Crystal"s Palace Of Herbs

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HOW TO MAKE OILS

There are four common methods used for making oils.
Each of these methods is highly effective and is used professionally as well as for home use.

Solar Infusion Method

Using the simplers' measure, place the desired amount of herbs and oil in a glass jar. Cover tightly. Place the jar in a warm, sunny spot.
In Europe and the Mediterranean the jars are placed in sandboxes to attract greater amounts of heat. Let the oil/herb mixture infuse for two weeks.
People always ask why the oil doesn't go rancid sitting out in the hot sun. According to natural laws, it should. But for some magickal reason, it seldom does. I believe it's because of the alchemical fusion of the sun, the herbs, and the oil. But once strained, the oil will definitely go rancid very quickly if left in the hot sun. At the end of two weeks, strain the herbs, rebottle your beautiful herbal oil, and store it
in a cool dark area. If you wish a stronger oil, add a fresh batch of herbs to the oil, and infuse for two more weeks. This will double the potency of your medicinal oil.

OVEN EXTRACTION METHOD

Place the oil/herb mixture in a pan with a tight-fitting lid or in glass canning jars. Put the pan and/or jars in a larger pan with sufficient water to cover up the bottom half of the
container. Turn the oven on the lowest temperature possible and allow the herbs and oil to infuse for several hours. Check frequently to prevent the oil from overheating and burning.

DOUBLE BOILER METHOD

Place the herbs and oil in a double boiler, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and bring to a low simmer. Slowly heat for one-half to one hour, checking frequently to be sure the oil is not overheating. Then lower the heat, and the longer the infusion, the better the oil. This is a quick and simple method that appeals to many modern-day herbalists. Oil heats up very quickly. Be mindful of the temperature. Your preparation can quickly go from a nice herbal oil infusion to deep-fried Comfrey leaves.

CROCKPOT AND ELECTRIC OVEN ROASTER METHOD

Both Crockpots and electric oven roasters allow for a long, slow cooking process. The roaster is most often used by small professional companies making quality herbal products.
The herbs can macerate in the oil for a long period of time (two to four weeks) and the resulting oil is of a superior quality. Electric roasters can often be found quite inexpensively at bargain shops and second-hand stores.
Place the herbs and oil in the Crockpot or roaster and turn to the lowest heat. Place the lid on and let the mixture steep for the desired length of time. The heat is generally higher in the Crockpot and usually two to four hours is sufficient to prepare good-quality herbal oils. Check frequently to protect against overheating and burning. In the roaster, the herb/oil mixture can steep for two to four weeks. It gives a superior, dark-green herbal oil.

There are several approaches to creating a magickal herbal oil. One, the most difficult, is to use an extractor and extract the pure essential oils yourself It involves complex equipment, but is rewarding for the serious practitioner. The results are pure, essential oil. There are several
approaches to creating a magickal herbal oil. One, the most difficult, is to use an extractor and extract the pure essential oils yourself. It involves complex equipment, but is rewarding for the serious practitioner. The results are pure, essential oils which can be used in a variety of ways.
Pure oils of an essential, volatile nature may also be purchased commercially. It is important to know that many of these are too strong to use directly upon the skin, but make excellent incense by merely placing a couple drops upon a burning piece of charcoal. These oils may also be used with a fixative, or carrier, such as olive, sunflower, or other oils.

FIXATIVE OIL

The simplest means of making your own oil is to begin with a fixative oil. This is placed in a sturdy pan, and to it are added herbaceous parts which have a high content of natural oil within the cellular structure. You may wish to use the flowering parts, or leaves, and in some cases the root. Gently bring this to warmth, stirring carefully. Never allow it to boil, and you may accomplish excellent results by avoiding even a "hot" temperature. This process may be repeated several times over a day or more.
Thus, the natural oils within the herb are released into solution with the fixative, as they are soluble in oil.
There are many recipes for oils. The herbs are chosen according to their meaning and attributes.
A personal mixture may be made by combining equal parts of three herbs: one for the
Sun sign, one for the Moon sign, and one or the ascendant, or rising sign.
One might also make a protective oil, by combining several herbs known for their ability to
give protection, the individual choices made by preferences of scent. It is important to
experiment. One means of trial and error for finding compatible scents is to take small
amounts of the dried herbs and grind them together. Smell deeply of the aroma, and feel
how it suits you. To make these, fill a jar to within ½ inch from the top with almond oil.
Then add crushed herbs till it is full. Steep in a sunny window for 1 moon cycle, rotating each day.
Strain out the herb and bottle. These can be added to bath salts, soaps or used for anointing candles.

Distilling oil
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The most important production method for Essential oils is distillation. The basic principle of distillation is the same but it is carried out in different ways depending on the botanical material and the condition of the material.

Three types of distillation are used:

Water
Water and steam
Direct steam

Distillation is basically, producing steam. The steam is passed through the herbal material. The steam carries the Essential oil from the plant in suspension which means the droplets of Essential oils are not dissolved in the steam but remain separate as droplets of oil. When the steam is cooled it reverts to the liquid state which is water and in most cases the oil floats on the surface of the water. The oil is then separated from the water by dripping or pouring.

Water distillation is used when the plant material has been dried and will not be damaged by boiling. It is also used for powdered materials such as powdered almond, and flowers, such as orange and rose, that need to float freely as they tend to lump together when just steam is passed through them. The material comes into direct contact with the boiling water and much care needs to be taken that the water does not boil away and cause the plant material to burn. Another example of an oil prepared by this method is turpentine gum. Turpentine gum is collected from a species of Pine (Pinus palustris) and the gum, wood chips and pine needles are placed in the distilling chamber with rain water. This mixture is heated until the plant and oil are condensed in the condensing chamber. Turpentine oil is not affected by very excessive heat.
The second method of distillation is water and steam. This is used for either fresh or dried plant material that would be damaged by boiling. The plant material is supported on a perforated grid. The water level is below the grid and low pressure, wet steam passes through the plant material. The most important aspect of this method is that the steam is never really hot and always at low pressure. Cinnamon and clove oils are prepared by this method.
Direct steam distillation is similar to the second method but the steam is hotter and passed through the plant material at a higher pressure. This method is used for fresh plant material that has a high boiling point such as seeds, roots and wood. It is also used for fresh plant material such as peppermint and spearmint. The crop is cut and placed in a metal distilling tank on a truck. It is then taken to the distilling tank on the truck. Steam is forced through the fresh herbs and the oil droplets are carried by the steam through a vapor pipe at the top of the tank onto a cool condensing chamber.

Cold Pressing or Expression:
This method is mainly used to prepare citrus oils such as orange, lemon and tangerine. One method involves puncturing the oil glands by rolling the fruit over sharp projections that actually pierce the oil glands. The fruit is then pressed which removes the oil from the glands. It is then washed off with a fine spray of water.

The juice is extracted by another tube. The oil is then separated from the water by rotating it at a very high speed. Another method involves separating the peel from the fruits and then cold pressing them. The Essential oil is collected along with small amounts of juice, which is separated.

Enfleurage:
This is an old method which was used in the production of perfumes and pomade extracts for perfumery. Flower petals such as rose or jasmine are layered onto warm oils, cold fat or wax. This process is repeated each day until the base is saturated with the Essential oil. The resulting waxes or pastes contain up to 1 percent of Essential oil. The Essential oil is then extracted from the wax with a volatile liquid such as ethyl alcohol. In the final step the ethyl alcohol is evaporated at low temperatures and reduced pressure so that the pure Essential oil remains as a fairly thick liquid. Cold enfleurage has the advantage that even the most delicate components of the flower oils are preserved. The disadvantages are that it is not very effective and it is very expensive. Flower oils prepared with this method do not contain terpene-hydrocarbons, which indicates that these compounds are not present as such in the flower, but form during distillation.

Solvent Extraction
This is the most widely used modern method to prepare oils from flowers. The petals are mixed into a volatile solvent such as petroleum, ether or benzene, until the Essential oil is completely dissolved in the solvent. The solution is then filtered and the solvent is evaporated at reduced pressure. The result of solvent extraction is a concrete. The solvent is removed from the concrete by vacuum pressure without the use of heat to avoid any harmful effect to the oil. The concentrated essence that results is called an absolute. Absolutes are highly concentrated flower products without the natural waxes.

The main advantage of extraction over distillation is that uniform temperatures are maintained throughout the process. High temperatures during the distillation process can produce altered chemical composition of the oil which alters the natural odor. However, this method is expensive compared to distillation, and chemicals or solvents used in the process may still be present after evaporation.

I know this is kind of lengthy but it is not a quick topic. Hope this helps.

Dorene Petersen
Australasian College of Herbal Studies 1(800)48-STUDY

HOW TO PREPARE YOUR OWN INFUSED OILS AT HOME

There is nothing more satisfying than gathering a basket of fresh jasmine, honeysuckle or rose blossoms on a warm summers day and then preparing your own infused oil. There are three methods for preparing an infused herbal oil. You can use fresh or dried herbs. Flowers are best fresh, although the perfume of some flowers intensifies with drying such as gardenia, daphne and boronia. If using fresh, double the quantity as all recipes given are for dried herbs. If using fresh herbs for any of these methods leave the herbs to wilt for six hours to reduce their water content which will spoil the final product.

WATERBATH METHOD

15 gm (1/2 oz) dried or if fresh use 30 gm (1 oz) herb (this is the total amount so if you are using a blend make sure you do not have more than this)
1 cup of oil

Measure the herbs and oil and mix the oil to the herbs in a stainless steel bowl. Heat over water bath (a saucepan 1/4 filled with water) also known as a double boiler, which should be simmering. Make sure the bowl is not sitting on the bottom of the pot but is floating in the water. Keep the lid on the oil. Stir occasionally and simmer for 30 minutes. Watch the oil does not get too hot. It should not smoke or bubble. It can burn easily and will develop an acrid smell if it overheats, which is very difficult to disguise. Strain through four layers of butter muslin or some other very fine non-metal strainer. Strain twice if necessary as it is important to get all herbs out of the oil to prevent the herbal oil from going rancid or moldy. Essential oils can be added at this stage for perfume and added therapeutic benefits.

SOLAR METHOD

Use the same quantities of herbs and oil as for the waterbath method or approximately 3 tablespoons of finely cut herbs to 300ml (10 oz) of oil. The quantity of herb can be increased to produce a stronger oil. Put the herbs in a jar with a tight fitting lid and pour over the oil. Make sure the herbs are completely covered with oil. Add one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or white wine to help break down the plant material. Leave the jar to sit in the sun all day and in a warm cupboard at night for two weeks. Strain through four layers of muslin. This process can be repeated two to three times to give a stronger oil. The final product should be strong enough to leave an aroma when massaged on the skin. Always test infused oils on the skin. Don't rely on just your nose.

CROCKPOT METHOD

Use the same quantities of herbs and oil as for Waterbath method. Place the herbs and oil in a crockpot and leave on a low heat for two hours. Follow the recipe above for straining.

TO PRESERVE OILS

This is only necessary if you are preparing large quantities that you intend to store.

Add 1/4 tsp. simple tincture of Benzoin to 1 cup vegetable oil. Tincture of Benzoin is prepared from the gum of an Indonesian tree, Styrax Benzoin. Make sure it is simple tincture of Benzoin. Compound tincture of Benzoin, also known as Friars Balsam, is not suitable.

Add 500 I.U. of natural mixed Tocopherols or Vitamin E to 1 cup of vegetable oil.

(This is from an email about 2 years ago. I have no clue who sent it anymore)

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