Thanks a lot for the replies. I am very new to the lotion-making world, and to all the surrounding topics, essential oils included. I'd love to hear more about essential oils and their therapeutic usage in lotions and creams. I am not dead set on a balm texture, it is just a good solid to use topically, really anything that works best is what I'm looking for.
And of course, I'm very willing to answer any questions anyone has, because I am very new to your world, yet many of you may be new to mine, and considering they are so closely related I feel we could all learn something from each other.
My extraction method is very simple, and easy to recreate for anyone. I use a coconut oil to extract all the necessary goodies from the marijuana, as THC dissolves into fats, alcohols, and some sugars (like honey, or vegetable glycerin) along with many other of the cannibinoids (healing agents) inside. However, before extracting these, a "decarboxylation" is required of the herbs. This simply means to remove the carboxyl group (Carbon dioxide/water) from the product, and can be done in multiple ways, heat, freezing, or dry air. In reality, this happens very slowly as the cannabis degrades, but to get the quickest finish I just throw the cannabis in the oven covered in tin foil at 220 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25 minutes before I turn off the oven and let it cool inside, with the door just cracked a little. This can be better accomplished without destroying some cannibinoids with a food dehydrator, as it uses less heat, as many cannibinoids are destroyed through heat. This process essentially activates the cannabis to be used medically.
With the decarboxylated product, I then grind it up into a powder, and mix with lecithin and coconut oil. The lecithin is great for making the cannabis more bio-available, which helps your body absorb it. The coconut oil is also my personal preference as it contains medium chain triglycerides which are most easily absorbed into our bodies. There is no specific amount I use, just enough coconut oil to fully immerse the cannabis, with powdered lecithin generously sprinkled on top, and mixed up.
I then reheat the mix in the oven for about an hour and a half, taking the mixture out halfway through and mashing up the product with a potato masher to further extract what is inside. After the full hour and a half in the oven, I just shut off the oven and let it cool, keeping the door closed in this step. Once cool, the mixture is put in the freezer for a minimum of 3-4 hours, which helps break down the plant material and what is inside even more. After the freezing period, and once the dish reaches room temperature (to avoid breakage), I place it in the oven again just enough to liquify it. At that point it can be strained for immediate use, or stored in a dark place to be used later. By this time most everything is taken from the cannabis, but I like to keep the plant matter in the oil as long as possible before I strain it, to make sure everything is in the oil and not in the throwaway plant matter. Also, storing the oil in a dark place for a couple weeks increases the bio-availability of the medicine a lot; I store for a minimum of 2 weeks, but cannabis extracts have an unusual way of becoming more and more effective the longer they sit.
Once strained, the oil can be used in a great many ways. Like I said, I have only used menthol crystals and eucalyptus so far, to add a cooling sensation to the oil, but I'd like to experiment with capsaicin, rosemary, nutmeg, and other essential oils which would seemingly complement the effects of the cannabis.
A side note, it is always important to let the dish return to room temperature before removing the top or placing in the freezer/oven, as cannibinoids vaporize at very low temperatures, and must settle first, and glass dishes cannot be shocked by different temperatures, or they could crack.
Similarly, for my alcohol extract I use 100% isopropyl alcohol and decarboxylated cannabis added to a slow cooker, and heated till the alcohol evaporates to about half of what I put in, freezing the final product for at least 24 hours, and again stored for at least two weeks. This I have only used with aloe, but I'm sure could be used in other ways. Menthol crystals and eucalyptus are again my go to addition for this mixture too.
Sorry for the super long post, did not anticipate that, but I hope you can get something out of it, if not only just a little bit of interest!
Green soap, what do you use in your balm to combine the cooling and heating effects effectively? I've thought about combining menthol crystals with capsaicin, but only because those are the main heating/cooling agents I've heard of, but I was also unsure about how I would get a timed effect, and was worried it would turn out to be ineffective with my lack of knowledge in the subject.
