Essential oils are used for aromatherapy sessions, making homemade cosmetics, perfumes and soaps. High-quality oils can be bought at a pharmacy, but if you need a lot of them, this is an expensive pleasure. Cheap products are suspicious, because there is no certainty that the manufacturer did not use harmful synthetic additives. There is also another way. You can figure out how to make essential oil at home, stop buying it at the pharmacy and forget forever about the difficult choice between "expensive" and "expensive" and "quality".
- Preparation of phyto-raw materials: features of plant collection
- How to make essential oil: available technologies
- Properties of some popular homemade aroma oils
- The main things preparing essential oils at at home
Preparation of phyto-raw materials: features of plant collection
In theory, fragrance oil can be made from almost any plant, as long as you like the smell of it. In practice, everything is much more complicated. When trying to make lily-of-the-valley oil, for example, you'll end up with a weak-smelling product because the concentration of aromatics in the flowers is only 0.04%. And the fruits of the clove tree will give a rich smell, because in them the percentage of odorous components reaches 22%. Therefore, it is advisable to find out in advance such nuances before harvesting phyto raw materials.
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Each plant has its own characteristics of development, flowering and ripening, and it's better to know them. But there are general rules that are suitable for any type of herbal raw materials:
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If you plan to make oil from the flowers, wait until they are fully open. Choose healthy parts of the plant that are not damaged by insects and micro-organisms.
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Harvest of rhizomes should start in autumn. When the leaves of the plant begin to dry, the roots will have the highest concentration of active substances.
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If stems or leaves are needed, it is best to cut them off before the buds begin to form on the plant.
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In the case of using stems or leaves, the raw materials are harvested before the start of bud formation. And if you need the entire aboveground part of the plant, then cut it at the very beginning of the flowering season.
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If harvesting seeds and fruits, they must be fully ripe.
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Any plants you plan to harvest should be picked in the morning after the dew has dried, preferably in dry weather.
Aroma oils are prepared from fresh and dry phyto-raw materials, so you may well stock up for the future. The main thing is that the plants grow in an environmentally clean place and storage properly until the moment of use.
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How to make essential oil: available technologies
Before you start harvesting phyto-raw materials, figure out which cooking methods are suitable for the selected plants and what will be easier for you personally. Whatever tech you stay on, homemade fragrance oil will be natural and environmentally friendly.
Distillation — easy way if you have a distiller
If you are willing to spend money on distiller, then the oil-making process will be simple and relatively fast (from 30 minutes to 6 hours depending on raw materials). Distillation will require dried or fresh plants. If water needs to be added, it must be soft and clean.
Cooking technology:
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Place the raw materials firmly but gently into the distiller without breaking parts of the plants.
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Boil the herbal extract in a distiller until it releases oil.
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Store the finished product in a dry place in thick dark glass containers. Everyone!
You will receive high quality natural essential oil. It is unlikely that there will be a lot of it, but there can be no doubt about its usefulness and cleanliness. Plants use any.
Squeeze: laborious, long, but effective
The pomace technology is ideal for extracting essential oils from fresh peppermint leaves, eucalyptus, rosemary, basil, parsley, sea buckthorn.
For all plants except sea buckthorn, this method is suitable:
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Rinse and dry the herbal raw materials, put them in bags and beat well with a hammer until the juice appears.
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Boil a glass jar and put the beaten mass into it along with juice.
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Pour the raw material with base oil, shake well several times to mix the ingredients. After that, leave for a day in dry dark place.
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Squeeze out the mass, strain, set aside until the moment of adding the next portion of the same product.
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Cook 2-3 more servings of butter in the same way. Pour everything into a dark glass bottle and store in a dark, cool place.
Sea buckthorn contains a large amount of healing oil, so it is better to squeeze it out in other ways:
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Technology one. 1 kg of berries wash, squeeze juice (you can use a juicer). Filter the finished juice and put it in a cool place. Wait until an oil film appears on the surface of the juice, and carefully remove it with a spoon. Store essential oil in a dark glass bottle in a cool place.
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Second technology. 200 g of berries wash, squeeze juice, stand, remove oil. Spread out the pulp to dry. When the product is completely dry, grind in a coffee grinder and pour over heated oil (about 40 degrees). Mix the components thoroughly and leave for 2.5 weeks, periodically shaking the jar. Filter the finished product and store in a dark glass bottle.
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Both methods make it possible to obtain natural sea buckthorn oil suitable for medical and cosmetic purposes, but the second is better: all healing substances can be extracted from the plant. This oil saves from stomatitis, skin rashes, gastrointestinal diseases. It is used in the treatment of hemorrhoids.
Drawing method: simple, cheap, but long
This is the easiest way to get aromatic oils. It requires a lot of time, but the cost of money and strength — minimal. How to make essential oil:
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Chop the plants and place them in sterile jars.
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Fill the phyto-stock with base oil. Olive oil is best, but corn or sunflower will do.
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Seal the jars tightly and leave the mixture to infuse for 4 weeks, turning several times a day.
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Filter the oil and pour into amber glass bottle.
With this method you can prepare oils from almost any plant. They are suitable for cosmetic, medical and aromatherapy purposes.
Properties of some popular homemade aroma oils
All the oils that will be discussed can be prepared by extracting — least energy consuming:
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St. Hypericum perforatum. An excellent remedy for the treatment of abscesses, burns, wounds. It is used as an antiseptic for skin diseases.
Orange. Antiseptic, contains many vitamins, helps eliminate cellulite, reduces blood pressure. The aroma tones up, improves mood.
Calendula oil. A good cosmetic product for softening the skin, has antiseptic properties. It can be added to creams.
Rosehip oil. Contains many vitamins, disinfects. Good for making homemade skin care products.
Burdock Root Oil. Excellent hair care product: prevents hair loss, accelerates growth, restores hair structure.
Peppermint. Aroma has a calming effect.
Read also: Advice for girls: how to find your perfume scent
The main thing about preparing essential oils at at homeConsider how to make an essential oil from the desired plant, and work as follows:
Properly harvest raw materials. Although there are general recommendations, it is better to find additional information about the features of the harvest of the selected plant.
- If there is no distiller, no problem,
use pomace or extraction technologies.
Infuse and store all oils in a dark, cool place. Choose only thick-walled glass containers.
- Make sure you don't have
allergies.
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