Testing Tinctures - Rooibos
This past Fall, there were several new tinctures brewing in my stockroom that are now strained, bottled, and actively being tested in a few of my products. One of these is an old fave of mine as a tea, but brand new to me in tincture form – rooibos.
Above is my first test with it: Rose Skin Drench and Tonic. It's been in use daily for the past 3 weeks and I can already safely say that rooibos is (also) fabulous as a tincture.
A Little Goes a Long Way
Just a few drops were enough to turn this 200ml bottle of otherwise clear skin tonic into the rosy pink hue you see above.As I am forever testing and trying active ingredients, almost every water-soluble one finds its way into a skin drench or tonic at one point - partly to see how it works, but also to see how it behaves, smells, interacts with the other ingredients etc etc.
It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it. (insert winking eye here)
The blend above contains
Rose hydrosolLavender floral water
Rooibos tincture
Extracts of: Cottonseed, Flax, Fig, and Cornflower
Because I'm a slatherer, I've been using it mainly as a skin drench (read: dousing entire body after shower and letting skin air dry). Perhaps body tonic is a more descriptive way of putting it.
Did I mention I love my work?
Comments
Here's an experience I had. I was experiencing symptoms of menopause--nasty hot flashes that drove me wild. I was taking a new supplement and at the same time started drinking rooibos tea. I noticed after about a month that the hot flashes were gone. I attributed it to the new supplement I'd started taking, but when I stopped taking both the supplement and the rooibos, after about a month the hot flashes were back. I started taking the supplement again, thinking that was the key, but no change in the hot flashes. So I started drinking rooibos again and sure enough, within two weeks the hot flashes were gone again. I just made a tincture because I'm not always in the mood for tea and am starting my own experiment to see how it works. I really like the tincture so far but it hasn't been long enough to know if it is as effective as the tea.
You asked about skin drench: a skin drench functions like a mist or tonic and could perhaps also be described as a 'liquid lotion'.