WAYFARER’S SALVE
For Trails, Tides + Gardens
(and everything that comes after)
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For wandering feet, working hands, and days spent outdoors.
THE STORY.
Our Wayfarer’s Salve began with a simple idea: to make something useful for the small indignities that come with days spent outdoors.
Calendula, plantain, and yarrow form the botanical heart of the salve. We infuse them slowly into oil, drawing on enduring traditions of botanical skin care, then enrich the infusion with tamanu oil, nourishing plant butters, and carefully chosen botanicals.
Wayfarer’s is the sort of small, useful thing I like to keep close at hand.
HOW TO USE.
Apply to clean skin after bug bites, insect stings, scrapes, chafing, exposure to the elements, and other everyday outdoor mishaps.
Keep this salve in your medicine cabinet away from light and heat to best preserve its ingredients. Should it melt (in sustained temperatures above 85 F), simply cool it down and it will reconstitute itself in its tin.
WHAT’S INSIDE.
Organic Plantain Leaf: Often called “nature’s bandage” by herbalists, plantain has been used for centuries in preparations intended for bug bites, stings, splinters, and life’s little outdoor mishaps. It contains naturally occurring allantoin, a compound associated with skin renewal, which helps explain why it has become such a beloved field herb.
Organic Calendula Petals: Calendula is rich in naturally occurring carotenoids and flavonoids that give the flower its vibrant golden orange color. Herbalists choose it for preparations intended for weather-worn, wind-chapped, and sun-exposed skin, making it a natural companion for time spent outdoors.
Organic U.S. grown Yarrow: A familiar sight along trailsides and meadows of the Northern Neck, yarrow has been carried by travelers and herbalists for centuries. Its long history of use for scrapes and rough adventures made it a natural fit for Wayfarer’s.
Tamanu oil: Pressed from the nuts of a tropical tree native to the South Pacific, tamanu oil has earned a devoted following among herbal formulators from all traditions. With its distinctive green color and earthy aroma, the oil is prized for its naturally occurring fatty acids and plant compounds that make it a valuable addition to premium botanical skin preparations.
German Chamomile CO2: Chamomile contains naturally occurring compounds such as chamazulene that contribute to its distinctive blue color. We chose a CO2 extract rather than a distilled oil because it captures a broader range of the compounds naturally found in the flower. Long valued for sensitive, delicate, and easily irritated skin, chamomile brings a note of gentleness to the formula.
Hungarian Lavender: Sure it smells divine, but lavender oil became a cornerstone of traditional herbal skin care because of its remarkable versatility. It has earned its place in countless preparations for the wear and tear of outdoor life. Few herbs have become as widely trusted—or as frequently used—as lavender.
Helichrysum oil: Known as the “everlasting flower,” among herbalists, helichrysum’s reputation as a premier skin oil is unrivaled. Helichrysum oil is the only known essential oil source of naturally occurring italidiones, compounds which have contributed to its long-standing reputation in botanical preparations intended for bumps, bruises, and scrapes.
Rather than relying on a single butter, Wayfarer’s Salve combines cocoa, mango and shea. Cocoa butter lends body and staying power to the formula while contributing a rich, protective feel on the skin. Its use in skin preparations dates back centuries to the peoples of Central and South America who first cultivated cacao. Compared with many botanical butters, mango butter is known for feeling lighter and less greasy on the skin. And shea butter—made from the nuts of the African shea tree—has been used for generations as a skin protectant in regions exposed to intense sun, wind, and dry conditions.
OTHER INGREDIENTS: organic beeswax, organic candelilla wax (food grade vegetable wax), vitamin E.
Mindful Use.
Ages 2+.
For external use only. Avoid contact with eyes. Discontinue use if irrigation occurs.
A note about the aster family: Wayfarer’s contains calendula, yarrow, helichrysum, and German chamomile—all members of the Asteraceae family. If you have a known sensitivity to plants in this family, such as ragweed, daisies, mugwort, chrysanthemums, or arnica, we recommend proceeding cautiously.
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