A Look at Squalane as a Solvent for Extracting Oil-Soluble Plant Constituents

This post is the result of a burning question I had about squalane’s effectiveness as a menstruum. Try as I might, squalane herbal infusions rarely had anywhere near the vibrance of color I would get from my other infusions using oils like olive oil or tallow. Sometimes they stubbornly remained crystal clear, begging the question(s): Is the squalane actually extracting anything? Can it be infused with plant constituents for use in skincare formulations? Inquiring minds want to know!

A Simple Way to Supercharge Your Tinctures & Oil Infusions

At a recent herbal apprenticeship class, I learned a very simple tweak to my usual maceration process that creates much more potent alcohol tinctures and alcohol intermediary infused oils. It’s not just about speeding things up… the vibrant colors achieved by blending herbs as part of the infusion process are mind blowing! ♥

Making a CBD Salve with St. John’s Wort

A good CBD salve can be an indispensable tool in your pain-management arsenal. The trouble is, CBD products can be so darn expensive — particularly if you’re a salve snob like yours truly and want an organic, clean, high-quality salve infused with botanicals.

Fortunately, high-quality salves are easy to make, and investing in a jar of CBD concentrate makes it FAR more affordable to keep CBD salve in the budget!

Working with St. John’s Wort

St. John’s wort is one of the best known and most used herbal medicines in the world. And like so many of our medicinal wild plants, it’s considered a noxious weed in much of the western US.  In my county, we’re actually required to eradicate all trace of the plants on our property within 10 […]

“All the Lipids” Facial Oil with Sea Buckthorn

Awhile back, I was given a sample of Skin Active’s Every Lipid Serum to try out and really liked it. So of course, I immediately set out to make my own version. It started out as a pretty solid dupe, but true to form, I ended up going a bit rogue. (*squirrel!* *shiny ball!* *herbs!*)

Alcohol Intermediary Herb-infused Oils (& why understanding phytochemical solubility matters)​

Are you ready to kick your oil infusion skills up a notch? An alcohol intermediary oil infusion harnessing the solvent powers of alcohol might sound a bit intimidating, but it’s surprisingly simple to do. Before we get to the hows of making an alcohol intermediary oil infusion, let’s take a quick look into the whys.

Making Herbal Oil Infusions

Infused oils are a foundational cornerstone of herbal-powered wellness products such as salves, creams, lotions, serums and other topical formulations. Oil acts as a solvent (aka menstruum) to capture oil-soluble plant constituents such as alkaloids, gums, resins, volatile oils, and certain oil-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K), allowing the plant’s therapeutic compounds to be delivered to the skin.