Bunny Balm Tattoo Salve

The original Bunny Balm Tattoo Salve was created by yours truly right here at Running Bug Farm. I came up with it to fill the need for a truly natural salve I could use on my beautiful angora rabbits. Because everything I do is Eco-Friendly, I find that the majority of products do not meet my strict requirements for not only my farm, but for myself & my customers. I designed Bunny Balm so that it may be applied to the ear of any rabbit prior to tattooing the rabbits ear. The tattoo salve is soothing & helps to prevent infection & drying. You can even use it to heal your own tattoo. It is safe for humans & animals.

To use on rabbits:

Clean the ear to be tattooed with a soft cotton swab soaked in alcohol. Let dry. Write the tattoo on the ear (or skip if you do not do this). Apply a small amount of Bunny Balm Organic Tattoo Salve over your writing (or where you plan on putting the tattoo if you do not write on the ear) to help keep the ink lines running smoothly. Trace over the writing with your tattoo pen (or just start to tattoo).  When you are satisfied with the tattoo, wipe off the ear with a fresh cotton swab soaked in alcohol to remove excess ink. You may reapply Bunny Balm Organic Tattoo Salve over the finished tattoo to help the healing process.

To use on humans:

Apply Bunny Balm Tattoo Salve over your tattoo. Reapply as needed.

Before you get started:

I want to stress to you that for the most part, these are guidelines. I want you to be comfortable with the whole process. This isn't a chore, or a stress, it's a simple relaxing way to make your own tattoo salve free from synthetics - at a fraction of the cost. 

My personal preference for heating the ingredients is to use a paper bowl & a cast iron grill over the stove top or if it's during the winter, I forgo the grill & use a paper bowl on top of my wood stove. I prefer this method for it's easy clean up & the fact that I can toss the used bowl in the burn pile &/or compost pile. It also make a great fire starter. If you do not feel comfortable with my method/s, you can always opt. for a small crock pot, putting the ingredients directly into the pot. If you have a gas stove you may not feel comfortable with an open flame around your oils. This is perfectly understandable. You too, can use a small crock pot directly or make clean up easier by using a larger oval shaped crock pot and paper bowls. Yet another option is to heat the oils directly in a glass canning jar rather than a paper bowl. 

Clean up is a bit more difficult if you directly heat your oils & waxes in a glass jar or crock pot, but it can be done. Once you have finished, use plenty of straight soap no water. This is the same method I use to clean up after soap making. Water will only make the cleaning process more difficult. Once the vessel is sufficiently cleaned, you can then rinse it with hot water. If after rinsing, it still has residue, clean it again with plenty of straight soap no water. Repeat this process until it's clean.

There are no hard fast rules, except to please use common sense. Remember you are dealing with oils which are highly flammable. If for whatever reason, you do have a kitchen fire, do not use water! You can quickly toss baking soda on the flames, or quickly smother it with towels, or the best option (although very messy), use a fire extinguisher. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have a messy kitchen then burn it to the ground!

Ready? Lets begin!

Bunny Balm Tattoo Salve

Ingredients:

• 1 Ounce Organic Cocoa Butter is the ultimate all natural moisturizer. It keeps skin soft & supple. It is one of the most stable, highly concentrated natural fats known. It melts at body temperature so that it is readily absorbed into the skin. It is often recommended for the treatment of skin conditions such as eczema & dermatitis. When applied topically, it creates a barrier between sensitive skin & the environment & also helps retain moisture. Pregnant women have long used to cocoa butter formulations to prevent & treat stretch marks.
• 1 Ounce Organic Shea Butter is made from the nut of the African Shea Tree. It contains a rich amount of unremovable fatty acid. This fatty acid is crucial to rejuvenating & moisturizing the skin. Shea Butter provides all the essential vitamins needed to make skin look & feel smoother, softer & most importantly, healthier. Its therapeutic properties protect the skin from wind, cold, sun & it helps heal wounds faster. Shea Butter fights the effects of aging & repairs rough, damaged skin.
• 2 Ounces Organic Beeswax (be sure to check your farmers market for local beeswax) is an all natural anti-inflammatory, anti-allergenic & antibacterial skin softener that helps lock in the skin's own natural moisture, & creates a protective, long-lasting barrier against the elements.
• 2 Ounces Organic Sesame Seed Oil easily penetrates the skin, is antibacterial & is a potent antioxidant.  It balances mood, reduces stress, & is a calming aphrodisiac.
• 60 Drops Organic Lavender Essential Oil
• 20 Drops Organic Rosemary Essential Oil

Supplies:

Kitchen Scale & Adapter (optional)
Paper Bowls
Large Stainless Steel Pot or Cast Iron Pan (better)
Glass Jars

Directions:

1. If you are using a large shallow stainless steel pot or large deep stainless steel pan, you will need to fill it half way with hot water. Put it on the stove on the lowest heat setting. If you are using a cast iron grilling pan (my preferred method), put the pan on your stove using the lowest heat setting.
2. Measure out your ingredients using your scale. Put your paper bowl on the scale first. Then hit the tare button to zero out the scale. Next add two ounces of beeswax. You can then hit tare again to zero out the scale or add one ounce of cocoa butter next making the scale total three ounces. Again, you can either hit tare a third time to zero it out or add one ounce of shea butter making the scale total four ounces. Yet again, you can either hit tare a fourth time to zero it out or add  two ounces of sesame oil making the scale total six ounces.
3. Carefully place your paper bowl containing all four ingredients either floating in your pot of hot (not boiling) water or on your cast iron grilling pan (my preferred method).
4. Keeping the stove heat on the lowest setting, allow the beeswax, cocoa butter, & sesame oil to slowly melt together. Do not leave the mix unattended. This is a good time to prep your jars so they are ready to receive the melted product.
5. Once everything is fully melted and incorporated, turn off the stove heat. Add the essential oils.  Carefully lift up the bowl, bend one side of the lip to form a little crease that will act as your pour spout.  Pour the hot liquid into your jar/s of choice.
6. Let the jars sit until fully cooled and hardened. Place the lid on the jars.  Label the jars.
7. Enjoy!

A little history behind my Bunny Balm Tattoo Salve: 

Bunny Balm was so well liked that a past repeat customer of Running Bug Farm's Bunny Balm who is also a NARBA (National Angora Rabbit Breeders Association) member (somehow this makes it all the worse to me, being a fellow member at the time) decided to market my original creation as their own idea, going so far to even steal the name I came up with - Bunny Balm Tattoo Salve. This disingenuous individual sells it at rabbit shows, online & promotes it on social media.

This is a classic example of someone not being creative enough to come up with their own products, so they steal from another & market it as their own idea. Sadly there are a lot of people like this. It's one thing to want to recreate something for personal use, but to steal someone else's recipe and name for profit is just too much. By creating DIY (Do It Yourself) articles of my original products I have made them public for all to enjoy freely. Bunny Balm, like all of my balms & salves is now available to all.

I hope you enjoy crafting these treats as much as I have enjoyed creating them.

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