Reply To: Medicine Making | External Preparations
Hi Nathalie,
The way I do my balsam poplar buds is to initially do a cool/room temp extraction for a couple of weeks, finished with a warm extraction bath for 2-3 hours with the lid off (cheese cloth covering).
You can just do a warm extraction for 4-8 hours as you mention as well. This will also yield a lovely result. My only concern would be the longer it is being warmed with no lid the longer it’s loosing some of those lovely aromatics but balsam poplar doesn’t lose their aromatics (found in the resin) as easily as other plants.
You can certain do a 1:2 ratio just as long as the poplar buds are covered in oil and that you check it within 24 hours to make sure they are still covered. Top this up if needed.
Once you have strained the oil after this process, let it sit for 12-24 hours and decant the oil off the top to make sure you don’t have debris and water left in your final product.
Happy oil making!
Benna