How to make an herbal infused oil
Read about the different kinds of medicinal herbs and decide what kind of properties you are after. Some herbs you can use the whole plant and the roots, some just flowers and leaves, some only the flowers.
Its also Important WHEN you pick the herbs, it’s best to pick Flowers when they are new or are about to bloom, it’s also best to pick them in the morning when they contain most of their good properties, if you pick them mid-day a lot of their healthy oils will have evaporated in the sun and will be restored in the evening or overnight. Also, if you pick in the morning let the morning dew dry away a bit before picking or else it will be harder to dry them because they contain more water. Also, don’t pick while or after it has rained, then they are also filled with more fluids.
Roots are best collected in spring or fall; they contain more of the active substances then and Leaves are best to pick before the plant are blooming..
But hey, don’t be sad if you are “too late” or something, they still have their active substances even though they already have bloomed, just slightly less. The guidelines are just for making the most out of every herb.
This is how you do it:
· You can either pick wild herbs (not close to a road or a farm that sprays pesticides and such), have them in your own garden or buy organic from a store that sells dried herbs. Be sure to pick the right ones! There are a lot of herbs that look alike, some are harmless but some are not.
Pick the flowers you want to use and dry them dark and airy; light and sun makes the herbs lose some of their good qualities.
Store the herbs as whole as possible (don’t crush them into the jar, just pack them loosely) and as airtight and dark as possible, glass jars are the best containers. You can absolutely use the herbs for several years but as time goes, they lose some of their good properties, best is to pick new ones every year, but to have the herbs for a couple of years is ok.
When you want to make your herbal oil, you put the herbs in a jar, put them in loosely, they shouldn’t be packed.
If you have dried herbs you can put about 1/3 of herbs and then oil 2/3.
You can also make an herbal oil with fresh herbs but then you will need more flowers than if they are dried and the oil will have water in it which makes the oil less shelf stable. Fill the jar with herbs and cover everything with oil, see that the oil gets above the herbs.
Label the jar with date, kind of oil, what herbs and other information you think will be important to remember.
Place the jar in a sunny window for at least 6 weeks, you can shake the jar now and then to mix it a bit
After 6 weeks or more, strain the oils and remove the herbs, make sure it’s a strainer that don’t let any herb parts come along, they can mold and destroy the oil, this is important if you use fresh herbs. Not as important if you used completely dried herbs. But it is still nice to have a clean oil without plant parts in it.
Store in an airtight container, like a glass flask, in a cool, dry and dark place.
To think about:
I would not recommend other vegetable oils other than pure organic cold pressed (virgin) olive oil. Most other oils on the market (rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, soybean oil…) are highly processed industrial products that is not good for anyone. If you are interested to hear more about this you can listen to why here and here.
Examples of herbs that I use to make herbal oils with; Calendula, Arnica, Chamomile, Wild Pansy, Lavender, Lemon balm and so on.
How to think regarding the sunlights impact on the nutrients while standing in the window. The standard metod of doing these herbal infused oil is to expose the jar to sunlight, it is said that the properties from the herbs are then transfering over to the oil. From what we understand it is the slight heat from the sun one needs. At the same time it is said that every herb or food should be kept in dark bottles away from sunligt in order for the properties to stay intact. This is a dilemma and it needs more research.
I am not a professional and this is what I have learned during my reading and researching. I may have gotten something wrong and its always best to form ones own opinion by reading and researching. Everything with herbs and plants are highly individual, what works for someone doesn’t work for someone else, one gets this effect and another get that affect from the same herb. We have lost a lot of knowledge about the plant world and its thoughts during these years of disconnection to nature, hopefully we will someday regain it.
Hope this text will help you to make your own herbal oil, its fun and lovely to think about how much good this oil can do for you and your skin.
/Tova