Guest guest Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 Can any one tell me the difference between using ground or whole herbs. For example, I put ground(powder) eucalyptus leaves in my sinus headache soap. But then I hear that I'm destroying the " elements " of the herb by powdering it. I've made it both ways, and do not notice any difference, except for the fact that the soap using the powder cannot offer the exfoliation that the soap using the whole(broken-up) leaf does. TIA Michelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 , naturesnotionsnj@a... wrote: > Can any one tell me the difference between using ground or whole herbs. For > example, I put ground(powder) eucalyptus leaves in my sinus headache soap. > But then I hear that I'm destroying the " elements " of the herb by powdering > it. I've made it both ways, and do not notice any difference, except for the > fact that the soap using the powder cannot offer the exfoliation that the soap > using the whole(broken-up) leaf does. > TIA > Michelle Hi Michelle: If I may speak from my 30+ years of herbal study: 1. True, ground herbs oxidize faster than whole of " cut " ones when stored. Therefore, powder them as close as possible to usage to avoid loss of essential oils, taste, etc. 2. Powdering the herb, especially just before use, both keeps the freshness of the herb intact, and makes more of the active ingredient available. That's why herbs in capsules are always powdered. 3. Exfoliation is a different subject. You can achieve that by either adding some broken leaf, or an item like cranberry seed. HTH. http://naturalperfumery.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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