Its a subject related to Pheromones. Many plants have effects on our moods thus effecting our actions. Scent is a strong memory and mood enhancer.

I grew up around herbalists who practiced homeopathy and was taught a lot about the medicinal practices with flowers herbs plants and roots. I have many recipes that were left to me by my grandmother but most of them center around the healing properties so they dont smell great. Not mixes you would make to create a pleasant scent or perfume but mixes with a purpose.

Aromatherapy became more of a interest as I got older and as I learned about it I realized my grandmother and great aunts did use it they just didn't have a name for it LOL

Now I buy most of my EO's but once in a while when the urge strikes I make them. The ones you buy are much more potent though but just like with mones more is not always better.

Anywhoo I figured it would be fun for the ladies and gents who are into any of these subjects to share recipes, methods old ways, new ways and any info they want to talk about in these two subjects.

Anyone make there own EO's I dont have a still but my grandmother did. She made her EO's with it and my grandfather made whiskey LOL

As she got older she used other methods. These are the ones I learned.

I use clear mason jars just because we have them all over the place LOL Fill it half way with oil, Safflower usually because some other leave to much of a scent of there own.

I pick the flowers right before they open fully. Mamam told me to do it in the morning right as the sun rises. I cut the heads off and fill the rest of the mason jar making sure the oil covers the top. Leave it in the window sill in the sun for a week.

Then drain the mixture through some muslin or jelly paper. Saving the oil in a new mason jar and fill it again with new flowers and repeat the process until the scent seems strong enough for me. Usually takes a month.

Again the scent wont be as strong as a store bought EO but strong enough to use in making a perfume or aromatherapy.

Infused method

Put flowers in a glass bowl in safflower oil place on top of a pan of water on the stove making sort of a double boiler. If you have one of those you can use it to. Heat on low to med for a 2 to 3 hours. Now you can use a wine press which I have but they are expensive. Put a cheese cloth in the wine press and pour the mixture in then use the wine press to extract the oils. My grandmother hand pressed which is messy.

Whooo a lot of work huh LOL Makes you appreciate being able to just pop online and buy them. I remember her having a slew of oils she made in little glass bottles. Just the thought of the time spent on making EO's not to mention soap, candles, tinctures poultice's and all the hundreds of other things they hand made back then amazes me. How the heck did they find the time ? Its fun and I love making things by hand but I dont think I would have survived in the olden days.

Well thank the goddess its easier now.

some of my favorite recipes for aromatherapy.......

For meditation

Lavender, Frankincense, Sandalwood, and Cedarwood

5 drops each in a oil burner. Just a warning my kids complain it smells like a funeral LOL

Romance.......

Cedarwood, Clary Sage, Jasmine, Rosewood, Sandalwood, Vetiver and Ylang Ylang.

3 drops each in the oil burner to set the mood. My husband thinks its funny when I burn this one because he knows what he is in for and cant stop grinning.

I like to make lotions. I buy some pure unscented shea butter from soapcrafters and add rose, jasmine, neroli and sandalwood for a nice stimulating sensual lotion.

Ok peeps add your recipes and such.................. I will add some more later.

Tisha

Actually, Tisha, the method you use, or one similar is the only way to trap fragrances of flowers who's aromas don't come from volatile oils.

Tincturing is another method that works really well for resinous stuff like Frankincense and Myrrh.

Frankincense tincture: 11.5g Frankincense/50 ml alcohol (Use SD 40 or Pure Grain alcohol with a denaturing agent)

Grind up the Frankincense really fine, add it to the alcohol in a glass jar with a plastic lid. Shake it pretty good. Let it sit for 2 weeks, shaking frequently. If you have a shaker, leave it on for this time and let it shake. Keep the room fairly warm, since being in a cold environment impedes the process. After two weeks filter through filter paper in a glass funnel into a glass container. Store in the dark.

Myrrh tincture: Same as above.

You can also use tincturing to dilute Essential Oils to a level that is more palatable. They keep for about five years in tincture.

Ooooh thank you for the recipes, I like the last one the best (which your husband thinks of it in a funny way ;) ) it sounds pretty actually!

(08-28-2009 5:05 PM)Diane999 Wrote:  Actually, Tisha, the method you use, or one similar is the only way to trap fragrances of flowers who's aromas don't come from volatile oils.

Tincturing is another method that works really well for resinous stuff like Frankincense and Myrrh.

Frankincense tincture: 11.5g Frankincense/50 ml alcohol (Use SD 40 or Pure Grain alcohol with a denaturing agent)

Grind up the Frankincense really fine, add it to the alcohol in a glass jar with a plastic lid. Shake it pretty good. Let it sit for 2 weeks, shaking frequently. If you have a shaker, leave it on for this time and let it shake. Keep the room fairly warm, since being in a cold environment impedes the process. After two weeks filter through filter paper in a glass funnel into a glass container. Store in the dark.

Myrrh tincture: Same as above.

You can also use tincturing to dilute Essential Oils to a level that is more palatable. They keep for about five years in tincture.

Yep you could make tinctures, I dont use that method much for EO's. I use decoction for roots and resins but again not for EO's. I make tinctures mostly for medicinal purposes to make tonics. I use 100 proof vodka. It depends on the ailment and what I have available. Sometimes I will make poultices or compresses to. I make my own cough syrup and its the only one that works on my kids. You have to harvest the roots available to you in autumn during Mabon. I end up buying most that I need because you cant find many things I need here. They last about 2 years for me for medicinal purposes. But you can still use it for compresses or aromatherapy.

Right now I am making decoction of cone flower root and a tincture of gravel root. Cold season is coming and they say the swine flu will pick up again.

I made a tincture with dandelion root the other day. My husband has gout and its helps. By the way dandelion root gets soft in the fall so you want to pick that one in spring. We eat the leaves in salads they are good for cleansing toxins.

Red clover is my favorite. I make a tincture and mix with other plants to make a cough syrup.

Tisha

When you say 100 proof vodka...do you mean alcohol? as in liquor?

(08-28-2009 10:26 PM)Tisha Wrote:  

(08-28-2009 5:05 PM)Diane999 Wrote:  Actually, Tisha, the method you use, or one similar is the only way to trap fragrances of flowers who's aromas don't come from volatile oils.

Tincturing is another method that works really well for resinous stuff like Frankincense and Myrrh.

Frankincense tincture: 11.5g Frankincense/50 ml alcohol (Use SD 40 or Pure Grain alcohol with a denaturing agent)

Grind up the Frankincense really fine, add it to the alcohol in a glass jar with a plastic lid. Shake it pretty good. Let it sit for 2 weeks, shaking frequently. If you have a shaker, leave it on for this time and let it shake. Keep the room fairly warm, since being in a cold environment impedes the process. After two weeks filter through filter paper in a glass funnel into a glass container. Store in the dark.

Myrrh tincture: Same as above.

You can also use tincturing to dilute Essential Oils to a level that is more palatable. They keep for about five years in tincture.

Yep you could make tinctures, I dont use that method much for EO's. I use decoction for roots and resins but again not for EO's. I make tinctures mostly for medicinal purposes to make tonics. I use 100 proof vodka. It depends on the ailment and what I have available. Sometimes I will make poultices or compresses to. I make my own cough syrup and its the only one that works on my kids. You have to harvest the roots available to you in autumn during Mabon. I end up buying most that I need because you cant find many things I need here. They last about 2 years for me for medicinal purposes. But you can still use it for compresses or aromatherapy.

Right now I am making decoction of cone flower root and a tincture of gravel root. Cold season is coming and they say the swine flu will pick up again.

I made a tincture with dandelion root the other day. My husband has gout and its helps. By the way dandelion root gets soft in the fall so you want to pick that one in spring. We eat the leaves in salads they are good for cleansing toxins.

Red clover is my favorite. I make a tincture and mix with other plants to make a cough syrup.

Tisha

Oh, yeah, definitely don't use SD40 and bitters for anything you are going to be consuming!

Diane

(08-28-2009 11:18 PM)esmeralda Wrote:  When you say 100 proof vodka...do you mean alcohol? as in liquor?

LOL Yep vodka. You can make perfume with vodka to but I like perfumers alcohol for that better. Most of my tinctures are ingested so as Diane pointed out you dont use SD40.

I am not really good at making perfumes just for scent pleasure of it. Its something I am still learning about and I am interested in. I am more familiar with homeopathy and root work and I dont share that interest with many but I feel comfortable with you guys here. Its what I grew up with so its just natural to me. Everything I was taught had a purpose and my grandmother didn't really think about smelling pretty. I know she used the lavender and jenetta which was lemon for a purpose but she never wore any other scent.

She would make some poultices when we were kids that would scare the sickness out of you they smelled so bad LOL She did a lot of healing. Wanna hear a gross story..................... if you scare easy dont read it.

When I was little I spent the summers with mamam. They lived in the country upstate on the farm which is still our families farm. People would come to her for healing's and potions and such. At least the ones who were not trying to save her soul or were afraid of her. It was isolated up there at the time and its kinda like walking into a time warp.
Anyways they kill and eat there own animals in the area and this neighbor came with her sister who was sick for a long time. She was weak frail extremely thin and sickly and no one knew why. I didn't pay attention to what mamam asked her, I was playing on the floor as she examined her but they discovered she had a tape worm from pork. How they figured that out I have no ideal.

So she made this goddess awful poultice and the only thing I remember about it was it had turpentine in it. I had to run to the shed to get it. Anywhoo she spread this poultice all over the woman's chest from neck to groin. I remember the sister asking "will this kill it ?" Mamam said nope it will make it come out. "come out how ?" all she would say is there is only two ways out of the body and it will choose one. Sure enough after about a hour of the poultice and mamam chanting the women started to make this choking sound like she was gaging or puking and got really agitated and sick. Next thing you know that sucker came right up out of her mouth. They had to pull it out. Then she made a tincture she had to take 4 times a day for a month and she was fine. I would never believe it if I didn't see it myself but I went with my grandfather to bury it and it was so nasty. It took 10 years for my parents to convince me it eat pork and my mother was so pissed at mamam. Pork still scares me to this day and if I do cook or eat it I always overcook it LOL

Perfume with vodka?! omg! but... but doesn't vodka have this super strong bitter smell? when people get drunk...I can smell alcohol on them and it isn't the best smell in the world but hmm in perfumes huh? I guess the perfume would have a really strong scent. I'm trying to imagine how roses and vodka would smell like...

lol...excuse my naiveness... I'm trying to understand lol

Oh, is there any books that you recommend with recipes (for homemade medicines for colds and stuff?) I'd lose an arm to learn that kind of stuff, it intrigues me.

Wow, that's a scarry story. Gosh the girl must have been traumatized to see the tapeworm come out of her mouth... I would have been scarred for life lol! ... I will be not eating pork for a while though lo

100 proof vodka doesnt have the same scent as other alcohols. Its almost scentless to me. You cant smell it at all once you mix it with EO's

LOL Sorry about the pork, its not good for you anyways

Tisha

At the time, I didn't know my grandmom was an herbalist and neither did she. She used lots of fresh herbs in season, especially for cooking, but I remember her picking, hanging and drying herbs/flowers that she would mix up and brew into a concotion for a purpose. Like Tisha's mamam, my grandma had her own magical lotions and potions.

Bath Sachets (Infusion)

She use to love a nice bath after a long day. Every once in a while, when she would take the time, she'd infuse a handful of leaves/flowers in 2 pints of boiling water for 15 minutes, then strain and add it to her bath. Or for expediency, she'd tie some fresh or dried leaves/flowers into a piece of cheesecloth and suspend the sachet below the hot water faucet as the tub filled. I've done it with cheesecloth but now most times I just pack herbs into a perforated tea infuser. It's tempting to just toss a handful of aromatic herbs into the tub, till ya get up and there's bits and pieces clinging to you!

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Facial Steam

- 2 cups fresh herb or 1 cup dried herb, such as lavender, peppermint or thyme. Choose herbs that are best for your skin type.*
- hot water (not boiling)

Place the herbs in a bowl, pour in the water and stir well. Drape a towel over your head to trap the steam, and steam your face for five minutes.

If your skin is dry use a little moisturizing cream after the steam.

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Though after steaming and patting dry, I usually apply a facial mask to also help draw out impurities from the skin and to exfoliate, tone, then moisturize. ;)

Herbal Face Pack

- 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
- 2 tablespoons chopped herbs or flowers, selected according to skin
- 1 - 2 tablespoons fine oatmeal (grind or mortar and pestle if necessary to make fine)

Stir the yogurt and herbs together until well blended. Stir in just enough oatmeal to form a soft paste and mix well.

Spread the face pack over the skin, avoiding the area around the eyes and mouth. Place a slice of cucumber over each eye and rest for ten/fifteen minutes. Wash off with warm water.

If you need to store the paste, spoon it into a jar, cover, and store in the refrigerator.


*This list may help in choosing what herbs to use for your skin type.


Chamomile ~ Cleansing, cooling, soothing..............................Marshmallow ~ Emollient

Comfrey ~ Emollient ............................................................. Mint ~ Astringent, cleansing, soothing

Dandelion, Bleaching, drying .................................................. Parsley ~ Lightening

Fennel ~ Astringent...............................................................Rosemary ~ Cleansing, stimulating

Horseradish ~ Bleaching, drying.............................................Thyme ~ Cleansing, antiseptic,

Lady's mantle ~ Astringent.....................................................Violet ~ Cleansing, emollient

Lavender ~ Antiseptic, stimulating, toning................................Witch hazel ~ Astringent, healing

Marigold ~ Astringent, cleansing, toning, healing .....................Yarrow - Cleansing, toning

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This is a gentle toning lotion, perfect to use after the pack, before moisturizing.

Lavender-flower Lotion

- 5 tablespoons lavender water
- 5 tablespoons witch hazel
- 5 tablespoons lemon juice, strained
- 2 to 3 drops lavender oil

Pour all ingredients into a bottle, cap and shake vigorously. Shake well before each use. Splash on to tighten and refresh the skin.

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Mint astringent

- 2 2 tablespoons chopped mint
- 4 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 2 1/2 cups distilled water

Put the mint and vinegar in a lidded jar, cover and leave to infuse seven days. Strain and pour in the distilled water. Mix well. Bottle the astringent, cover, and shake well before using.

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These are old recipes so, nope, they didn't use SD40. Grandmom would make floral waters/toilet waters using, yep, vodka and white vinegar. ;) She often used rose, lavender or a combination of various fragrant flowers which she grew in her gardens along with herbs and vegetables. She sometimes used the rosewater in baked goods but she mostly used them on herself and stinky little me. Though occasionally I'd catch her spraying the cat...lol. She'd often spray a handkerchief with the scented water and tuck it between her breasts. I think a lot of them did that.

A lovely body splash/spray, if you like lavender.

Lavender Water

- 2 cups lavender flowers
- 2 pints distilled water, boiling
- 2 tablespoons vodka

Put the lavender flowers into a heatproof container, pour on the boiling water and stir well. Cover and leave to infuse for about 48 hours stirring occasionally.

Strain the liquid through a non-metallic strainer pressing the flowers against the sides to extract the maximun fragrance. Stir in the alcohol, pour into bottles, cover and label.

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Floral Toilet Fragrance

- 4 cups fragrant flowers or petals, such as chamomile, lavender, marigold, rose and violet
- 2 1/2 cups white wine vinegar
- 1 1/4 cups distilled water

Place the flowers or petals in a heatproof container. Heat the water and vinegar to boiling point, pour onto flowers and stir well. Cover and leave in a warm place for three weeks, stirring at least once a day.

Strain through a non-metallic strainer, pressing the flowers against the sides to release the maximum fragrance. Pour into bottles, cover, label, and store.

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I love using natural remedies instead of chemicals to heal/improve my body. I hope you enjoyed reading these old recipes!


Bella