I searched around for various tincture-making recipes, and the one I used requires the propolis to be frozen. One recipe suggests crumling it into warm water for a few minutes, in order for the wax to rise, and thus, ‘clean’ the propolis a little. I didn’t do this at all, impatiently preferring to use whole, raw, untreated propolis

Becasue I used only 10g of propolis, I sliced the frozen propolis with a sharp knife, and it quite literally crumbled which increases the surface area exposed to the alcohol.
I quickly placed the crumbled propolis into a Jognny Walker miniature bottle, and added 40ml of my 80% ethanol, sealed and shook the bottle, and stored it in a dark, warm nook, watching it darken in colour.

At day 4, it seemed so dark as to not be transparent, so we began to sample it orally.

We use an eye dropper to accuratekly measure the drops, and use between 3 and 7 dropos of tincture in a little honey. It has a medicinal but interesting floral taste.

I find 1/4tsp honey with 5 drops of propolis added (stirred on the teaspoon with toothpick), and taken sub-lingually (under the tongue) to be beneficial, and a chronic abdominal pain from some sort of inflamation has suddenly eased, and my eyes suddenly felt brighter. My breath is definitely sweeter, and my chronically obstructed nasal passages seem to expel fluid (as if I had a short burst of the sniffles, and my breathing seems clearer.

My partner experienced a bright-eyed feeling as well as a general well-being.

I am quite aware of its possible psychosomatic effect, and we don’t have any scietific method to ‘measure’ changes in our well-being. Time and diary notes will help this process.

Thismorning, day 6, I decided to try to make a topical creme, and found a very simple recipe using ratios of propolis tincture, olive oil, baby oil and bee’s wax, made over a water bath.

I’m not at all patient, so it has ended up looking like lumpy peanut butter, but I slathered it on my freckled arms and face, and went off to a regional agriculltural field day in 40 degree heat for several hours. I burned brown, not red, and my sut-hat protected face is not at all blotchy, as it is after even referred heat.

However, I feel the olive oil is too heavy, and I find the product feels like Clag (a 1950s brand of a thick water paste for school kids). on my skin The creme smells very strongly of alcoholised propolis, and adding several drops of pure Lavender oil did not ameliorate this, but I smell clean, and the odour settles, and no-one could detect it once applied.

I made more than I wantde to (mis-read recipe) and have it stored in small, wide mouthed jars in the fridge. I will keep one jar for topical use on my dogs’ itches, and give the other to a horse trainer, for some feed-back.

It will be important to observe for any separation of the emulsion

Luckily, I’ve also met up with a skin-care manufacturing bio-chemist, who has her own professional range of naturally based products, and a true, professional outfit for manufacturiing same, but hasn’t worked with propolis, and has invited me to stay in touch re same, and viist and use her filters.

So, madpam, thanx again for the geat start you have given me, and I urge others to give it a go.

Just remember to freeze the propolis, then crush it to increase the surface area exposed to the alcohol.

I think I’m confused with thre terms ‘distil’ ‘extract’ and ‘tincture’ as it’s nearly 50 years since I studied high school chemistry, but I’m on the case, and had already started with 30ml of 44% brown rum and 10g of propolis, and you’re right about the ‘just enough to cover…’.

I used the 1:3 ratio on the advice of a very experienced bee products prodcuer

It’s now 8 days old, and I can see how the propolis has dissolved into it, and I’ve already stating dabbing it on to very small broken skin scratches, with a cleansing effect to the wound site, and a speed-up in my normal healing time.

Now I’m waiting ’till I get some small volume, narrow-necked bottles to try the white spirit and propolis recipe, and sharpening my fingers and toes for the maths to dilute the tincture for oral mouth-wash use.

BTW, R U going to APIMONDIA in Montpellier, France, in Septermber this year?

Do you know anything about distilling propolis?