Dragon’s Blood Liquid Extract

Capturing the remarkable energy, magic and power of plants in order to find the secret to ever lasting beauty is an age-old quest the power of which hasn’t been overlooked by our modern day cosmetics industry.

In ancient Egypt we see plants used to help prepare and pave the way to the next world or afterlife.Papyrus or reeds of the Nile became a symbol of freshness and vigor, the white lotus a symbol of fertility and the onion symbolic of universal wisdom. Moving on to Ancient Greek mythology and we again find many plant references with Athena, goddess of wisdom choosing the olive as her tree, Zeus the Oak and Demeter, goddess of agriculture the corn poppy.

European mediaeval literature shows herbs in an altogether different light and rather than glorifying them as healing elixirs shrouds them in mystery and magic as integral parts of the witches garden! Of course rather than being the spell binding creatures of another time and place it is probably more accurate to think of them as the first incarnation of the pharmaceutical industry offering medication to ‘cure all ills’ in the form of special brews, decoctions, tinctures and extracts. However, given that during this time sickness was seenas punishment handed down from the Gods it makes sense that the ‘healers’ were seen as being in some kind of pact with those higher powers.

The power of steeping botanical in an alcohol solution was known by the Ancient Egyptians, Chinese and Indian cultures not least because drinking alcohol at that time was often safer than drinking water due to the potential for microbial contamination of water. However, alcohol wasn’t and still isn’t without its problems or concerns and as such, modern alchemists seek a gentler alternative to work with.

Glycerin fills the gap between water and alcohol extraction due to its inert and skin-compatible nature and high solubilizing power. Extracting plant material with glycerin is not a new thing and have a history of use in herbal medicine and are particularly prized in the medicine of the American Indians so while it is fair to say that the glycerin doesn’t release as much or as diverse a range of actives from the plant material as alcohol if produced correctly it provides a gentle yet powerful alternative for those needing the alcohol free option.