LOOKING GOOD

Family Health with Jenna Evans

MOST OF THIS year we’ve been following an A-Z of herbal helpers and how to use them as teas. This month we’ll take a little look at some of the other methods for making the most of these powerful plants.

Tinctures One of the most popular ways of utilising herbs. Generally made with alcohol (vinegar and glycerol can also be used), this is the method most commonly used by practitioners.

Tinctures are concentrated extracts so dosages tend to be anywhere between 5 drops and a teaspoon, 3-6 times a day, depending on the herb/s, conditions being treated and constitution of the patient. For alcohol based tinctures, the herbs will be steeped in a blend of alcohol and water which acts to extract the constituents of the plant but also makes them well preserved.

Herbal pharmacopoeias will recommend different ratios of alcohol to water, depending on the herb. Here we’ll be using a good quality neat vodka or brandy (around 45% alcohol) which I have employed to good effect over the years. If you really want to get experimenting I suggest investing in a few good tomes on

Herbs such as chamomile are commonly made into ointments. Photo: Viacheslav Rubel/shutterstock.com. the subject! To make a basic beeswax and 450ml olive oil. tincture add roughly 200g of your Add as much herb to this chosen herb in an airtight jar. mixture as you can. This needs Cover with vodka/brandy (1 litre to be left to macerate on a low approx.) Make sure the herb is heat for a few hours. Remove completely covered by the alcohol. from the heat and spoon through Leave the jar to macerate out of muslin into a jug. Give it a good direct sunlight for 2 weeks, giving squeeze and jar up while still it a good shake daily. warm. Label and store in a cool

Once macerated, strain the dark place. contents through muslin or a wine press if you have one. Your Creams tincture is now ready to be Herbal creams can be made in bottled, dated and kept in a cool, two ways. Either by adding dark place. Tinctures will last tinctures into base creams or by around 2 years. As well as being using an infused oil as the fat taken internally, tinctures can be portion in a cream recipe. Here added to baths, poured into base is a basic cream recipe that uses creams to make herbal balms, emulsifying wax instead of used in compresses and also as beeswax making it vegan mouth washes. friendly. Ointments for the fat+emulsifing wax Herbs such as chamomile & chickweed (eczema) and comfrey (bruises) are commonly made into ointments. Here’s a simple recipe - in a bain marie or pyrex bowl over a saucepan, melt 50g You’ll need two saucepans - one portion and one for the water. Add 20 ml emulsifying wax (try pellets in a measuring spoon as a guide) and 55ml infused oil (or plain oil such as olive/ avocado/sweet almond if you’re planning on adding tinctures later) to one saucepan and start to heat very gently.

Keep the temperature down and let the wax melt slowly, we don’t want to burn the cream. In the other saucepan warm 75ml distilled water or floral water. When the emulsifying wax has melted, pour one saucepan into the other and mix well. I like to use a hand held stick blender. When this has cooled you can add tinctures, essential oils and preservatives if you wish.

I always use floral waters and find these creams to be quite stable for several months without extra preservatives. You can experiment with different ratios of oil to water to make thinner or thicker creams.

There’s a lot of fun to be had making herbal lotions and potions. Ceres has a good selection of loose herbs as well as oils, waters, emulsifying wax and lots of bottles and jars. Come and give it a try!

•Jenna is a Holistic Health Coach and creator of bespoke beauty products. She can be found on Facebook at ‘Alchemical Beauty UK’. Jenna is also a multi-award winning Product Advisor at Ceres Natural Foods, Yeovil. To make an appointment, call 01935 428791 for details. Always check with a health professional before making any dramatic changes to your diet and lifestyle or starting a new supplement, especially wth any existing health conditions.

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