October 14, 2026

Have you heard that you can just substitute another solvent straight across for an alcohol tincture? Many herbalists will say this (myself included sometimes) depending on the skill level of the person I'm talking with. Because honestly, it's better to make "some" kind of extract than no extract at all.....and dosing can always be adjusted for weaker extracts....

But that's just not ideal.

You may have wondered if you can just use vinegar for alcohol? Or glycerin? After all, glycerin is a sugar alcohol.

And I get asked versions of this question a LOT.... Here's our reader question this week:

I LOVE this reader question because these are the kinds of questions that students begin thinking about after getting the herbal basics down (safety, medicine making and applications, etc.). At some point, our minds turn to asking more advanced questions.....

Here's my answer for this question, and I'm not going to gloss over it. We're going a little deep here......

We’ll begin with the second question because it matters the most. Plants contain chemical constituents, and some of these extract well into alcohol…but perhaps not so well into water. Glycerin as another solvent is the same way. It extracts certain chemicals, and for you to create a solid and useful formula or blend of herbs to extract in glycerin, you need to know which ones will work.

Glycerin is chemically a polar solvent, and this means that it behaves similarly to water, even though it’s actually a sugar alcohol. Therefore, anything that water will extract out, glycerin will, too, for the most part. The exception is minerals. Minerals are heavier molecules, and water (herbal tea or infusions) is the best solvent for these compounds, if you’re wanting a more nutritive product.

The things glycerin extracts well include sugars, mucilage (it shines here), and gums, plus tannins, many glycosides, and other simple water soluble compounds.

It doesn’t do a great job with the aromatics (the volatile essential oils in the plant) or any fat soluble compounds, such as vitamins A or E. It also won’t extract alkaloids well.

And for bitters, it’s also not a great choice because bitter receptors are required to activate the response in the body, and the sweetness of glycerin offsets these compounds.

You can see that when you’re deciding what to formulate for (the intention of the formula), you decide on the kinds of compounds or chemicals you want in the final product. This decision informs which solvents you’ll use.

You’ll often hear that glycerin is a good substitute for alcohol, and it can be to an extent if you’re working with a lower proof alcohol, which will be mostly water. For example, 80 proof alcohol is 40% alcohol and 60% water. But not everything that extracts in alcohol will extract in glycerin, so you often just get a shadow of what a proper tincture might provide, which is weaker and requires higher dosing.

Now for the first question, which is about knowing when herbs can go together in the formula…..

I’ve shared how we choose the proper solvents (solutions for extraction) by knowing the plant chemicals that will work. But when we’re ready to create a formula specifically for a need or a person (this would be clinical intention), then we need to make decisions about this too.

If you want herbs that extract well in alcohol, and not glycerin, then you can make a tincture of these. And then you can make a glycerite with the herbs that extract well in glycerin. And…finally you can combine them together in a formula.

What does all this ultimately mean?

It means that as an herbalist, you need to know all about the plants. And it really helps with formulation if you have a good mentor who can help you work through all of this.

That’s what we do inside the Confident Herbalist Tribe, our seven-year-old herbal membership. I built and created the Confident Herbalist Tribe (and everything else in our school) LONG before artificial intelligence reared its ugly head.

One of the many special things about our herbal membership is:

Students choose a learning path that meets their own needs, then learn herbalism in community and/or on their own through self-study of the materials.

Think of it like the old-fashioned one room school house where the teacher teaches all the students in one room, but at their level. And the older kids are able to help out the younger kids, and the learning is therefore sped up.

There’s help. There’s practice. There’s friendships and teamwork. The Confident Herbalist Tribe is the best place to really grow into the herbal style of practice that you desire, whether it’s just for fun or if you’re wanting a serious career at some point. Or, perhaps you want to augment a natural health practice you already have with herbal medicine…. The Confident Herbalist Tribe does all of this.

If you didn't enroll in our Family Herbalism program, Ditch the Drugstore or the Family Herbalist Certification program because you’re on a budget, the Confident Herbalist Tribe has an affordable subscription option. And if you’re ready to go all in and don’t want a subscription, then we have payment plans for a lifetime option, allowing you to own all the materials and activities as a course.

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Herbal Fun Stuff

Harvesting Herbs for Potent Medicine

Since we’re on the topic of medicine making today, it’s good to know when to harvest different plant parts. This is an older video, but it will help you know what you can harvest now, as we go into fall, or if you’re in the Southern hemisphere…what is best for spring.

**This is an older video, but it's still a "goodie!"

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Another question group I get quite often is about what herbs are the most helpful for brain health and function? Here’s a video I made a couple of years ago on this topic, and in it I share some of my favorites and why they work.

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On the Homestead and Herb Farm

It’s getting cold here in N. Idaho, and our garden is beginning to get ready to go to sleep for winter. The perennials like motherwort are just starting to flower for me, and I’m hoping to get a little harvest this first year. Other perennials like speedwell, California poppy, lemongrass, and others are either ready to harvest or are just finished. We picked our hops the other day, and although we were a little late, it was still a wonderful harvest. I slept REALLY well that night!

We had a big black bear get into some things on the property the other night. Both the dogs woke up barking and in the morning, we found the evidence…. Trash everywhere and a nice paw print. But at least it wasn’t a mountain lion. We have a couple of those on the mountain here, too.

This week we got just into freezing, and I have been experimenting with some tender perennials that just won’t make it through our winter. So, I pulled many of these in including my lemon tree, huge rosemary, rose geraniums I hope to distill next summer, my small mimosa trees (the big one is still outside in it’s larger pot along with an olive tree), a little schisandra that has been struggling, a eucalyptus globulous, and many others.

My office is the only place in the house with a south facing window without an overhang….so my plant friends will be joining me in there as I work this winter. I’ve never had this many plants overwintered indoors before, and it’s going to be fun….I’ll share pictures! I’m hoping for another wonderful lemon harvest, and I’ll be distilling lots of rosemary this winter.

I was going to tell you about my blood pressure (great news), but I'll save that for another day as this is getting a little long.

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Are you missing the Inspiration and Encouragement I used to write here? I'm now writing about this as well as how to renew your mind and take captive your thoughts for a healthier and more joyful life....over on Substack.​

I'd love for you to check it out! And if you like it, please subscribe. Those notes are now completely separate because I just get so wordy sometimes, and my herbal notes are already super long...and this is an herbal place after all.

"Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; Cleanse me, and I will be whiter than snow." ----Psalm 51:7

(I love hyssop. I have a great deal of it growing out in the garden, both the anise style, which is a delicious herbal tea...and the official hyssop which is tremendously medicinal!)

Hugs, Health, and Herbs,

Heidi

​P.S. I hope to see you in the Tribe, and I'm planning a fun week of herbs coming up soon!
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