6 Categories of Herbal Remedies

This is the intro post in the 6 Categories of Herbal Remedies series. To read the next post, go here.

One of the best things about herbalism is how versatile it is. Beyond the incredible number of plants we can work with, there are also multiple different ways to prepare each herb. But how do we choose which preparation method?

Once you’ve figured out which herbs to work with, determining preparation is next. Preparation will depend on a few different things: how fast do you need a remedy? What tools do you have? What’s the situation you need the remedy for? Are there any preparations that work best for the herbs in question? Plus client (and personal!) preference.

Let’s look at common preparation methods and when you might want to choose them. They’re broken roughly into categories based on what else you need to prepare them: water, alcohol, vinegar, honey, oil, or just the plant itself.

Water!

Tea, infusions, decoctions, washes, baths, compresses, and steams

Water is by far the most versatile way of preparing herbs, with many possibilities stemming from the same basic idea: stick herbs in water, then do something with the resulting water (and sometimes remaining herbs). Many of the constituents in a number of herbs are water-soluble, so you don’t need additional ingredients beyond the water and herb.

Differences in water temperature, length of steeping/infusion time, and what’s done with the resulting remedy means that water preparations can be helpful for many different situations. From internal complaints (for which we’d look towards teas, infusions, and decoctions) to external complaints (for which we’d turn to washes and compresses), water-based herbal remedies are inexpensive and multi-purpose. 

(Baths and steams exist in a liminal space where they affect the internal and external almost simultaneously—extra cool!)

Water preparations are also often the most accessible option, since for many people, access to water is plentiful. However as we know from Flint, Michigan, and far too many Indigenous reservations, clean drinking water is not as accessible as it should be. In those instances, there are other preparations we can work with.

Vinegar!

Vinegar is another accessible option, widely found even in food deserts. Vinegar can draw out even more constituents from plants than water due to its acidity, so for herbs where you want the alkaloids or high mineral contents available in the remedy, vinegar is a good choice. Herbal vinegars are also more shelf-stable that water-based remedies—water remedies last only two days at most, but herbal vinegars will last at least six months and can last up to several years.

Herbal vinegars are prepared like tinctures (stick herbs in vinegar, wait four weeks or longer), but they can be consumed by people who cannot have alcohol. The vinegar, especially apple cider vinegar, adds its own medicinal benefit to the remedy as well, and makes a pleasant option for remedies you plan on consuming daily. Plus, herbal vinegars are an ingredient for other remedies.

Alcohol!

Alcohol-based tinctures are an extremely popular method of working with herbs, and for good reason: alcohol is widely available; tincture doses are small, meaning more medicine from less herb; and they can last years if stored correctly. The dropper bottles most often used for tinctures also make them especially portable. 

Making tinctures can be an involved process involving math and ratios, or a simpler ‘folk’ method like with vinegar (stick herbs in alcohol, wait four weeks or longer). Experimentation will help you find your preferences here.

Alcohol is key when working with resins and some medicinal mushrooms. Glycerites—tinctures made from glycerin instead of alcohol—are another solution for people who can’t have alcohol for whatever reason, but glycerin will not make resins medicinally-available in the remedy. Like vinegars, tinctures are also an ingredient for other remedies. 

Oil!

Oils, salves, liniment, and lotions

Herbal oils are made similarly to vinegars and the folk method of tincturing: stick wilted or dried herbs in oil, wait four weeks or longer. However, unlike the tinctures and vinegars, the process can be sped up with an application of gentle heat over several hours, which is a quick turn-around from ‘need oil’ to ‘have oil’. 

The type of oil used will depend on what additional medicinal benefits you want or what’s most appropriate for the recipient, in the case of making an oil with someone specific in mind. Olive oil is widely available and inexpensive (though nigh impossible to remove from fabric, in my experience); almond oil washes out well and is absorbed quickly (which might be helpful for people with sensory concerns), but it’s more expensive. Experimentation here will again allow you to figure out your preferences.

Herbal oils form the basis for salves (add beeswax), lotions (blend with water), and liniments (mix in some tincture)—all of which are external remedies. Herbal oil by itself can be an external or internal remedy, depending on the herbs involved.

Honey!

Syrups, elixirs, oxymels, pastes, and lozenges

Honey is a delicious if somewhat costly herbal remedy, but one that brings amazing medicinal benefits itself. Herbal remedies with honey can be an excellent way to make herbs more palatable, whether this is through herbal honeys or adding honey to other remedies. Tinctures with added honey are elixirs, and vinegars with added honey are oxymels. Honey can also be used to make herbal syrups, popular with children and adults alike, plus pastes and lozenges (think cough drops!)

Raw honey is ideal, but honestly if you can’t find raw honey or it’s out of your budget, you can use processed honey. Both raw and processed honey will draw moisture out of any herbs you put in it, leaving you with herbal honey and candied herbs, yum!

Herb!

Poultice, powders, capsules, smoke, and food

Last but not least is working with the herb itself, often times minimally processed. Some herbs can be eaten raw or cooked in various foods—garlic mustard pesto, fresh dill in hollandaise, nettle soup!—to name a few. Fresh herbs can also be bruised and wrapped against the skin in a poultice. Dried herbs can be powdered and put into capsules, or the powder can be mixed into honey, nut butters, ghee, or other food stuffs and eaten. Dried herbs can also be dried and burned as smoke.

For many herbs commonly thought of as weeds or which can otherwise be foraged, these preparation methods can be extremely accessible. Powdered herbs are the exception, since most people don’t have the kind of heavy-duty grinder necessary to powder herbs. (No, the coffee grinder isn’t strong enough.) Powdered herbs are easy to add to other remedies, including food, so the trade-off comes down to cost vs versatility. 

So that’s six broad categories of preparations—we’ll get into specific details in other posts. What are your favorite kinds of preparations? Least favorite or least utilized? Let me know in the comments!

This is the intro post in the 6 Categories of Herbal Remedies series. To read the next post, go here.