How to make Balm of Gilead Cottonwood Bud Salve

Last Updated on February 8, 2026 by Annie Bernauer

I first learned how to make Balm of Gilead Cottonwood Bud salve years ago. I make a variety of other medicinal salves but this salve is one of my all time favorites. Not only does it have an amazing smell but it’s natural pain relieving properties are amazing! It is definitely my go-to natural remedy for bruises and sore muscles.

Benefits of Cottonwood bud oil and salve

Cottonwood trees are in the Poplar or Populus family. According to one of my favorite medicinal herb books, Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West, “All of the Populus species contain varying amounts of salicin and populin, relatives and precursors of asprin that are useful wherever an anti-inflammatory is appropriate” (page 207).

Therefore if you have an allergy to asprin, do not use this!

We use Cottonwood bud oil and salve topically for bruises, sore muscles and other aches and pains. There are some folks who will use Cottonwood buds internally but I dislike the taste so stick to the topical uses. I love being able to use a natural remedy for pain relief that we wild harvested and created ourselves!

I love Cottonwood bud oil and salve and have been using it for my family for years. BUT I am not a doctor so do your own research and make your own decisions about what you feel is safe and useful for you. This is the same disclaimer I made in our how-to post on making medicinal Yarrow first aide salve.

Cottonwood tree identification

Cottonwood trees are most often found growing near water. They have a distinctive bark and tree structure. Once you become familiar with identifying Cottonwood trees, you will probably see them everywhere.

One of my other favorite wild medicinal books is Mountain States Medicinal Plants. The author describes this tree species, “Cottonwood trees have scaly or rough gray-brown bark with deep furrows. They average 50-100 feet in height. Branches may look bare in winter, but they hold aromatic buds that exude a sweet balsam-scented resin.” (page 86)

Where to harvest cottonwood buds

In our area, cottonwood trees grow in abundance along waterways since they are water loving trees. We find them at every public river access and other walking trails along waterways.

One of my favorite places to harvest cottonwood buds is in old growth cottonwood forests. The trees are so big and majestic, sometimes we find ones so big we can’t put our arms around them!

Cottonwood trees are also known for losing branches or toppling more easily in heavy winds. Finding downed branches or trees provides an epic cottownwood bud harvest!

Last year my kiddos and I found several large downed cottonwood trees that had fallen in a wind storm. Since the branches and trees were no longer viable, we could harvest as much as we wanted without concern of harming the tree. It was an amazing harvest!

When to harvest cottonwood buds

The best time to harvest cottonwood buds is late winter or early spring when the leaf buds are starting to swell with the sticky, resinous sap. The key is harvesting them before they leaf out.

When wild harvesting cottonwood buds, it’s important to keep in mind ethical harvesting practices. Since we are picking future leaves, it’s important to not overharvest. We strive to only pick a couple buds from each branch so there are still plenty of buds left to leaf out.

Because the buds are filled with a sticky resin, your hands WILL get messy. Some folks wear gloves for easy clean up. We go bare handed and clean up when we are done. We’ve discovered that rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer takes it off as well as scrubbing hands in warm water with dish soap.

There were some years in the past that I forgot to harvest cottonwood buds and missed my window of opportunity. That was so dissapointing! Now I make a point to keep an eye on the weather and check the buds starting in the winter so I remember to harvest at prime time and don’t miss out.

How to make cottonwood bud infused oil

Making cottonwood bud infused oil is easy and follows the same process as our tutorial for making other herbal infused oils.

Choose a jar large enough to hold all your harvested cottonwood buds plus extra head space for oil. Place the sticky buds in the jar and pour olive oil over top. Make sure the buds are completely covered. I use a knife to give the buds a stir in the oil to make sure the oil settles in and covers well.

I never put a lid on my herbal infused oils due to losing some in the past to mold from moisture. Now I always put a piece of cheesecloth or paper towel over top the jar and hold it on with a rubberband.

Place the jar out of direct sunlight and let it sit for one to six weeks. I sit my herbal infused oils in a dark corner of my kitchen counter. There they don’t get too cold and are out of direct sunlight.

Using Cottownwood Bud Oil

To use Cottonwood Bud Oil, strain the oil from the buds. I place a piece of cheesecloth inside a fine mesh strainer and pour the infused oil with plant matter into this. After it drains for a while, I like to give the cheesecloth bundle a good squeeze to press out every bit of medicinal goodness I can.

Once I’m satisfied with how much oil has been pressed out, I put the remaining plant matter in the compost pile. Pour the oil into a jar with a tight fitting lid

You can use infused cottonwood bud oil as is without turning it into a salve. It can be used as a massage oil or rubbed into the skin over sore muscles or bruises.

Some friends and I agree that it has the most amazing smell and also use it as a natural perfume. I have a friend who gave me the idea to put the cottonwood bud oil in a small roller bottle like this. Then it can be easily rolled on the skin. Such a great idea!

Making Balm of Gilead Cottonwood Bud Salve

Making Balm of Gilead Cottonwood Bud salve is easy and only requires two ingredients: cottonwood bud oil and beeswax. 

The key to making a salve with just the right consistency so it’s not too soft yet not too firm is the ratio of oil to beeswax. 

The salve ratio is  8 ounces infused oil to 1 ounce beeswax. Adjust this ratio to decrease or increase the quantity based on how much infused oil you have. 

Ingredients:

8 ounces of Cottonwood Bud Oil

1 ounce beeswax (visit our online shop for beeswax bars from our bee hives)

Directions:

1. Pour the Cottonwood bud oil into the top of a double boiler. 

2. Break the beeswax into small chunks since it melts quicker and add this to the oil. 

3. Heat on low/medium heat until all the wax melts. 

4. Stir well to ensure the ingredients are mixed uniformly. 

5. Pour into jars or tins until cooled. I used to use this size glass jar until I switched to these containers that are lighter and easier to pack in my bag without worry about glass breaking. 

6. Let the salve cool. Place a tight fitting lid on the container and store out of direct sunlight/heat so it doesn’t melt. 

Enjoy the magic of your homemade Balm of Gilead Cottonwood Bud Salve!

How to use Balm of Gilead Cottonwood Bud Salve

Anytime I have a bruise or sore muscles, I scoop a small amount of salve from the tin and gently rub over the inflamed area. I do this a couple times a day for really inflamed areas and it works wonders!

I’ve rubbed Cottonwood Bud salve on my chest when having congestion or cough. For a bad headache or migraine, I rub the salve on my temples and back of my neck.

Are you curious to learn more and expand your knowledge of wild harvesting and medicinal plants? There is so much fake information on the internet these days that I personally put my trust in good old fashioned print books.

Two of my favorite wild medicinal plant books are Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West by Michael Moore and Mountain States Medicinal Plants by Brianna Wiles.

Check out our other foraging and wild edibles posts in our Foraging and Wild Harvesting category.