Making Your own EOs

[Vivi Henn]

I just read this article, and found it to be very interesting!

Has anyone tried making their own EOs and then using them in their soaps?

http://make-fragrances.blogspot.com/200 ... -oils.html

 

[turbo]

ask me in a week or so. I have some nice lavender plants....


Mike

 

[yoenoess]

i dont think making EO such that easy.... it need more complicated stuff and also need lot of raw ingredients

for making a drop of Rose EO need 10.000 Rose petals...

yeah indeed ten thousand

 

[agriffin]

Well...they're not making essential oils in that article...they are infusing an oil with botanicals. It's not a very good article and doesn't make alot of sense- they don't seem to know what they are talking about.

There are some great threads about infusing oils on the forum. You can use the infused oil in soapmaking, making balms...or even just by itself.

But it is nothing like making essential oils.

 

[honor435]

yes, making your own eos would require some spendy equipment, becuase you are extracting oils from plants.

 

[paillo]

expensive equipment including a small still unless you know how to make your own, and a LOT of raw material, probably talking at least an acre to grow enough. that's what's involved in making real eo's. i'd love to do this down the road, just starting this year with many, many lavender and rosemary plants, but know it will require at least three years and many more beds to dig before i have enough mature plants to even get beyond the dreaming point...

 

[maya]

i have a still (thanks dad!) and access to ton of lavender flowers. ive done it but the still is tiny and i was fortunate enough to get oh 14 grams of actual essential oil and a quart or so of hydrosol.

sorry, but that blog doesn't describe essential oils.

 

[Lindy]

I agree..... I do however have a question - how long is an infused oil good for before ickies (technical term that) start to grow? I would think you would do your infusion and then use the oils right away?

TIA

 

[Guest]

i have a still (thanks dad!) and access to ton of lavender flowers. ive done it but the still is tiny and i was fortunate enough to get oh 14 grams of actual essential oil and a quart or so of hydrosol.

sorry, but that blog doesn't describe essential oils.

OK, I have to ask. What was the still for? :wink:

 

[Vivi Henn]

Ok - so I understand that this is not "Essential Oil" ... they even say in the article the name of the technique they are "kind of" replicating... but what I'd like to know is if anyone has actually used infused oil in their soaps. I am infusing some olive oil right now with mint, using the technique in the article - there just happened to be a lot of it growing in our yard when we moved in, and to-date, the only thing we've used it for was to cook with lamb. But I love to use fresh herbs in things, and wondered if infusing OO with mint will make the OO take on a different property than normal OO. Basically, will it screw with my soap, and do you think I'll still need to add some mint EO or FO to make the soap minty? Or do you think it would be enough?

Also, has anyone used cocoa nibs in soap either in the soap itself or infusing it with oil to pull its scent into it?

 

[maya]

i have a still (thanks dad!) and access to ton of lavender flowers. ive done it but the still is tiny and i was fortunate enough to get oh 14 grams of actual essential oil and a quart or so of hydrosol.

sorry, but that blog doesn't describe essential oils.

OK, I have to ask. What was the still for? :wink:

anything you need it to be for

 

[SumikoKeel]

Thank you for the article!

It is interesting but, not something I could do. I love infused oils - that would be the extent of my humble talent...

 

[judymoody]

Ok - so I understand that this is not "Essential Oil" ... they even say in the article the name of the technique they are "kind of" replicating... but what I'd like to know is if anyone has actually used infused oil in their soaps. I am infusing some olive oil right now with mint, using the technique in the article - there just happened to be a lot of it growing in our yard when we moved in, and to-date, the only thing we've used it for was to cook with lamb. But I love to use fresh herbs in things, and wondered if infusing OO with mint will make the OO take on a different property than normal OO. Basically, will it screw with my soap, and do you think I'll still need to add some mint EO or FO to make the soap minty? Or do you think it would be enough?

Very little scent will come through, if any. If you infuse, best to use dried botanicals rather than fresh to keep bacteria and other nasties at bay. Infused oils can impart a nice color to soap but many green herbs end up turning brown after the lye hits them. If you leave any mint bits in your soaping oil, they will turn black over time. HTH.

 

[Vivi Henn]

Thank you, Judymoody. I really appreciate your input. I have not yet made any soap - but am just trying to think of ideas!

I am going to be making a castille soap for my first attempt - just because it seems so much simpler than any of the others ...

 

[JackiK]

The only thing I've ever infused with oil is clove and it works beautifully. Haven't tried anything else and probably won't. I'll leave the rest up to the experts!

For the poster who asked about the still - think moonshine!!

 

[maya]

minnesota has some strict liquor laws. if i recall correctly you can make your own beer but not liquor.

OFF TOPIC!

you live texas i see. by any chance do you live near the big bend? my dad lives in marathon (west texas for those of you not lucky enough.)