Learn How To Make Homemade Essential Oils

By Karina Frost


Valuable essential oils bear aromas and flavors of plants they are derived from and can be used for scenting, massages, healing and many other purposes. These volatile liquids will quickly evaporate, and you need to keep them in closed, dark glass made containers, away from heat and light. Here you can find out how to make homemade essential oils easily.

There are several ways for extracting oils from selected plants, but the most common ones are steam distillation, cold-pressing and extraction. Some of these techniques require special equipment, some are simpler. The quality of your final product may greatly depend on the particular technique used, and some are suitable only for particular plants.

When it comes to citruses, cold pressing is the simplest technique, although it does require some time and effort. You have to collect sliced or grated peels of selected, organically grown citrus, for example, lemon, and soak them in distilled water for a few days. Strained peels should be placed into a press and exposed to a high pressure for some time, to release oils and juices.

When all fluids get extracted, after a while, the oil will begin to float on the top. You need to gather this oil and strain it through clean cheese cloth or several layers of gauze. It takes some time, but you will obtain perfectly clean, aromatic essence.

Using carrier oil is the simplest method. Choose good quality low fragrance oil, and you can never make a mistake if you choose cold pressed virgin olive oil. One cup of carrier is enough for one quarter ounce dried flowers, herbs or petals, or for one quarter cup of fresh plants. Mix them together and cook for at least six hours, on very low temperature, approximately 140 degrees F. Strain the obtained oil through a gauze.

Here is the simplest method of all. Mix the carrier oil with your plants and put this mixture into a mason jar. Close tightly and leave the jar on full sun for weeks, at least two. After that, simply strain the content and storage your homemade oil in dark glass bottles or similar containers. It will last for six months.

Steam distillation unit is called the still. This type of equipment is very similar to one used for making booze. You can design and make your own equipment, or spend couple of hundreds for smaller units. This equipment make things much quicker and easier, and you will get the largest amount of final product this way. You may use dried of fresh plants here.

When it comes to steam distillation, it is important to use stainless steel and glass parts only. Copper and similar materials can change the chemical structure of your oil. If you have the right equipment, this procedure is quite simple. Just keep in mind that you do need large quantity of high quality plant material to obtain only a small amount of good quality essential oil.




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