![]() ![]() ![]() A potato ricer is also an affordable option that will allow you to squeeze a bit more oil out of your plant material whilst sparing your hands some of the work. For home use or service-based businesses, your hands will usually suffice. Tincture presses are pricey but can be worth the investment if you are growing a successful product-driven business focused on selling tinctures or herbal oils. If you have a tincture press, you can use it to extract even more of the carrier oil from your plant material. Use your hands to squeeze the plant material as tightly as possible through the muslin. Use a layer or two of clean muslin fabric (I believe it is called calico in other countries - a plain, undyed, tightly woven cotton) to trap particulates so your final oil will be as clear as possible. Once your oil has infused for 4 to 6 weeks, you can strain the herbs out of your carrier oil. You can do this if you wish but I have found that with this long-infused method, it is not necessary. Many herbalists will turn the jar upside down every day or two or give it a little shake to redistribute the plant material. Allow the herbs to infuse in the carrier oil for 4 to 6 weeks. Standard mason lids are better than plastic for this, as the reusable the plastic lids leak when making herbal oils and end up making a mess. Use a chopstick to move through the herbs to release any air bubbles and top off the jar with more carrier oil if needed. The herbs will often move around in the oil or float to the surface of the oil. To make an infused oil this way, fill a sanitized mason jar 1/2 to 2/3 of the way with the herb of your choice, then pour your carrier oil of choice over the plant material until it is completely covered by the oil with an inch or so of extra oil on top. It also allows me to work with lighter, more delicate or heat-sensitive carrier oils that would not be suitable for the other methods. It takes time and patience, but the result is such a beautiful, happy, potent infused oil that I really prefer it to the quicker methods. This is my favorite way to prepare herbal oils. Three Main Methods for Preparing Herbal Oils The "It Takes Time" Method Pine, spruce, and/or fir needle and resin infused oil Self heal ( Prunella vulgaris) infused oil A few of the herbal oils I like to keep on hand include:Ĭalendula infused oil (with the green bracts included) I keep a selection of herb-infused carrier oils on hand in my apothecary so they are ready to use for blending whenever I need to make a product because they can take some time to make, as we will discuss in a moment. They are made by infusing a fatty carrier oil like coconut oil, olive oil, sunflower seed oil or jojoba liquid wax with fresh or dried herbs. Herb-infused oils are sometimes called infused oils or herbal oils. In most instances, though, it will serve as the base of your formula. Sometimes your final blend will be only an herb-infused carrier oil with nothing else added, and if you have prepared it well and chosen your ingredients well, it will be effective for its purpose. Master herb-infused oils and you will immediately have a solid base for all of your oil-based topical blending. Herb-infused carrier oils are the foundation for all topical use products that contain oil-based ingredients, including massage oils, essential oil roll-on blends, salves, balms, ointments, lotions, creams and butters.
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