Cottonwood Bud Salve

Happy Spring ~ It has arrived!  This is a little spring project that I love.  Cottonwood Bud Salve, its really rewarding to make something useful.  Plus wildcrafting is very peaceful and restorative, its connecting with your inner cave woman.  We have been doing it forever, its just in our DNA. You can recognize the cottonwood buds quite easily, the plump little buds are bursting with resin.  A reddish resin that smells of sweet honey and pine.  When you squeeze the bud, the resin oozes out.  It will be late late winter, early spring. When they start to grow.  Cottonwood trees like river bottoms, crick beds, and moist places.  If you are unsure, just do a little research.  You will find what you are looking for.

The Tobacco River is very close to my house.  I just walked down there a few times and collected the buds, breaking them off at the stem.  Oh that smell, it so lovely.  Then once home I place them in a glass jar and fill it up with olive oil.  Place it in the window for a while.  Shaking and stirring every now and then.  Don't wash the buds, you will wash away the goodness.  Just don't collect them by a dirty dusty old roadside, and you'll be fine.  This is called a solar infusion, its how you obtain the properties of the plant.  Let sun and time combine to get the most out of your oil.

Look at that oil, this has been infusing for about a month.  It so thick you can't see through it.  Holding all that resin.  So the next step is straining the oil.  I use cheesecloth and a colander.  Now its time to figure out your formula.  Its all about personal preference really.  I recently helped some friends make a salve, and we used coconut oil, I liked it.  So I decided to use it.  I am making 48 2 oz jars, plus I wanted some extra to give to friends and family. My friends get the odd ball jars, no label, and a huge discount.  But if your making them to sell, people like little glass jars with fancy ass labels.  So I can do that too!  Anyway I used 32 ounces infused oil, 24 ounces coconut oil, 24 ounces olive oil, and 10 ounces local beeswax.  So its pretty much 3 parts infused oil, 2 parts oil, 2 parts another oil, 1 part beeswax.  You do the math, and decide which oils are best for you.

  I heat the solid oils, oils, and infused oils in one pan.  In another pan I heat the beeswax.  When they are both melted I combine them.  Mix well and then add the essential oils.  I decided to use marjoram and balsam fir needle.  I felt they really accompanied the sweet smell of the cottonwood buds.  Marjoram essential oil is know to have benefits of reducing the pain associated with colds, fever, inflammation, and overexertion of muscles.  Marjoram is also an anaphrodisiac,  which is the opposite of aphrodisiac.  Crazy, it suppresses or controls sexual urges.  Very interesting, not like I'm promoting that by any means, just throwing it out there.  The balsam fir is very pleasant and woody.  It seemed to just fit, so I used it.  A compound called salacin, which is found in the leaves, buds and bark of cottonwood, has been proven to lower fevers and reduce inflammation and pain.  

I had a lot of fun with this photo shoot too.  I ran down and clipped some of these blossoms off of Bubba's tree, he wasn't home, but I know he would not care if I were taking blossoms out of his yard.  They are so nice, I clipped some for the house as well. I think we are about ready to wrap this up.  I do have an etsy shop, if you are interested in purchasing this, or any other lovliness that I create.  Stop on by  https://www.etsy.com/shop/MadebyDacia I wish you all a super fabulous spring.  May you accomplish what you want, and stay in a peaceful state all the while, Namaste.