Making your own infused oils should not be daunting or intimidating. It’s actually pretty easy once you have all the ingredients. While it may seem like a lot of work, it pays out in the end. You can purchase 2 ounces of infused oil for upwards of $20 (which is great if you can’t find the ingredients, or you just don’t have the time). Or you can make it for a fraction of the cost.
It’s the upfront costs that are intimidating. But once you have purchased them, you can make a lot more for a lot less.
What you need:
- Carrier oil of your choice – Each one has different benefits, but to start, use what you have on hand. These are the most common:
- Olive Oil
- Avocado Oil
- Fractionated Coconut Oil
- Almond Oil
- Jojoba Oil
- Herb of your choice – each one has their own benefit.
- Dried herbs – my favorite
- Fresh, but wilted herbs – too much moisture will ruin your oil
- Mason jar for infusing
- Saucepan or crockpot – if doing a fast infusion
- Cheesecloth or some other fine cloth for filtering
- Another Mason jar for final result – I often use the same jar herb was infused in, wiped out very well with a paper towel.
- Bottle for easy dispensing
- LABEL – yes, in capital letters because do you know how many mysterious infused herb jars I’ve ended up with that required discarding? Too many.
- A lot of paper towels – you do not want oils going down your drain and water is the enemy of your infusion.
Useful but not required
- Potato strainer
- Fine mesh sieve
- Washcloth
Now for the making. There are two ways to do this; the fast infusion or the slow infusion. Fast infusion is done on the stove top or a crock pot. It can take anywhere from an hour to eight hours. Slow infusion uses sunlight in a window and takes two months or so.
Quick Method (Slow Cooker or Stove Top)
- Place dried herb in a clean, dry glass jar.
- Pour in the oil – add enough so that the dried herb is covered by about one-half inch of oil.
- Cover your jar with either a lid or cheesecloth, paper towel or coffee filter and secure it with a rubber band.
- Place a kitchen towel in the bottom of your slow cooker and place your jar inside. Add enough water to cover about half the jar and set to the lowest setting for 4-24 hours. Leave slow cooker uncovered and allow to infuse, adding water if needed to keep the slow cooker basin from drying out.
- Strain out the oil using cheesecloth and pour the oil in a clean, glass jar. Store in a cool, dark cabinet until needed.
Slow Method
- Place dried herb in a clean, dry glass jar.
- Next, pour in the oil – add enough so that the dried herb is covered by about one-half inch of oil.
- Cover the jar with a tight fitting lid and give it a good shake. Place the jar near a warm, sunny window. Give the jar a good shake when you walk by it every day.
- Once the oil has been infusing for 4-6 weeks, strain out the herbs and pour the oil in a clean, glass jar. Store in a cool, dark cabinet until needed.
Once you have infused oil made, now what?
You can put the oil in a bottle dropper and use it as it. There are times I just want the oil and its softness and smoothness to rub in my skin. If you make an infused oil for your scalp, a bottle dropper is ideal for getting the oil to your scalp. Other times I want to make it in to a salve or lotion.
There are kits available that contain almost everything you need to make either infusions or infusions and salves. This is one I sell all the time.
Herbs you can infuse (not a complete list):
Arnica Flower
Calendula
Catmint
Chickweed
Comfrey
Dandelion
Fireweed
Hemp Flower
Horsetail
Lavender
Lemon balm
Milky Oats
Motherwort
Mullein
Mugwort
Oat straw
Peppermint
Plantain
Red clover
Rose
Rosemary
St. Johns Wort
Yarrow
