ragweed and related plants, the site states.

Staples said the Herbal Salve is one of her best-selling products, along with the Rose Facial Cream, made with an infusion of petals from a fragrant damask rose that has been grown by her family for three generations. The cream is especially good for mature skin, she said.

She also makes 20 varieties of herbal soaps, natural bath products, baby lotions and balms, herbal gifts, dried flowers and wreaths, herb teas and culinary items.

For information, call the Chickadee’s Nest at 778-6602.