Tincture Making 101: How to Make an Herbal Tincture for Anxiety

Tincture making 101

If you’re anything like me, you’re enthusiastic about trying any new thing you can, from painting landscapes to growing a new species of plant in your garden.

For me, this excitement for learning led me to studying herbalism, and how herbs can help us feel like the best versions of ourselves. Through this study, I learned how to make herbal tinctures—among other creations—and have spent the last few years learning, growing, and perfecting recipes.

Today, I’d like to share my knowledge of how to make an herbal tincture (specifically for anxiety), all the way from what it is and why someone might use them, to the benefits of using fresh or dried herbs.

Before we go any further: please note that I am an herbalist—not a doctor. Always consult your doctor before trying a new herbal remedy.

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What is an herbal tincture?

In simple terms, an herbal tincture is a concentrated liquid herbal extract used for health and wellness purposes. The herbs are soaked in either alcohol or vinegar for a set amount of time to draw out the beneficial properties of the plant.

The outcome of the tincture (its health benefits) depends on the herb or blend of herbs you use. For example, someone looking to relieve headaches may make a tincture out of peppermint, valerian, lavender, or ginger.

One more thing: we need to define constituents—you’ll be hearing a lot about them today! Broadly speaking, constituents are the active ingredients in plants that provide the health benefits we’re looking for.

Why make a tincture?

There are any number of reasons a person may choose to try making tinctures. Maybe you’re learning more about plants and want to play around with recipes. Or maybe you have a health problem, and you’d like to supplement your Western medicine regime with an alternative one. Or it could be that you’re looking to feel generally healthy overall.

Whatever your reason, know that herbal tinctures can be tailored to target what you need, such as a tincture made for mental clarity. That said, tinctures can be made with more broad health in mind, such as a tincture for general well being and improved daily functioning.

Making tinctures isn’t about cutting down Western medicine—it’s about complementing it. For some, Western medicine doesn’t work, or just isn’t a good fit for them.

Different methods of making tinctures

There are two main methods of making herbal tinctures: alcohol-based and non-alcohol based (vinegar, glycerin, and water), using either dried or fresh herbs.

Fresh vs. dried herbs

Let’s start with herbs: while either method will provide the necessary health benefits, you may want to choose one method over the other for a couple reasons.

Choosing fresh herbs

Fresh herbs are good in that they’re easily found, and some, such as ginger, sage, and rosemary, are likely found in your grocery store. While some herbalists believe that fresh herbs are superior because certain constituents are lost when the herbs are dried, there are drawbacks to using fresh herbs: namely, that they have a limited shelf life. And, if they aren’t going to be used soon after harvesting, they’ll need to be dried anyway to preserve their benefits.

Choosing dried herbs

On the other hand, dried herbs are an excellent choice because they still contain healing constituents—some are even thought to be stronger when dried—and increases the constituent’s concentration when comparing the percentage of the herb’s entire weight. Having said this, dried herbs also degrade over time—they just take longer than fresh herbs.

Alcohol vs. non-alcohol base

Now, for the different bases you can use to make your tincture. As with herbs, both alcohol and non-alcohol bases have their benefits.

Alcohol base

Alcohol bases are typical of tinctures for a number of reasons, the main one being that it’s the most effective way to draw out constituents—giving you a more potent tincture. Alcohol is able to draw out plant properties, such as essential oils, alkaloids, and resins, that wouldn’t be able to be drawn out by non-alcohol bases. Beyond this, the alcohol content gives tinctures a much longer shelf life—around seven years—as compared to the shelf life of non-alcohol bases (about a year, give or take).

Non-alcohol base: vinegar, glycerin, and water

For whatever reason, you may not want to use alcohol as a base for your tincture. If that’s the case, vinegar, glycerin, and water all work as well, and are much cheaper than using an alcohol base. Having said this, while they will still work, they won’t be as effective in drawing out constituents. And, as mentioned above, they’ll have a much shorter shelf life.

How to make an herbal tincture

Before you can make an herbal tincture, you need to decide what you want to make your tincture for. For this example, let’s say you’d like to make a tincture to help decrease your anxiety. Knowing that this is your goal, you would then need to research herbs that have a calming effect on the nervous system.

I know from my research that lavender, chamomile, lemon balm, and tulsi are all herbs that help calm our nervous systems down. I also know that I have all of these in my cupboard already—dried and ready to go.

Now that I have my herbs chosen, I need to decide on a base. I have no aversion to alcohol, and I’d like my tincture to be as powerful as it can be, and so I’ll choose an alcohol base. When choosing alcohol, we want to make sure to use vodka or another grain alcohol, preferably with a high proof (meaning they have a higher ethanol content, which helps them better extract the constituents).

Now, all we need is an airtight container. Large glass jars with screw-on lids are perfect for this. Just make sure you have a piece of wax paper to place over the mouth of the jar before screwing the lid on—this keeps the alcohol from eating away at the metal lid.

There—we have everything we need. Let’s make an herbal tincture for anxiety!

Once again: check in with your doctor before trying any new herbal remedy, to ensure you (and any medications you’re taking) won’t react adversely to the herbs you’ve chosen.

Herbal tincture recipe for anxiety

Prep time: 10 minutes

Processing time: 6-8 weeks

Ingredients

20 g. Food grade lavender buds (dried)

20 g. Chamomile flowers (dried)

20 g. Lemon balm (dried)

20 g. Tulsi (dried)

Vodka (40-50%)

Materials

1 quart glass jar with screw-on lid

Square of wax paper

Glass measuring cup with spout

Cheesecloth

2-4 Amber glass bottles with dropper lids

A mini metallic funnel

Steps

Place all herbs inside your glass jar—they should fill about ½ to ¾ of the jar.
Pour the alcohol over top, filling the jar to just below the lip.
Place your square of wax paper over the mouth of the jar, then screw the lid on.
Set your jar in a cool, dry place. While it’s a good idea to tip the jar once a day (allowing the herbs and alcohol to mix better), you can do it every 3-4 days, too.
At the end of six weeks, your tincture is ready to jar. Take your cheesecloth and spread it over your glass measuring cup. Carefully pour the contents of your jar over the cheesecloth, careful not to let any herbs get through.
Once you’ve poured all the liquid out of the jar, squeeze the herbs in the cheesecloth to ensure you get any liquid still absorbed in them.
Place your mini funnel inside your amber bottle, then pour until the mixture reaches the lip of the bottle. Set the dropped inside and screw the cap on—repeat until the bottles are all filled.

To use your tincture: squeeze 2-4 drops directly under your tongue, up to three times a day.

There you have it! Your very own tincture for anxiety. Since this uses an alcohol base, your tincture will have a shelf life of up to seven years. Enjoy!

xoxo,

Catherine

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