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TINCTURING by Ylva Rubennson
Queen of Tinctures
Almost since the first time I found
natural perfumery, I have been
interested in tincturing up all sorts
of fragrant materials. I widely admit
that over the first couple of years, I
was more like a mad scientist in this
aspect and cared nothing about how
much of the materials I used to what
amount of alcohol. I just went happy-
go-lucky with my botanical findings
and plopped them into a suitable jar,
poured high grade (96% = 192proof)
alcohol to cover it, screwed on the
top and waited. Some turned out
good, some excellent and some not
so. After almost five years I’m now
the proud owner of quite a large
collection pf tinctures made from a
wide array of materials. Some have
been put to use in my perfumes,
some are waiting for their grand
appearances and others are just
sitting there for the fun of it.
I’m now at a point where I want to be
able to incorporate more of these
tinctures in my creations. With this
decision comes the need for a more
orderly way to make them, that is –
start to measure or preferably weigh
the materials to be tinctured as well
as the alcohol, do be able to decide
the exact percentages. If you want to
be able to have your products to have
a consistency, I believe that it’s a
necessary step and it’s way more
easy to figure out how much of them
to use when you are creating a new
formula.
Queen of Tinctures
Almost since the first time I found
natural perfumery, I have been
interested in tincturing up all sorts
of fragrant materials. I widely admit
that over the first couple of years, I
was more like a mad scientist in this
aspect and cared nothing about how
much of the materials I used to what
amount of alcohol. I just went happy-
go-lucky with my botanical findings
and plopped them into a suitable jar,
poured high grade (96% = 192proof)
alcohol to cover it, screwed on the
top and waited. Some turned out
good, some excellent and some not
so. After almost five years I’m now
the proud owner of quite a large
collection pf tinctures made from a
wide array of materials. Some have
been put to use in my perfumes,
some are waiting for their grand
appearances and others are just
sitting there for the fun of it.
I’m now at a point where I want to be
able to incorporate more of these
tinctures in my creations. With this
decision comes the need for a more
orderly way to make them, that is –
start to measure or preferably weigh
the materials to be tinctured as well
as the alcohol, do be able to decide
the exact percentages. If you want to
be able to have your products to have
a consistency, I believe that it’s a
necessary step and it’s way more
easy to figure out how much of them
to use when you are creating a new
formula.
Whether the materials you want to
tincture are safe to use for skin
application or not, I will leave for you
to find out. Different rules apply to
different parts of the world, so it’s
safer for all if you do your own
research, but there are some that
smell heavenly good that you simply
can not use due to their toxicity:
daturas, brugmansias and lily of the
valley. Do foxgloves smell? Have no
idea, but don’t use them either.
So how do you make your own
tinctures and from what? I have
tinctured everything from wild
harvested pine resins, to the buds of
the balsam poplar in the spring, the
cuttings after pruning my fruit trees,
to roses, jasmines and violets. I
have even used dark molasses,
natural beeswax and the now “world
famous” bee-goo. Spices, vanilla
beans, orris root powder and
frankincense tears cost less and
smell as nice as the absolutes. Even
different kinds of teas – whatever
you think smells good or interesting
- try it! Even if you later find out that
the materials are known skin
sensitizers or banned from using in
perfumes, at least you get your
olfactory curiosity satisfied.
When you have decided what (or
which) material to use, take a small
glass jar with a screw on lid and
weigh or measure (I do prefer
weighing for exactness) enough of
the stuff to fit nicely into the jar. As
I said, I didn’t do it this way in the
beginning and am regretting it today.
It’s very hard to re-create the exact
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tincture are safe to use for skin
application or not, I will leave for you
to find out. Different rules apply to
different parts of the world, so it’s
safer for all if you do your own
research, but there are some that
smell heavenly good that you simply
can not use due to their toxicity:
daturas, brugmansias and lily of the
valley. Do foxgloves smell? Have no
idea, but don’t use them either.
So how do you make your own
tinctures and from what? I have
tinctured everything from wild
harvested pine resins, to the buds of
the balsam poplar in the spring, the
cuttings after pruning my fruit trees,
to roses, jasmines and violets. I
have even used dark molasses,
natural beeswax and the now “world
famous” bee-goo. Spices, vanilla
beans, orris root powder and
frankincense tears cost less and
smell as nice as the absolutes. Even
different kinds of teas – whatever
you think smells good or interesting
- try it! Even if you later find out that
the materials are known skin
sensitizers or banned from using in
perfumes, at least you get your
olfactory curiosity satisfied.
When you have decided what (or
which) material to use, take a small
glass jar with a screw on lid and
weigh or measure (I do prefer
weighing for exactness) enough of
the stuff to fit nicely into the jar. As
I said, I didn’t do it this way in the
beginning and am regretting it today.
It’s very hard to re-create the exact
Next page -->