FAQs

Click on the video below for a video demonstration.

Put the recommended number of drops into a swallow of water (about 1 to 2 oz.) and take it. Water is the best medium, but a small amount of diluted apple juice is okay. I advise against using citrus juice. Take the extracts before or a while after meals; in other words, apart from food.

For children between the ages of 3 and 12, give the same dosage frequency as recommended for adults, but limit the amount to ten drops in a small amount of water. Not recommended for children under the age of 3.

Desert Willow Botanicals extracts are technically tinctures, though they are stronger than many tinctures available on the market. A big difference in the production of our extracts is that we make sure our plants are harvested at the peak of their potency. For instance, if the root of a particular herb is what is being used, the best time to harvest the root is when the plant is dormant with no flowers or leaves visible. This is the time when all of the plant’s energy is in the root. With many herbs, this is what makes a big difference in the potency of the product. Our extensive knowledge in maximum potency harvesting times for each herb used in our extracts is very important. The herb is then ground and mixed with grain alcohol and distilled water and extracted for over a month. It is then pressed out, along with the concentrated extracted plant juices. No heat is used in the process. Click here for our Process Chart

The following is our own opinion. We feel that our herbal extracts best represent the potency of the whole plant because the herbs we use are harvested at their maximum potency levels. The low or no-alcohol extracts are tinctures that have been evaporated and then reconstituted with only enough alcohol to preserve or with other preservatives. We feel that valuable plant constituents may be lost in these processes. Glycerine extracts are available, but glycerine is not a very good extractor or preserver of many plant constituents. At best, larger doses are needed to obtain the same results.

It is important to understand that the many tastes of herbs can give us a valuable connection to the Earth. The taste of an herb is a part of its energy. For instance, it has been shown scientifically that the bitter taste on the tongue strongly activates many of the glands and organs involved in digestion, assimilation and elimination. These properties are lost if the herb is taken in a capsule. It is reassuring for most people to know that the strong taste is indication of the potency of our product. The taste of the herb is only momentary with the extracts. Most of the herbs have mild and interesting flavors and most people can get used to the taste after a short period of time. For those who truly cannot get used to the taste, the herbs can be placed in a little diluted apple juice, or a small nibble of something can be taken after the herb.

Herbal extracts take the guesswork out of wondering if an herb has lost its potency after sitting around too long in a warehouse; or after being ground, when herbs can rapidly begin to break down.

Liquid extracts go right into the bloodstream, so that the process of digestion is eliminated. With capsuled herbs there is a question of some herbal properties and constituents being lost in the process of digestion; particularly for those with poor digestion and assimilation.

The dosage of liquid extracts can be carefully controlled by the drop, for those who are sensitive to the actions of herbs.

Nearly every plant can be extracted with either alcohol or water or both. The alcohol is important in extracting, and then in preserving the extract for many years. Most dried herbs lose their potency in only a couple of years. Alcohol also helps speed the delivery of the herb through the system. The actual amount of alcohol ingested is very small. An average dose contains the alcohol in 1/85th of an 8 0z. glass of wine, or about the same amount the body produces when digesting a banana. If the alcohol content is a big issue of a particular person, the formulas can be taken well-diluted.