All About Extracts

We recently sent out some samples of St. John’s Wort Extract as gifts with orders, and we received some inquiries as to how such a product should be used.

Extracts are made from different parts of botanicals – flowers, leaves, or roots.

Extracts are an easy way to get the beneficial properties of botanicals into a usable form. People have been doing it for centuries, and it’s a simple process. Put the plant matter in some oil, add some heat, and the oil-soluble properties of the plant will be extracted. The plant matter is filtered out, and the oil now contains properties unique to that particular plant.

We use these extracts as additives to personal care products such as lotion, shampoo, conditioner, hair oil, and lip balm. They are wonderful additions that offer benefits and label appeal.

The Sage offers the following oil soluble botanical extracts: Algae, Aloe, Calendula, Chamomile, Comfrey Leaves, Dandelion Flower, Echinacea, Goldenseal, Horsetail Grass, Ivy, Lemon Balm Leaf, Lemon Verbena Leaf, Marshmallow Leaf, Marshmallow Root, Matcha Green Tea, Orchid, Sea Buckthorn, Soapwort Root, and St. John’s Wort. Please click here to learn all about what each of these extracts can do for you.

That’s quite a list! We have an extract to meet nearly every need. Want to add something that has been used historically to combat skin irritation? Choose Chamomile and Echinacea extracts. Ivy, Aloe, and Comfrey are good choices where healing is needed. Matcha Green Tea, Sea Buckthorn, and Orchid all contain antioxidants to benefit the skin. Other extracts add emollients. Some have anti-inflammatory properties. We love them all!

Here are links to several products the blog team has created that use different extracts.

• Cuticle Oil with Orchid Extract
• Pixie Dust Body Scrub with Aloe Extract
• Tangerine Dream Hair Mask with Horsetail Grass Extract
• Easy Chocolate Mint Lip Balm with Calendula Extract
• Grandma’s Christmas Mints Lotion with Matcha Green Tea Extract
• Bottoms Up Baby Ointment with Chamomile, Calendula, and Orchid Extracts
• Soft Foot Scrub with Comfrey Leaves Extract
• Taylor’s Intense Hand Cream with Goldenseal Extract
• Simply Soothing Lotion Bar Stick with Lemon Balm Leaf and Marshmallow Root Extracts
• Dry Massage Oil with Sea Buckthorn Extract
• Sweet Garden Night Cream with Witch Hazel Extract

I’m aghast to realize we have not made anything for the blog with Echinacea, Soapwort Root, or St. John’s Wort Extracts! How is this possible? I will remedy that right away. In the meantime, please check out the blog posts above, and don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions. We genuinely love helping our Adventurous Makers!

Do you have a favorite extract?