How to Source Herbs and Steam Supplies
Recommended Herbs and Supplies
Everything on this page is what I actually use. I keep it here rather than inside my guides so it stays accurate as suppliers change and products get discontinued.
Some links below are affiliate links. If you buy through them I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. It does not change what I recommend, and I have never recommended something I do not use.
Suppliers Worth Knowing
Frontier Co-op, Anthony’s, and Starwest Botanicals all carry USDA certified organic lines and are easy to get on Amazon, which matters when you are starting out and buying small amounts of several herbs at once.
Monterey Bay Herb Co. and Mountain Rose Herbs sell direct rather than through Amazon, and both become better value once you know which herbs you go through quickly.
Each of these carries conventional stock alongside its organic line, so check the seal on the individual listing rather than trusting the brand name alone.
• Frontier Co-op [LINK]
• Anthony’s [LINK]
• Starwest Botanicals [LINK]
• Monterey Bay Herb Co. [LINK]
• Mountain Rose Herbs [LINK]
The Fifteen Herbs
These are the ones in the Starter Herbalist Guide. Buy four ounces of anything you will drink daily and one ounce of anything external or occasional.
• Red raspberry leaf [LINK]
• Nettle leaf [LINK]
• Red clover blossom [LINK]
• Oatstraw [LINK]
• Chamomile [LINK]
• Calendula [LINK]
• Rose petals [LINK]
• Lavender [LINK]
• Peppermint [LINK]
• Yarrow [LINK]
• Mugwort, Artemisia argyi [LINK]
• Motherwort [LINK]
• Cramp bark [LINK]
• Ginger root [LINK]
• Marshmallow root [LINK]
Steam Supplies
• Steam seat [LINK]
• Pot for the blend [LINK]
• Wrap or blanket [LINK]
You do not need a purpose-built seat to start. A pot and a chair with an opening will do the same job, and I would rather you started this week than waited on a purchase.
Sitz Bath Supplies
• Sitz basin that fits over a toilet https://amzn.to/4fVM8E3
• Quart jars for cold infusions [LINK]
A clean basin or a shallow few inches in your own bath works just as well. The jars are the thing worth owning, because marshmallow root has to be infused in cool water overnight and you will want more than one going.
After your soak
My pomegranate oil, applied while skin is still warm, helps hold that moisture at the surface. [LINK]
What to look for on any bag
The Latin name printed on the label, an origin or harvest date, and colour that still resembles the living plant. Green should be green and orange should be orange. Buy cut and sifted rather than powdered for nearly everything, since powder loses its volatile oils fastest and hides poor quality.
How to store what you buy
Airtight glass, out of direct light, away from the stove. Label every jar with the herb name and the month you opened it, because you will not remember. Leaves and flowers hold for about a year, roots and barks for two to three.