Herbal Extracts for Natural Skin Care - Certified Online Course - 30-August-2025

PART 3 of Herbal Skin Craft: Foundations of Herbal Skin Care Making 3-part certified online training for naturopaths, herbalists and formulators

Pre-approved by NHAA for 3 hours of CPD in the Formal Learning category.

Date & Time

SATURDAY 30-AUGUST-2025 10.00am-12.00pm AEST (replay is available for 6 months if signing up for this course only or for 12 months if taking part within the Herbal Skin Craft offering)

What is it?

This unique online course demystifies the chemistry behind herbal extracts and makes it practical, approachable, and directly applicable to natural skin care. You will learn how to choose the right solvent for your precious herbs - whether it's high-proof ethanol, raw honey, oils, or even tallow. You will learn about herbal constituents such as tannins, alkaloids, and terpenes, what they do for the skin, and how to effectively extract them using the most suitable method. You will learn what skin care products you can incorporate your herbal extracts into and in what amount.

Over two engaging hours complemented with easy-to-understand diagrams and graphics we will dive into one of the most underestimated and misinterpreted topic of natural skin care.

The class is recorded and available for 6 months for your convenience. Supporting materials - available for download - will include class notes and a table clearly detailing key chemical constituents of  20 commonly available medicinal plants with information on how to best extract them and what effect they have on the skin.

You will:

• Elevate your understanding of basic chemistry principles that govern herbal extracts making.
• Get access to an easy-to-follow practical overview of key herbal constituents relevant for topical use, including their polarity, extractability and practical use.
• Find the context for the use of herbal extracts in topical herbal medicines and how they combine with various dermal dosage forms.

Who is it for

This course is suitable for experienced herbal medicine makers, qualified or student naturopaths and herbalists, pharmacists, aromatherapists, cosmetic chemists and aestheticians who would like to deepen their knowledge of the skin and herbal medicine for the skin. To home / community herbalists, and skin care formulators these courses will provide university-level education within the context of a practical application and in an easy-to-digest engaging manner.

MODULES

• What are herbal extracts and how they work.
• Different types of herbal extracts used in skin care.
• Differences between commercially available & house-made herbal extracts.
• Types of chemical constituents present in herbs and their effect on the skin (12 classes of chemical constituents).
• Science of selecting an appropriate solvent system, including water, ethanol, glycerine, honey, fixed plant oils and tallow.
• Introduction to various extraction methods.
• Useful tips and tricks on extracting including:
  • Equipment
  • Fresh x dry plant material
  • Filtration
  • Stability
  • Notes on sustainable herbal skin care practice.
• Q&A time

Format

Live online masterclass (2+ hours). A link will be sent to you prior to the meeting. Recording will be available for 6 months* after the course. A selection of downloadable digital resources will be shared. *Note that participants of the Herbal Skin Craft course have access to the recording for 12 months.

ABOUT THE TUTOR

Karolina "Kaja" Skraskova holds a Masters degree in Pharmacy from the Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. During this course Kaja studied not only various forms of chemistry but also pharmaceutical botany, pharmacognosy and pharmaceutical compounding. Kaja further holds a PhD in Analytical Chemistry from the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. Kaja has more than 8 years of experience formulating and making award-winning herbal skin care, using the principles of Galenic formulation. She delivered several invited talks on the topic to naturopathy students at Australian universities. Kaja enjoys teaching qualified naturopaths and herbalists, BHSc students and the broad public at the interface of herbalism and cosmetic science. She revels in presenting information new and old from refreshing angles. More information about Kaja and her work can be found here.

Get in touch for more information.