Okay, it goes like this.
Herbs can be eaten, drunk or applied.
Eating them isn't very common nowadays, but some herbs, like Feverfew are very good taken that way for migraine. It's bitter bitter though and not very palatable, and it's not always in season.
Not everyone grows what herbs they may need, or can forage for them either. So most are sold dried. However, dosages of dried herbs aren't easy for people who are unused to herbal medicine. These days most folks think of medicines as a pill or a 5ml spoonful of liquid.
Herbal teas are called tisanes. Their strength comes from the amount of material added and the lenght of time it is steeped. The herbs can be fresh or dried, or frozen.
Tinctures are rarely made at home. This is because the best ones are made using pure alcohol, i.e. ethanol. This is hard to get hold of unless you are known to the suppliers, and most folks will just use vodka, even though it's not pure. It works fine though even if at 70 percent proof it is 30% water.
Herbs, especially those that are intended for ointments, are often steeped in oil. Be careful though, for while heat helps draw out the herbal 'potency' it can also cook the herbs and that is not what is wanted.
If you raise the temperature of a reaction by 10degC you cut the time of a reaction in half......basic science......but patience works as well as heat
Glycerine is usually of animal extraction, it's a byproduct of the soapmaking industry, and it's also a byproduct of biodiesel making. Nowadays we also can buy a vegetable source though, again a byproduct, but this time of the refining processes of cooking oils such as rapeseed.
It is a sweet tasting and hygroscopic. That means that it draws moisture to itself (kind of simplistic but it works to draw the essence out of herbs) Honey and sugar both do this too.
There are other methods, using an alembic for instance, but for almost everything, these common methods work well.
A simple lotion and potion for you to practice ?
How about a healing ointment for cuts and grazes ?
Do you know what cleavers are ? Goosegrass it's called in some place, sticky willie, stick a back, beggar's lice......are other names for it.
Gather a big handful and crush it into a kind of damp green ball. Flatten it out and put it into a clean small pan. Heat a larger pan of water until it's just simmering and put the small pan on top of it so that the bottom of it is in the water. This is called a bain marie. It's a hot water bath.
Now cover the green plant stuff with a little oil.
Sweet almond would be excellent, but ordinary olive oil will be fine. Even sunflower oil will do. Don't use too much, just enough to allow you to squish the herb down into it.
Turn off the heat and leave the pots to cool.
When they're cold lift out the small pot and dry the bottom of it. Now strain the oil through a teastrainer or a small sieve or a bit of a teashirt made into a kind of wee bag held on with an elastic band around a jam jar or a mug. Let it take it's time and when it looks done, you can gently give the stuff a wee press down.
What you've made is a very simple infused oil. If you grate up some beeswax (ask Tengu about buying a little from her if you can't get any ) and put that into the jar you're going to put your final ointment in and then put that jar carefully into hot water, the wax will melt.
For every four tablespoonsful of oil you need to add two teaspoonsful of honey and 10g ( that's about two squares of chocolate sizes) worth of beeswax.
Heat up the oil very gently, again in a waterbath is very good, and add the honey to it. When the honey has melted add it to the wax and stir, stir, stir until the whole thing is smooth with no lumps.
Remove the jar from the heat and stir until it cools.
There you go, a classic skin healing ointment.
Now you need to check that you aren't allergic to it. Smear a little on you inner arm and rub it in gently. Check how it looks and feels throughout the next 24 hours. If you have no reaction to it, other than a bit of moisturised skin, it'll be fine for you to use.
Ointments like this can keep for a long time, but don't share them with anyone, make a new pot if needed, and if it smells at all foul, don't use it. These ointments are always best kept cold, even if it does make them harder to apply. The cream will soften with your body heat and rub in with no bother. If you can get hold of Vitamin E capsules, add the contents of one to two tablespoonsful of oil, when you add the honey; this will help act as a natural preservative, and it won't hurt your skin either.
atb,
Toddy
