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If you’re trying to get started with holistic health and wellness, chances are you’ve thought about starting your own home apothecary. Creating your natural pharmacy at home takes time, education, and knowledge of herbalism. You need to learn how to create herbal remedies that work, and which herbs can do the job.
RITUAL APOTHECARY is a modern skincare and herbal remedies shop in the heart of downtown Peterborough. We’re the home studio of The Willow’s Bark, and home to many other sustainably-minded, small-batch, toxin-free companies creating beautiful, wellness-focused products with a holistic approach.
- The Handmade Apothecary is a fount of fascinating information about herbs and how each one works to improve your health and well-being. There's an introduction to each of the body's systems, from nervous to respiratory; advice on which herbs work best as treatments, and plenty of tips and time-tested recipes for vinegars, balms, oils, tinctures.
- Below is some insight into the Victorian apothecary. Early in the period, apothecaries were considered doctors as not only did they prepare medicines and remedies for patients, but they also treated patients, dressed wounds and performed minor surgeries for a fee.
Victorian Apothecary Remedies Natural
Learning herbal medicine is a rewarding journey and well worth it! There is so much to explore and learn about the power of herbs. We always try to share our knowledge of natural remedies and uses to help you better your health, naturally.
So if you’re up to the challenge, here are our top 10 picks to get started with your home apothecary. You’ll want a well-rounded arsenal of herbs that can accomplish different tasks, but these are a good place to start.
10 Must-Have Herbs to Start Your Own Home Apothecary for Natural Wellness
1. Dandelion
Dandelion leaf and root are both powerful parts of this common “weed.” The leaf can be used in bitters, while the root is a hepatic herb for detoxifying. They purify the body and liver by flushing out toxins and excess water.
Victorian Apothecary Remedies Spray
2. Ashwagandha
One of the best all-purpose herbs to keep on hand in your home apothecary. Ashwagandha is an anti-inflammatory, adaptogen, analgesic, and relaxant. That means it can relieve pain, calm the body and mind, and increase your body’s endurance and immune system.
3. Nettle
Nettle leaf is a super nutritive herb, as well as an anti-inflammatory and adaptogenic powerhouse. It reduces oxidative stress in the body and helps kill off viruses and infections. It makes a potent tincture against colds and illnesses, but also for overall health and balanced vitamin intake.
4. Chamomile
Chamomile is a calming herb for many different ailments. It’s antispasmodic, helping to prevent and ease spasms in the stomach and body. It fits into most of the essential medicinal categories: carminative (digestive health), anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, sedative… It can do it all. Chamomile is also quick to take – steeping the tea alone will provide health benefits.
5. Elderberries
Elderberries are an incredible immune system booster. It’s proven to ease colds and the flu, speed recovery, and fight infections. This is because it not only gives a jolt to the immune system but also balances and supports its regulation. Use it in anti-microbial mixtures to boost their power, as well. Elderberry syrup is a popular home remedy for increasing immunity during the flu season.
6. Slippery Elm
Slippery elm bark soothes inflammation, especially in the mucous membranes and digestive system. It can help relieve pain and soothe skin irritations, so it’s great for salves and creams. It’s also highly nutritious, with many vitamins and minerals.
7. Echinacea
Echinacea root is another well-known immune stimulant. Herbalists have extensively used it for hundreds of years. It increases the number of white blood cells in the body, which makes it powerful against viruses and other immune system invaders. It’s also known to help combat cancer and improve respiratory issues.
8. Calendula
Calendula is excellent for lymphatic health, menstrual cramps, and muscle spasms. It’s often used in topical solutions and salves for skin irritations, wounds, and bruises as well. You can mix with a carrier oil to create infusions, or steep in 100 proof alcohol to make a tincture.
9. Turmeric
Turmeric root contains curcumin, an antioxidant compound that significantly reduces inflammation. It’s also a stimulant that helps increase blood circulation in the body and supports the immune system. And like dandelion root, it detoxifies the liver of impurities and toxins.
10. Skullcap
Skullcap is an anxiolytic herb that calms the nervous system and anxiety. Use it to help relieve pain and muscle spasms, especially in infused oils. Make it as a tea for quick ingestion and relief.
Tools You’ll Need to Get Started:
Besides herbs, you’ll need some things to store, mix, strain, and create your elixirs! Here are some things you’ll need on hand:
- Mason jars for storing tinctures and elixirs
- Amber bottles for essential oils, tinctures, and other liquids
- Mortar and pestle for grinding
- Cheesecloth for straining
- Labels
- 100 proof alcohol
- Carrier oils, like coconut and sweet almond
- Honey, vinegar, and other desired solvents
- Waxes or butters for creams
Herbal Apothecary Healing
Learning how to use herbs and create natural remedies is an incredible way to boost the health and wellness of your home and family. It takes patience and time, but it’s well worth the effort to get started!
An apothecary is making up a prescription, whilst another takes a jar down from a shelf. Engraving by C. Luyken, 1695. Image courtesy of the Wellcome Collection (CC).
Who were the apothecaries and what role did they have in medicine?
Apothecaries were a branch of the tripartite medical system of apothecary-surgeon-physician which arose in Europe in the early-modern period. Well established as a profession by the seventeenth century, the apothecaries were chemists, mixing and selling their own medicines. They sold drugs from a fixed shopfront, catering to other medical practitioners, such as surgeons, but also to lay customers walking in from the street. Their daily tasks- as distinct from those of a barber-surgeon or physician whose primary duties during this era involved related diagnosis and treatment- were thus defined by a focus on retail (sales to the public without performing other clinical roles). Their shops were designed to attract the customer, and they stored their wares in elaborately decorated jars which looked beautiful in store. Skill in chemistry was an important part of the apothecary's identity, and these jars- which contained the ingredients used to manufacture medicines- leant prestige to their craft.
These practices were broadly comparable across Western and Northern Europe at this time, but in colonial North America medical treatment was patchier, and the distinction between different types of medical practitioners was looser. Missionaries or settlers who were pharmacists at home brought their craft with them, but they were relatively few and far between. Some colonies lacked apothecaries entirely, and physicians often dispensed their own drugs. Medicine was also often practiced by lay people, such as churchmen and governors, or housewives
A figure made up of components of the apothecary trade. Engraving by N. de Larmessin II, 1695. Image courtesy of the Wellcome Collection (CC).
In England, on the other hand, apothecaries had become organised under a professional body by the early 1600s, hoping both to prevent other practitioners stepping into their jurisdiction, and to establish legitimacy of practice. The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries (founded in 1617) had begun to regulate training through apprenticeship. The Society of Apothecaries also established a chemical laboratory for the manufacture and sale of its own drugs to society members in 1672, in order to control the production of medicines and to boost its members’ reputation for the sale of reputable remedies. In addition, the Society inspected drugs sold in premises in London, in an attempt to monitor and prevent adulteration of pharmaceuticals within the city boundaries.
Despite this, by the eighteenth century the distinction between apothecaries and physicians in England had become blurred. From the end of the 1600s, English apothecaries had been increasingly practicing patient treatment alongside the sale of medicines, acting as general practitioners and advising, prescribing or otherwise treating where a doctor had not already done so (for example, as surgeon-apothecaries). By doing so, they were stepping on the turf of the physicians. This generated a controversy that ultimately led to major changes within the apothecary profession in Britain, and meant that medical practice there developed differently than other Western countries such as France and (ultimately) the USA.