| Compress:
Soak a cloth in a cool herb solution, then apply directly to the injured area.
Creams:
Creams are a blend of oil and beeswax. To make your own, melt two ounces of beeswax
in a double boiler, add one cup olive oil and blend. Add two ounces of your herb.
Simmer for 20 minutes, mixing well. Add a drop of tincture of benzoin as a preservative.
Strain through a cloth into a sterilized jar. Or, purchase an unscented, water
based cream. Add the herb to the cream, simmer in a double boiler for 30 minutes,
and strain.
Decoction:
Make a tea from the root, seed, berry, or bark of the herb plant. Simmer the tea,
do not boil.
Essential
Oils: Oils are distilled from plants or by cold extraction. Usually they
are mixed with vegetable oil or water and used as an inhalant, douche, or tea.
Also, they may be used as eyewash, earwash, mouthwash, or used externally for
massage, and to treat cuts and abrasions. Essential oils easily and readily combine
with the natural fats and oils of the skin. Extracts:
Extracts can be made at home by boiling off most of the liquid portion of fresh
herbs, collecting the resultant mass, and then adding alcohol as a preservative.
(High proof vodka is preferred.) To get the most strength from your extract, combine
the herbs with water, boil it down to a paste, add more water, and repeat once
or twice more, then add a minute amount of alcohol to preserve the herb.
Herb
Vinegars: Put herb in raw apple cider vinegar, rice or malt and left to
stand for two or more weeks. Herbal
Wine: Use sweet red wine with an alcohol content of at least 12%. Cover
four ounces of herb with three cups of wine. Allow to sit for three weeks, then
strain. Take four teaspoons, once or twice daily. Use within one month.
Infusion: The tenderest
leaf, flower or part of the plant to be used is steeped (not boiled) for five
minutes in hot water, thus the benefits of the herb is not destroyed. Oil
Infusions: Oil Infusions are excellent promoters of healing, to be applied
externally to wounds or skin disorders. Fill a small jar with fresh herb and cover
with olive oil. Place the jar in a saucepan of water up to the neck, bring the
temperature up and simmer for about three hours. Strain this through a coffee
filter (paper) or cloth into a brown glass bottle. You can repeat the process
with the strained oil and fresh herbs to make the infusion stronger. Cold
Oil Infusion: Loosely pack a jar with desired herb.
Fill with Olive oil, making sure all plant material is submerged. Place in a sunny
spot for 6-8 weeks, rotate by turning jar upside down and up once a day. Strain
into clean colored glass bottles or jars.
Ointment:
A powdered form of an herb added to a salve.
Plasters:
Plasters are herbal powders mixed with cornstarch and applied to the affected
area to provide heat, reduce swelling, or allow for absorption of the herb into
the chest or other area. Some plasters can actually burn the skin, so the mixture
is usually wrapped in cloth. This also facilitates easy removal.
Poultice:
A hot, moist, soft mass of herbs, flour, mustard, and other substances is spread
on muslin or cloth and applied for one to eight hours on a sore or inflamed area
of the body to relieve pain and inflammation. Ground or granulated herbs are best.
The cloth or muslin should be changed when cooled.
Powder:
The useful part of an herb is ground into a powder and is also used in capsule
or tablet form. Capsules and tablets are generally used for certain disorders
and should be used no longer than six months at a time.
Salves:
Salves, oils, creams and lotions are generally used on sores, bruises,
and inflammations (such as for poultices). Steam,
Inhalants: Use steam for skin problems like acne and an inhalant for bronchial
problems. Add a strong decoction, one or two drops of essential oils, or 2 teaspoons
of tincture to boiling water.
Syrup:
An herb or herbs are added to a form of sugar and then boiled.
Tincture:
Usually, most tinctures contain about 20-50% alcohol. Powdered herbs are added
to a water/alcohol solution. Tinctures keep for a long period of time and should
only be used if severely ill.
Tisane:
This is a type of tea that has no caffeine, theine or tannic acids. Caffeine and
theine drain vital forces and reserves of energy. Nervous and weakened people
are very susceptible to beverages containing caffeine and theine. Tannic acid
beverages effect normal digestive processes. The tisane contains no calories,
good for weight reduction dieting. This type of tea is harvested from the natural
plant and used fresh or dried, but has no commercial processing or additives.
Tea: To prepare herb
tea, use approximately one to three teaspoons of herbs per cup of boiling water.
Boil water in a kettle as you would for other teas but do not use an aluminum
kettle. Pour water into a mug or pot, leave herbs to steep for at least five minutes,
but don't leave for longer than ten minutes or the tea will be bitter. For stronger
tea, use more herb rather than steeping the tea for a longer time. Store herb
tea in amber colored jars, never in clear glass jars. The potency of the herb
is destroyed by light. Mild teas may be used daily as tonics and for general health
and well-being. Strong but beneficial herbs may be taken in teas with less problems.
Herb teas, usually, may be used over long periods of time. |
