Same Herb, Different Preparation: Why It Matters

One of the questions I've started asking more as I learn about herbs isn't simply:

“What is this herb good for?”

It's:

“How is it being prepared?”

Because that can completely change how we're working with the plant and why we might choose it.

Take something as familiar as rosemary or chamomile. I can steep the herb in hot water, extract it into alcohol, or infuse it into oil.

It's still the same plant.

But I wouldn't necessarily reach for each preparation for the same reason.

And that's the part I think is really interesting.

🌿 Rosemary: Tea vs. Infused Oil

Rosemary is a great example because we can work with the same herb in completely different ways.

Rosemary Tea: Digestive Support

Steeping rosemary leaves in hot water gives us a water-based preparation.

Traditionally, rosemary tea has been used internally, particularly for digestive purposes. The European Medicines Agency recognizes rosemary leaf as having traditional use for relief of symptoms of dyspepsia and mild gastrointestinal complaints (European Medicines Agency [EMA], 2010).

So when someone drinks rosemary tea, they're using rosemary internally and for a completely different purpose than what I'm looking for when I use rosemary in skincare.

Rosemary-Infused Oil: Why Use Rosemary on the Skin?

This is where rosemary takes on a completely different role—and where I think it gets really interesting.

Rosemary contains several plant compounds, including carnosic acid, carnosol, rosmarinic acid, and ursolic acid. Rosemary and its constituents have been studied for antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activity, which is one reason this plant continues to be researched for topical and cosmetic applications (de Macedo et al., 2020; Pérez-Sánchez et al., 2023).

From a skincare perspective, I'm especially interested in rosemary's antioxidant activity. Antioxidants help protect against oxidative stress, which is one reason plant-derived antioxidants continue to receive so much attention in skincare and cosmetic research (Pérez-Sánchez et al., 2023).

Rosemary has also been studied for its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity.

That's why rosemary makes sense to me in something like our Trail Remedy Salve.

I'm not using rosemary there for the same reason someone might drink rosemary tea. I'm intentionally infusing rosemary into oil because I'm creating a botanical preparation for the skin, and I'm interested in the anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties that the oil infusion provides.

Then I build the rest of the formulation around that rosemary-infused oil.

Same rosemary. Different preparation. Different purpose.

Now let's look at another herb almost everyone recognizes.

🌼 Chamomile: Tea vs. Tincture vs. Infused Oil

Chamomile may be one of the easiest examples of how the same herb can serve a different purpose depending on how we prepare it.

Chamomile contains a variety of naturally occurring plant compounds, including apigenin, bisabolol, and chamazulene. The amount and type of compounds present in a finished preparation can vary depending on the plant material and extraction method (Srivastava et al., 2010).

Chamomile Tea: Relaxation & Digestive Comfort

This is probably how most of us know chamomile.

When we steep chamomile flowers in hot water, we're creating a water-based preparation that has traditionally been used for digestive complaints and is widely associated with relaxation.

Chamomile contains apigenin, a flavonoid that has been studied for its potential interaction with receptors involved in relaxation and sleep (Srivastava et al., 2010).

But there's another reason I might choose chamomile tea.

The ritual itself.

A warm cup of tea gives you a reason to slow down, smell and taste the herbs, and take a few minutes at the end of the day.

So if I'm choosing chamomile tea, I may be looking for digestive comfort, relaxation, or simply that warm evening ritual.

Chamomile Tincture: Similar Herb, Different Delivery

Now let's take those same chamomile flowers and make a tincture.

Instead of using only water, tinctures generally use alcohol and water as the extraction medium. Because plant compounds differ in their solubility, changing the extraction medium can change which compounds—and how much of them—are extracted from the plant (Abubakar et al., 2023).

So a chamomile tincture isn't simply chamomile tea put into a smaller bottle.

It's a different extraction.

But there's also a very practical reason someone might choose a tincture:

Convenience.

You don't have to boil water, steep the flowers, and drink an entire cup. A tincture provides a concentrated liquid preparation that can be measured in a much smaller amount.

Someone might choose chamomile tea because they want the warm ritual of tea, while choosing a tincture when they want a more convenient way to incorporate chamomile into their routine.

Neither one is automatically "better."

It depends on what you're looking for.

Chamomile-Infused Oil: Now We're Talking About Skin

Now let's take those same chamomile flowers and put them into oil.

Our purpose changes again.

Chamomile has a long history of topical use, and several of its constituents have been studied for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Traditional chamomile preparations have also been used externally for minor skin irritation and inflammation (European Medicines Agency [EMA], 2015; Srivastava et al., 2010).

But when I'm formulating skincare, I'm not expecting a chamomile-infused oil to do what a cup of chamomile tea does.

I'm interested in what chamomile can bring to a topical formulation.

A chamomile-infused oil can become the botanical foundation of a facial oil, body oil, balm, or salve designed to condition and soften dry or sensitive-feeling skin.

And if we turn that infused oil into a salve, we're adding another layer to the formulation.

Butters can help soften and condition the skin, while beeswax helps create an occlusive layer that slows moisture loss.

So think about how different our reasons for choosing chamomile can be.

Same chamomile. Different preparation. Different purpose.

🌿 And That's Really the Point

The more I learn about herbs, the less interested I am in simply asking:

“What is this herb good for?”

Because I'm learning that there are better questions:

Why this herb?

How should it be prepared for what I'm trying to accomplish?

Which plant constituents am I actually trying to work with?

And does this herb make more sense in my cup, in a tincture bottle, or on my skin?

That's what I find so fascinating about herbalism.

The way we prepare a plant changes how we're working with it and why we might choose it in the first place.

And that's the kind of thought I want behind the products we create at Rosemary & Cedar Botanicals.

I don't want to add an herb simply because it's popular, sounds impressive, or looks good on an ingredient list.

I want there to be a reason.

A reason for the plant.

A reason for the preparation.

And a reason for the finished product.

Because choosing the herb is really only the beginning.

Rooted in Nature. Made for Real Life. 🌿

This article is for educational purposes and discusses both traditional herbal uses and scientific research. Traditional use does not necessarily mean a benefit has been established through clinical research. Herbal products may have contraindications and interact with medications. Consult an appropriate healthcare professional when needed.

References

Abubakar, A. R., et al. (2023). Major phytochemicals: Recent advances in health benefits and extraction method. Molecules.
Read the botanical extraction research

de Macedo, L. M., Santos, É. M. D., Militão, L., Tundisi, L. L., Ataide, J. A., Souto, E. B., & Mazzola, P. G. (2020). Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L., syn Salvia rosmarinus Spenn.) and its topical applications: A review. Plants, 9(5), 651.
Read the rosemary topical review

European Medicines Agency. (2010). Community herbal monograph on Rosmarinus officinalis L., folium. European Medicines Agency.
European Medicines Agency rosemary information

European Medicines Agency. (2015). European Union herbal monograph on Matricaria recutita L., flos. European Medicines Agency.
European Medicines Agency chamomile information

Srivastava, J. K., Shankar, E., & Gupta, S. (2010). Chamomile: A herbal medicine of the past with bright future. Molecular Medicine Reports, 3(6), 895–901.
Read the chamomile review