It’s actually really easy. I recently invited my herbalist friend over to teach me and my girlfriend how to make our own tinctures. She delved a bit into some calculations which will help figure out the potency of your potion, but it’s not completely necessary to do all of that unless you plan on selling them.

According to Wikipedia, a tincture is “an alcoholic extract (e.g. of leaves or other plant material) or solution of a non-volatile substance”. We used dried Damiana leaves to make our tincture. Damiana can be used as a natural remedy for multiple purposes such as constipation, depression, PMS, anxiety, and best of all, it is a natural aphrodisiac. Unfortunately, Damiana is only native to South America, Mexico and Central America. Unless you live in those areas, the herbs need to be purchased rather than grown locally. Luckily, I found an herbal shop near my house that sells dried herbs for really cheap, so I am assuming that dried herbs are pretty cheap in general. Keep in mind, you can make tinctures with any dried herb, not just Damiana. I am just using it as an example. Other popular herbs you can use are: Echinacea, Mint, Dandelion Root, Valerian.

Depending on the herb you want to use, you may want to double check the ratios online. Some herbs require more alcohol than others. For this example, we just used a 24 oz mason jar. Kathryn calculated the following ratio for us, but she said that you can pretty much throw the dried herbs in a jar and then fill with alcohol. We had 1 ounce of dried herbs and added 5 ounces of Everclear.   The reason for using Everclear is because of its high alcohol proof. Whatever you do, DO NOT USE RUBBING ALCOHOL! We ended up filling the mason jar above the 24 ounce mark, so really its close to 30 ounces. Take a chop stick and make sure there are no bubbles in your concoction. Close the lid tight and don’t forget to label and date the jar. You’ll have to let it sit for about 6 weeks in a dark area. 6 weeks may seem like a long time, but you can save a lot of money by making your own tinctures, especially if you are growing the herbs yourself.

Our tincture has been sitting for almost two weeks now, so I will be sure to let you know the results when week 6 hits! Also, if you are interested in other libido enhacing herbs, you can read some notes I took from my   friends’ herbalism class.

If you have medical conditions, it would be best if you check with your doctor before injesting any herbs. It’s better to be safe than sorry!

photo credit: sxc.hu