Home cosmetics: infusions, decoctions, tinctures

Home cosmetics is made mainly of dried plants or parts thereof (leaves, flowers, stems, bark, roots, fruitsetc.). To make cosmetics at home, you need to extract useful substances from plants. To do this, use their property as solubility: most of the active substances dissolve in water, some in fats or alcohol.

Before you start making home cosmetics, plants need to be crushed. If home make-up is done on the basis ofleaves, grass and large flowers, they are cut. Skin leaves are difficult to cut, so they are ground into powder. Rhizomes and roots are also cut or crushed with a mortar or coffee grinder. Small flowers, fruits and seeds are usually taken whole.

Home cosmetics require compliance with the proportions of liquid and plant material. Most often, the ground parts of plants are measuredtea or table spoons. One tablespoon holds about 12 g of kidneys, fruits or seeds, 7 g of bark, roots or rhizomes and 3 g of grass, flowers or leaves.

Home cosmetics is divided into three main types: decoctions, infusions and tinctures. To prepare the infusion of plants pourboiling water and insist for a certain time. When the decoction is made, the plants are boiled, and to obtain the tincture, the plants are insisted on vodka or alcohol.

Home cosmetics: infusions and decoctions

Infusions are usually made from more "tender" parts of plants: fruits, seeds, inflorescences, herbs, thin leavesand flowers. Also infusions make their plants, rich in essential oils: when boiled, the aromatic substances evaporate, and the decoction of such plants will be useless.

Infusions can be cooked two ways: pouring the crushed raw material with boiling water orwater bath. To make the infusion, the plants are put in dishes (glass, porcelain or enameled), poured with boiling water, covered with a lid, covered with a towel (sometimes) and insisted for a certain time. The infusion time and the proportions of plants and water are usually indicated in the recipe. Some infusions are poured in cold water and insisted for several hours.

To prepare infusion on a water bath, the plants are placed in enameled dishes,poured water at room temperature and heated in a water bath without boiling for 15 minutes. The lid should be closed, and the fire should not be strong. Water should be poured by 20% more than indicated in the recipe - it will evaporate.

Decoctions are prepared from rough parts of plants - bark, rhizomes, horses and dense leaves. To prepare the broth, the ground parts of the plants are boiled for half an hour (or according to the recipe). Ready infusions and broths should be cooled at room temperature: infusion - 10 minutes, and broth - 45. Then the liquid is filtered through a double gauze, the remainder of the raw material is squeezed out, and this liquid is also filtered.

Home cosmetics (as infusions, and decoctions) is not stored for long - no more than two days in the refrigerator. In a couple of days home cosmetics will simply lose the healing power, and there will be no effect from it.

Home cosmetics: tinctures

When making tinctures, the ground plants are poured with vodka or alcohol - so they better give curative substances. To make a tincture, grind the plants and put them in a glass bottle or jar. Then plants need to be poured with alcohol or vodka according to the prescription, cork and keep at room temperature for 7-10 days. Then the liquid is drained, the residue is wrung out and all is filtered through a special paper or double layer of gauze. Tinctures must be stored in a dark place at room temperature, in a carefully sealed vessel of dark glass.

And in our next articles you will find recipes for home cosmetics. Maybe home cosmetics and not replace a completely industrial, but it can perfectly complement it.