Ways to Make Your Own Herbal Beauty Care

Humans have been indentifying with increased beauty since the beginning of time. Throughout history, we made our products from natural herbs, plants and minerals; with a more recent change in direction to ingredients of synthetic nature. If you are interested in making your own herbal beauty care products, you need to identify herbal properties as well as how the extract these properties from a plant.

Methods of extraction for herbal beauty care:

Infusion: Similar to brewing tea, this involves boiling water in an enamel or glass pan only, steeping the herb, and straining the liquid.

Decoction: Using bark, seeds or roots, use a mortar and pestle to grind up the rough parts and then use the infusion method as described above, but with a slow rolling boil for ten to fifteen minutes and then strain.

Cold Extract: This method is a better preservative as it doesn’t require any heat. Double the amount of plant materials and add to water in a large jar or non-metallic pan with a lid that fits tight. Allowing to sit eight to twelve hours or overnight and then strain the liquid.

Juice: This is the same as using a juicer, only you will be using all of the plant parts with a small amount of water. Use the ingredient immediately after the juicing process.

Powder: Use a mortar and pestle to grind up dried plant parts into a powder. Blend with a liquid base.
Syrup: Boil plant parts in a store-bought syrup or honey and strain out plant parts for the syrup.

Tincture: Use a bottle with a tight fitting life and blend one to four ounces of the powdered herb with eight to ten ounces of alcohol made for human consumption. Allow to sit for two to four weeks in the refrigerator, shaking the bottle once per day. Strain and pour liquid into bottle for storage. This will be concentrated, so only a small amount will be needed.

Ointment: Use one of the first three extraction methods mentioned above and put the liquid into a double boiler, using a vegetable oil such as almond oil or olive oil. Simmer until the water evaporates. Add a small amount of beeswax to make a thick consistency, heat and stir slowly. Place in a jar with a lid.

Poultice: Smash or bruise the plant materials and then heat. These can be applied to areas of the body for soothing, irritation and detoxification by placing the paste in a hot moist towel.

Fomentation: Same concept as poultice, but requires a series of towels to be saturated by a warm herbal solution of your choice.

Cold Compress: Same method as fomentation, but use cold towels, allowing the body to heat the towels for fifteen to twenty minutes of application.

Vapor Bath: Place plant materials in boiling water and turn the heat off. Allow herbs to steep and cover your head with a towel, draping over the steaming pot.

Hydrotherapy: Use a comfortable bath water temperature and add herbs to the bath water.

Source: http://allnaturalbeauty.us/allnaturalin.htm

The information supplied in this article is not to be considered as medical advice and is for educational purposes only.