If you’ve never used a tincture before, that little brown dropper bottle might look like some woo-woo shit somebody is trying to sell you.
I get it.
Before I started using tinctures, I took vitamins and supplements, but tinctures weren’t really part of my world either. I didn’t grow up with a cabinet full of little amber bottles or automatically know which herb did what.
My first real experience with tinctures came after my car wreck in 2013. I was dealing with a lot of pain, and my naturopath recommended a lobelia tincture. At the time, one of my biggest concerns was having another option available to me without relying solely on pain medications or worrying about dependence on them.
That little bottle opened up an entirely different way of looking at herbs for me.
Not because I took one dropperful and suddenly everything was magically better. Herbal medicine has never been about instant gratification for me. I started learning about the herbs themselves, paying attention to how I felt over time, and eventually learning how to make my own tinctures.
Now they’re one of my favorite ways to work with herbs.
So if you’ve looked at a tincture and thought, What the hell is this and what am I supposed to do with it?, let’s start there.
What Exactly Is an Herbal Tincture?
At its simplest, an herbal tincture is a concentrated herbal extract made with alcohol.
Plant material is combined with alcohol and allowed to infuse so the alcohol can extract constituents from the plant. The finished liquid is strained and usually stored in those little amber dropper bottles you’ve probably seen.
That’s really all the mystery there is to it.
Alcohol is useful because it can extract a broad range of plant constituents and also preserves the finished preparation extremely well. Different herbs may call for different preparations, but for many of the herbs I work with, alcohol tinctures are my preferred method.
You’ll sometimes see people use the word tincture for any liquid herbal extract, but technically they aren’t all tinctures.
An alcohol extract is a tincture. An extract made with vegetable glycerin is usually called a glycerite. An herbal preparation made with vinegar is a vinegar extract, sometimes called an acetum.
Different liquids extract different things from a plant, so part of learning herbalism is learning not only which plant you want to use, but how that particular plant is best prepared.
Why I Like Tinctures
My number one reason is incredibly sophisticated:
I don’t want to swallow five horse pills.
Tinctures are concentrated, which means I can take a relatively small amount of liquid instead of swallowing several capsules or drinking cup after cup of herbal tea.
They’re also easy. I can keep a bottle in the cabinet, take what I need, and move on with my day. There are no capsules to swallow, no tea to brew, and properly prepared alcohol tinctures can keep for years when they’re stored well.
I personally prefer taking mine directly under my tongue. You absolutely don’t have to take them that way, though. You can add a tincture to water, tea, juice, or another drink.
And here’s a completely non-scientific tip from personal experience: grape juice does a damn good job of hiding the alcohol taste.
Yes, There Is Alcohol in It
This is one of the first things I tell somebody who hasn’t used tinctures before.
Yes, traditional tinctures contain alcohol.
No, you are not taking a shot of vodka. You’re taking a dropperful.
The alcohol has a job. It extracts constituents from the plant and helps preserve the finished tincture so it can be stored for a long time.
I generally use alcohol tinctures because they work well for many of the herbs I use and they have a long shelf life. But alcohol isn’t automatically the best choice for every plant or every person.
Some herbs may be better suited to another extraction method. Some people simply don’t want alcohol. Glycerites offer a sweeter alcohol-free option, and vinegar can be useful for certain preparations as well.
That’s why I don’t love blanket rules in herbalism.
The herb matters. The person matters. And what you’re trying to accomplish matters.
How Do You Actually Take a Tincture?
Before you take anything, my first advice is simple: know where it came from.
If you’re buying a tincture, I think you should feel comfortable with the person or company making it. Know what herb is in the bottle and what you’re actually taking.
For most of the tinctures I make, my label directions are:
1 dropperful, up to 3 times daily as needed.
If an herb needs substantially different directions, I change the label. That’s important because I don’t assume every herb should be used exactly the same way just because it happens to be in a dropper bottle.
When someone is new to tinctures, I generally start with one dropperful once or twice a day, depending on the herb, and tell them to pay attention to how they feel.
But “pay attention to how you feel” doesn’t mean there is one particular sensation you’re waiting for.
It depends on why you’re taking the herb.
If I’m using sage because I’m hoping it helps with hot flashes, then after a couple of weeks I’m going to ask myself: Have my hot flashes changed?
If I’m using holy basil because I’m looking for support with stress, I’m going to pay attention to whether I feel calmer or whether I’m handling stress differently.
You have to know what you’re trying to accomplish before you can decide whether something is helping.
And that leads to one of the biggest things I wish people understood about herbal medicine.
Tinctures Aren’t About Instant Gratification
People want herbs to act like a pain pill.
Take something. Wait a little while. Feel dramatically different.
That’s not how I approach herbal medicine.
If I’m using sage for hot flashes, I’m not going to take it once, have a hot flash that afternoon, and announce that sage doesn’t work. I’m going to use it consistently and pay attention over time.
That requires patience, which isn’t always something we’re particularly good at anymore.
For me, tinctures reward that kind of attention. They ask you to notice why you’re taking something and whether anything is actually changing instead of just taking another thing every day because somebody told you it was good for you.
They aren’t a hack. They’re a practice.
How I Decide Which Herb to Use
I usually start with the symptom or the cause behind the symptom.
Then I research.
I have herbal books at home. I follow herbalists I’ve learned to trust. I read articles from reputable herbal sources. And I compare information instead of seeing one post online saying, “Take this herb for this problem,” and immediately ordering it.
I want to understand the herb.
What has it traditionally been used for? What part of the plant is used? What’s the best way to prepare it? Are there reasons I shouldn’t use it? Could it interfere with something else I’m taking?
Sometimes one herb is exactly what I’m looking for. Most of the time, a single preparation can work perfectly well without throwing seventeen herbs into a blend just because seventeen sounds more impressive.
Other times, different herbs bring different things to the table and combining them makes sense.
But I want to understand those individual herbs before I start mixing things together.
And I don’t expect you to take my word for any of this either.
Research it for yourself.
Herbalism isn’t about blindly following the next person with a jar of dried leaves and an Instagram account.
Why I Started Making My Own Tinctures
The more I learned, the more I wanted to understand exactly what was in those little bottles.
That was a huge reason I started making my own.
I wanted control over the ingredients. I wanted to know what herb I was using, how it was prepared, and what went into the finished product. As I’ve learned more, making individual tinctures also gives me the ability to blend them when I want something more specific.
My finished bottles are labeled with the common name, botanical name, date infused, and date bottled.
Nothing fancy, but enough information that six months from now I don’t pick up a mysterious brown bottle and wonder what the hell Past Dana put in it.
How Long Do Tinctures Last?
One of the things I love about alcohol tinctures is their shelf life.
While mine are infusing, I keep the jars in a dark place away from direct sunlight. Once they’re finished, I strain them and store them in amber bottles, still away from sunlight.
Properly made and stored alcohol tinctures can last a long time, which is one of the reasons I like having them around. Over time, some of what was extracted from the plant may weaken or change, which is also why I date everything instead of assuming a bottle is going to live in my cabinet forever.
Compared with a lot of other homemade herbal preparations, though, tinctures are wonderfully low-maintenance once they’re finished.
Natural Doesn’t Mean Reckless
I love herbs. I use them, grow them, study them, and make preparations with them.
And precisely because I believe herbs actually do something, I don’t think they should be treated carelessly.
Just because you don’t need a prescription for it doesn’t mean you can use it recklessly.
More is not automatically better.
Know what you’re taking. Know the possible side effects and the downsides of an herb before you use it. If you take medication, make sure the herb you’re considering doesn’t interfere with it. And if you’re buying a tincture from someone, make sure you trust where it came from.
Pregnancy is also an area where I personally draw a hard line. I don’t recommend herbal tinctures during pregnancy because there simply isn’t enough information on many herbs for me to feel comfortable telling a pregnant woman to take them.
Herbs are tools. The fact that they’re plants doesn’t make them harmless, and the fact that they’re powerful doesn’t make them scary.
It means we should learn what the hell we’re using.
Completely New to Tinctures? Start Here
If all of this is brand new and you’re staring at your first little brown bottle wondering what you’re supposed to do next, keep it simple.
- Know what herb you’re taking and why you’re taking it.
- Get your tincture from someone you trust.
- Read the directions for that particular tincture.
- Take it directly or add it to a drink if you hate the taste.
- Pay attention to the specific thing you were hoping the herb would support.
- Give it time before deciding whether it’s doing anything.
- Know the possible downsides and check for interactions with medications you already take.
- And research the damn herb.
You don’t need to become an herbalist before you use your first tincture.
You should, however, know what you’re putting in your body.
Tinctures Are Another Tool
This is really what I want someone new to herbal tinctures to understand.
They’re an alternative. Another option. Another tool available to you.
That does not mean throwing away your medications because you bought a bottle of herbs. Do not stop medications without talking to your doctor.
I’m not a doctor, and I don’t give medical advice.
What I can do is help you learn about herbs. I can share what different herbs do, how they’ve traditionally been used, the different ways they’re prepared, what I’m learning, and how I personally use them.
Then you get to keep learning.
The goal isn’t to collect a cabinet full of little brown bottles because somebody told you herbs are good for you. It’s to understand what you’re taking, why you’re taking it, and what that herb actually does.
Because once you know the plant, the preparation, and the reason you’re using it, it’s not mysterious woo-woo shit anymore.
It’s another tool you know how to use.
