FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Please note that we do not ship daily. Orders can be expected to ship within two weeks. You will receive an email as soon as your order is scanned at the post office.

We now offer package protection through a 3rd party app, Guide. As many of you know, usps was not great about honoring claims and we think this new partnership will make this process much easier! If a package is lost, stolen or damaged please go to cedarhillhomesteadtn.com/claims and enter your order information. 

We are happy to ship to most countries. If your country is not listed at checkout, please send us an email and we'll see what we can do for you! Email us at: info@cedarhillhomesteadtn.com. Please know that what happens at customs, your taxes and duties are not up to us nor do we have any control over it.

We do not allow returns or refunds unless an item is defective or we have made a mistake. If there was an issue made on our behalf, please email us with a photo within 14 days of purchase.

Please note, we are not responsible for lost, stolen, damaged, or broken orders. Priority insurance through USPS covers $50 of mistakes made on their behalf and additional insurance can be added to any order.

To file an insurance claim, go to USPS.com and enter your tracking number. They are normally quick about processing the claims. You must have a photo of any damage to the box and a photo that shows the shipping label for proof.

Due to the nature of small batch releases, we completely understand why you might place multiple orders in one release. We appreciate your purchases so much but we simply cannot offer combined shipping to everyone. Our software is just not set up for it and relying on human memory with an influx of orders is simply not realistic. We are occasionally able to combine orders and will always refund shipping overages if we do. We ask that you do not expect or request it. By placing more than one order, you agree to receive more than one shipment. Thank you.

Our entire business model is designed with emphasis on highlighting the beauty of seasonal, hand harvested, small batch products. We are committed to keeping our practices ethical and for that reason, we will not always be able to meet the demand for our offerings. We can only offer as much as we can make and we put every single item in stock on the site, each release.

If it is an ‘Annual Offering’, you can look for it in the next release!

All of the above are methods of extraction and delivery. Meaning what each of these has in common is delivering herbal constituents to your body.

On to the differences.

Tinctures are extracted into organic cane alcohol & filtered spring water.

Glycerites are extracted into organic vegetable glycerin (alcohol free) and filtered spring water.

Syrups are water extractions that have been decocted using heat and honey.

Elixirs are typically a mixture of two or more methods. Our Elixirs consist of part syrup and part tincture. This means they have water soluble, alcohol soluble, and heat soluble properties. They are sweetened with honey.

Oxymels are extracted into honey & raw apple cider vinegar.

While we do not advocate for the mass use of essential oils, we occasionally use them in small, controlled amounts. The main thing we want folks to understand is that essential oils are incredibly strong and potentially harmful if not used properly. They are also incredibly wasteful and are not always necessary. There is a misguided belief that essential oils offer the same properties as teas, tinctures, and infused oils. This is completely false. Essential oils only include one part of a plant: the fragrant, volatile oils. That's it. And that is why we view them as wasteful. It takes gallons of fresh plant matter to make under 10ml of essential oils and in the end, a plant’s waters (hydrosols) and the plant matter are typically discarded and so much valuable medicine is lost in the process.

As plant stewards, we have invested years of our time into learning and experimenting with old world perfumery methods that are less harmful. In our natural perfumes and scented products, we are capturing scents with methods like oleoresins, enfleurage, absolutes, and hydrosols. We use EOs in about 5% of our products and only when these other methods have not worked well for us.

Herbal remedies have been around for as long as plants. In every part of the world, archaeologists have found evidence of ancient herbal practices. Plants evolve as humans do. There is a reason these beautiful, sentient beings who once stood strong in clean air with a strong ozone layer and no threat of over-harvesting are still able to survive in the cracks of today's world. This makes them ideal candidates for diseases and viruses that can shape shift within our cells. Plants also evolve with each season just like our bodies. This is why we stand behind seasonal medicine so strongly. We believe that what you need each season is already out there waiting. People seem to forget that a lot of modern medicine and even cleaning products are made using natural components within plants that have been replicated in labs.

Dosage is a highly personal part of herbal products. It depends on the person using it and how they're using it, which product they are using and what you are using it for. Each of our products have general recommended dosage but we highly encourage some independent research and intuition. You can often look up the herbs in a formula to find more about dosage per weight and use. You can also typically determine intuitively based on your desired outcome. Some will be simply trying to nourish and maintain a particular system of the body while others may be actively fighting infection. It is always best to consult with any practitioners you may be seeing.

This question will of course depend solely on which product you are using and your desired outcome. And of course, your individual health situation. This makes broad questions like this pretty difficult to answer accurately.

Here is an example, if you are experiencing anxiety and you take our Comfort formula, you are likely hoping for quick results. If you are experiencing digestive issues and you take our Stomach Mend formula, you are likely seeking repair and restoration to your GI Tract which takes time and consistent use. Another important thing to ask yourself is this : Do I want to just feel better today or do I want to feel better tomorrow, too? Herbs work by nourishing systems of the body. We do our best to include some general indicators in each product description but we also encourage independent research.

The shelf life of our products depends mostly on their menstruum. For example, all tinctures, which are extracted into organic cane alcohol, will have a much stronger shelf life than any food products or oil based products.

TINCTURES: Up to three years but for maximum potency we suggest tossing after one year.

GLYCERITES: One year.

BODY OILS & SERUMS: Most of our oils are incredibly high in fat which makes them more shelf stable but we recommend tossing any and all oils (including your cooking oils) after one year for maximum potency.

SALVES: Due to the beeswax in salves, they can last up to two years depending on use. We really suggest only buying what you'll go through in a year.

TEAS: Dried herbs can last a couple years but again, for maximum potency within one year.

OXYMELS & VINEGARS: Vinegar and honey both have some antimicrobial and bacterial constituents making them wonderful preservatives. Exposure to oxygen will cause them to expire sooner. If you cannot use it within six months to one year we suggest putting these products in the refrigerator.

SYRUPS: Most of our syrups contain honey and a bit of citric acid which helps to preserve the constituents in our syrups. Even so, sugar and water is a breeding ground for fermentation and alcohol. We recommend refrigerating our syrups to be on the safe side. If your syrups do begin to carbonate and ferment, simply heat them gently on the stove to kill the wild yeast and de-carbonate them.

This is an important one. If you are on any over or prescription drugs, we suggest looking up interactions with the herbs you wish to use. If you are working with a health practitioner, you may consult with them. If you are not, please do your research online or by reading the herb and drug interaction book. Without working with folks one on one, herbalists are not legally allowed to answer personalized questions.

Please consult with your primary care physician or health practitioner. Without working with folks one on one, herbalists are not legally allowed to answer personalized questions including this one. You may also research the herbs in the product you wish to use for any studies that indicate safety.

We offer 4 seasonal releases a year. These include season exclusive products to support your body through each appropriate season. These will also be more limited, small batch items made from ingredients we may not be able to source fresh year round.

Exact time and date of each release is usually announced 2-4 weeks before hand. The best way to stay up to date with this information is to sign up for our newsletter, follow us on Instagram, and support us on Patreon.

Patreon subscribers receive early access to the shop.

Products sell out quickly, especially seasonal products, so we usually keep the shop open 3-7 days depending on inventory.

Annual Offerings are products that we restock year round. These are items you can expect to see in every release.

Seasonal Offerings are season exclusive products that are only available until they sell out, or until that season next year.

Any of our products that do not contain tallow, honey, or beeswax are vegan. For example, all salves, tinctures, powders, teas, sprays, and ingestibles that do not include honey are vegan.

We do offer custom formulas for folks with allergies. Just shoot us an email to info@cedarhillhomesteadtn.com and let us know exactly which item you want and the ingredient that needs to be left out.

We can leave ingredients out but we cannot change a formula entirely or use a different method of extraction.

I, Tori, am not currently offering consultations. However, we do still offer the 5 for $5 mini consultation for folks who aren't sure which item is best for them. Note: These mini consults do not include medical advice and are provided by an assistant. Please see the consultations tab.

For starters, we've actually had to cancel all 2020 in person classes due to COVID19 and have opted to begin offering them online soon.

In the meantime, we are really excited to announce that we started a Cedar Hill Homestead Patreon back in February. Please join us there to get the most education from Tori that you possibly can online. Patreon is the one place where Tori shares educational videos, DIYs, plant walks, plant identification, live QandAs, and more. Find out how to join on our education page.

Thanks for your interest! Shoot us an email at info@cedarhillhomesteadtn.com. We can only accept a small number of retailers at a time, so we do our best to make sure they are spread out and meet our standards to offer the best accessibility to our customers.