Making essential oils

[soapypsychic]

I have recently picked up making essential oils through the enfleurage method. Does anyone else do this? How long does it take?

I am currently making mint essential oil by soaking mint leaves in olive oil, would it work that way?

 

[lsg]

I think what you are making is called an infusion. It will not be an essential oil.

 

[Hazel]

You can produce essential oil by the enfleurage method; however, it's very time consuming. It can also be expensive if you don't grow the flowers yourself. For example, if you grow roses, chamomile, honeysuckle or jasmine then you could pick them and use them for this process. You could probably use some herbs, too. But it could be cost prohibitive if you have to buy the flowers or herbs. You'd also have to be careful about storing it because the fat used could go rancid.

Did you have a particular flower or herb in mind which you wanted to try?

 

[soapypsychic]

Hi lsg, an infusion is fine too I guess, people do make their oils less concentrated with carrier oil.

You can produce essential oil by the enfleurage method; however, it's very time consuming. It can also be expensive if you don't grow the flowers yourself. For example, if you grow roses, chamomile, honeysuckle or jasmine then you could pick them and use them for this process. You could probably use some herbs, too. But it could be cost prohibitive if you have to buy the flowers or herbs. You'd also have to be careful about storing it because the fat used could go rancid.

Did you have a particular flower or herb in mind which you wanted to try?

I wanted to try fruits actually, I heard that one can extract the smells from orange and apple skins. I even thought i'd try peaches too.

 

[Hazel]

I don't know how well that would work unless the skins were dehydrated. I think they'd get moldy before the scent was absorbed if there was any moisture. It's an interesting experiment. You'll have to let us know how it turns out. Good luck!

Now that I've thought about it, you could try lsg's infusion suggestion with dried orange peels. That might work to scent an oil. I don't think the scent would make it through saponification but it would be lovely in a lotion or scrub.

 

[soapypsychic]

To get out the essential oil from the infusion, does one pour in alcohol to mix with the oil and when the alcohol evaporates, what's left is the essential oil or is it that one shakes the bottle everyday and the alcohol becomes the essential oil?

I always thought that one adds the oils after saponification.

 

[Hazel]

I don't recommend trying to get an essential oil from an infusion. It is possible but it would be extremely difficult, expensive and time consuming. You'd be better off using the enfleurage method which would still be time consuming and possibly expensive. Here's a link to an article which discusses making essential oils by using alcohol. http://www.herbal-howto-guide.com/essential-oils.html. If you're good at building things, you could make yourself a still to make EOs using steam distillation. You can search on google and find articles about making your own essential oils. There might even be books which discuss producing your own EOs.

EOs are added at trace but the problem with this is the oils are volatile and many don't survive the saponification process or will fade over time. I suggest using the hot process method and adding the EOs after you've cooked the batch.

 

[soapypsychic]

Thanks, I will use the alcohol method if I need pure essential oils. As for using plants mixed in oil, I hoped to use that method to create scented bath salts.

Also, I don't know the name of the device, but one can light a fire below and on top is a bowl where water and scents are added to make a room smell good, can I mix the scented oil with water on that device?

 

[Hazel]

Also, I don't know the name of the device, but one can light a fire below and on top is a bowl where water and scents are added to make a room smell good, can I mix the scented oil with water on that device?

Oil diffuser or fragrance diffuser. I don't recommend mixing the oil with water but I have done it. The water evaporates too quickly. I use DPG (dipropylene glycol) but it has been mentioned that fractionated coconut oil works well, too.

 

[soapypsychic]

Thanks for the replies. I am still on my first mint batch. I did not squeeze the leaves after use at first.

 

[soapypsychic]

Looks like a plastic container has been absorbing the smells, just changed to.a glass container. Used so many leaves for nothing.

 

[Lindy]

If you are wanting to get essential oils then you are better off creating a still as the best way to create them is through steam distillation. You could probably buy one form a science equipment shop. I think there is a thread here somewhere that talks about doing it with a pot, plate and a brick. Now I think you fill the pot with plant material and water in which you have already placed the brick with a plate sitting on top of it. The plate is going to what captures the essential oil. The lid needs to be inverted so you have the point coming down in a point over the plate. So you're all ready, bring the water to a boil (make sure you have a LOT of water in there) and it will create condensation in which the essential oil resides, this is going to drip onto the plate. And in truth you are really going to get a floral water because it is water with the essential oil in it. So if it were me I would have a large jar instead of the plate.

I may be missing something because I am just running off memory here.

 

[new12soap]

I have no idea what the regs for owning or using a still are in Canada or in Singapore, but here in the US it is illegal to even own such equipment, not even for essential oils.

 

[Genny]

I have no idea what the regs for owning or using a still are in Canada or in Singapore, but here in the US it is illegal to even own such equipment, not even for essential oils.

Actually it is completely legal in the US to own a still, as long as it's no larger than a gallon & it's used for extracting essential oils from plants or for purifying water.

Edited to add this from TTB:
"S3: I've seen ads for home distilling equipment in catalogs ("turn wine into brandy," "make your own essential oils"). Is it legal to buy and use a still like that?

Under Federal rules administered by TTB, it depends on how you use the still. You may not produce alcohol with these stills unless you qualify as a distilled spirits plant (see earlier question). However, owning a small still and using it for other purposes is allowed. You should also check with your State and local authorities - their rules may differ.

A still is defined as apparatus capable of being used to separate ethyl alcohol from a mixture that contains alcohol. Small stills (with a cubic distilling capacity of a gallon or less) that are used for laboratory purposes or for distilling water or other non-alcoholic materials are exempt from our rules. If you buy a small still and use it to distill water or extract essential oils by steam or water extraction methods, you are not subject to TTB requirements. If you produce essential oils by a solvent method and you get alcohol as a by-product of your process, we consider that distilling. Even though you are using and recovering purchased alcohol, you are separating the alcohol from a mixture -distilling."

http://www.ttb.gov/spirits/faq.shtml#s3

 

[new12soap]

Hmmm... I apologize, I have either been misinformed or I misunderstood. :? Perhaps there is something specific to the laws of my state, but I am not able to find anything clear about it. Everything is specific to spirits. So, nevermind!

 

[Genny]

Hmmm... I apologize, I have either been misinformed or I misunderstood. :? Perhaps there is something specific to the laws of my state, but I am not able to find anything clear about it. Everything is specific to spirits. So, nevermind!

I blame the misinformation out there about owning a still on The Dukes of Hazzard

 

[new12soap]

LOL