Reply To: Medicine Making | External Preparations

[Benna Keoghoe | Registered Herbal Therapist]

Hi Nathalie,

We’re glad too, there are so many little nuances to herbal medicine making that I’m still learning through experience 14 years in! So it’s always worth asking.

1. Correct you do not need to physically feel a burning/tingling sensation from the cayenne for it to be enacting the rubifacient/analgesic action. The sensation your skin feels with A-535 is actually brought on by the aromatic compounds camphor, menthol and methyl salicylate (which would be found in mints, wintergreen and eucalyptus). They all have a different action and effect on the skin.

2. Yes a warm infusion is best done for as long as you can but at a very low heat (just above body temp). Scalding or burning the oil is much more easily done than I thought as well, and can be done well below the boiling point of water. I’ve learned this through many ruined batches of oil. This temperature threshold will also depend on the type of oil you are using.
When I said that it should only be heated for a few minutes, that is at temperatures like 60 C. Ideally you are not going much above 40 C.

I hope this clarifies things further for you.
Benna