Make an herbal oil
As an herbalist I have a lot of weird little rituals and methods for making my oil preparations. Let’s go over the basics of safety and learn two easy methods for making your own herbal oils. These instructions are offered in “folk method” which means I do not bother of offer ratios or measurements.
You can also combine these two methods by starting off your preparation in a water bath and then letting it rest for the rest of the extraction time. Don’t be scared to experiment!
You only need a few things:
1.Herbs
Always start with DRY HERB when making an oil. (Yes, there are cases where this does not apply, but for sake of an internet tutorial I’m sticking with dry herbs here.)
2. Jar
Always start with a sterile jar. Do not trust that a mason jar fresh out of the package is sterile or clean. You can boil the jar clean; you can place it in the oven and bring the temperate up to 350 for 30 minutes, or my own personal favorite method is the microwave the jar (without the lid of course, which easily go into the toaster oven) for a few minutes.
3. Oil
Olive oil, avocado oil, sweet almond oil, coconut oil, primrose oil, pretty much anything goes. The exceptions to that are neem oil and castor oil which I do not suggest. The most important thing is to be sure that your oil is fresh and not rancid. Oil is a “fresh” product and shouldn’t not be kept as a precious, rarely used item. Your oil should have a production date on it. If it doesn't, I don’t suggest using it.
For the Canned Method you will need a stockpot, a crock pot, an insta-pot, or an sous vide immersion bath.
A Label. ALWAYS LABEL your medicines. A date, type of oil, and type of herb are vital for safety and usability.
Canned method:
This works well for heartier herbs like roots and plants that have oils or resins to offer. You can see a short video here.
Using very clean hands, fill your jar with herbs.
Cover the herb with your oil of choice. Wipe the top clean and cover with the lid. Do not over tighten the lid.
Place the jar in a water bath with the top of the jar reaching slightly out of the water. The rings of the jar should not be submerged. simmer your jar VERY low and slow. Generally, you want to keep your water bath water BELOW 150. Going higher will “cook” your oil and make your medicine toasted rather than extracted!
Simmer anywhere between 2 hours and a week (or more even).
Set it & forgot it method:
I like this method of extraction for soft petal plants (like rose) that don’t offer a lot of oils. It is also a perfectly acceptable method for more resinous plants (like lavender), but plan on it taking a full month or more for a proper extraction. You can see a short video here.
Take your clean jar and using clean hands fill with herb.
Cover with oil of your choice, wipe the top clean and cover with clean lid.
Shake the heck out of that jar and put it somewhere warmish. Try to give your jar a shake every few days.
Your oil will be ready in about a month, but deciding when your oil is ready is at your discretion. As a reminder, oil goes bad, so don’t plan for this to be a preparation that sits around for an extended period of time.
In the background:
Water is not the only thing your body craves for hydration. Healthy fats and oils applied to the skin and taken internally are important offerings to your health. Oils are also helpful when you need to form a barrier or a boundary and are often suggested for energetic work around forming them.
Keeping it safe:
Oils should not be applied to rash conditions, but they can be very helpful for helping heal the skin once a wound gets to the scab stage. Always be sure that there is no infection present before trying to heal over a wound!
If your oil bubbles, smells weird or seems in any way “off” to you do to use it. Oil and water do NOT combine and when water is trapped in oil (if for instance your herbs were not fully dry) you can accidentally grow dangerous bacteria. This is fairly rare, but it does happen so be aware. I generally say that “the nose knows”. Use and trust your senses. If you have doubts about your preparation, it is worth it to heed your own warnings. Medicine you don’t trust is not good medicine anyway.