We had a lovely evening at last week’s Potions group in which I taught about how to make your own herbal infused oils.
We made a soothing calendula oil and some salve with comfrey infused oil.
Here are some of the group straining, pouring and bottling their oils.
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Here are the notes I wrote for the class for those of you who are new to herbal infused oils, including two simple methods and some basic recipes.
Herbal Infused Oils
Oils infused with herbs are a lovely way to utilise the healing properties of plants which contain volatile oils and fats. Unlike essential oils they are easy to make at home and usually very gentle on the skin. You can use them to make massage oils, to heal skin problems, or to make lovely subtly scented balms and creams.
Plants containing volatile oils are generally those commonly used in aromatherapy. Aromatic plants such as lavender, rosemary, thyme and sage make lovely infused oils, as do peppermint, melissa, chamomile, rose, yarrow, juniper and pine. You can experiment with any plants that you know have a high volatile oil content.
Also plants that have a high level of other fat soluble components; including fat soluble vitamins, antioxidants, resins and saponins, can be extracted by macerating in oil. Calendula is a good example. When you pick calendula flowers you can feel how resinous and sticky they are, a good sign they will work well in oil. Other suitable plants include comfrey, St John’s wort, viola, plantain and mullein.
You can use a variety of different oils as the base, or menstrum, for the infusion. Olive is classic for the leafy herbs, sunflower is lovely for calendula, sweet almond or apricot make a great base for creams and jojoba is light and well absorbed.
How to Make Infused Oils:
The Sun Method-
- You can generally use dried or fresh plant material when available, though some herbs, such as calendula work better as dried and others, such as comfrey, are better from fresh.
- If using fresh herbs, pick them on a dry day after the sun has dried the morning dew.
- Make sure you pick clean plant material from an area you can be sure has not been sprayed with chemical fertilisers. This is particularly important as you are not going to wash the plant material, you want it to be as dry as possible to prevent spoilage, though you can bush off any dirt with a soft bristled brush.
- If using leaves such as comfrey or plantain, it’s good to let them wilt overnight to reduce some of the water content but flowers are best used fresh.
- Chop fresh leafy herbs finely and lightly fill a completely dry jar with the material. Its important to cut the herb first as it exposes more of the plant to the oil, making for a better infusion. Flowers can be put in whole and dried herbs will most likely come already cut.
- If using fresh herbs you can pour the oil of your choice straight on but if using dried, its nice to warm the oil first in a bain marie to get things going. Fill the jar almost to the brim with oil as an air gap will promote oxidation and spoilage.
- Stir the contents with a wooden chopstick or glass stirring rod until all the bubbles have dispersed and cap with a lid or a piece of kitchen roll held in place with a rubber band. This works well for fresh plant material as it allows moisture to escape.
- You can leave it to infuse on a bright sunny windowsill or in a nice warm spot such as beside the boiler or in an airing cupboard. I like doing calendula in the sun but it’s best to leave it somewhere that is consistently warm and windowsills can get cold at night which encourages condensation.
- Stir every day for the first two weeks then leave to infuse for another two to four, that’s four to six weeks in total. Calendula and some other oils are nice to double infuse- leave for 3 weeks, strain, then fill the jar with fresh flowers and pour the partially infused oil back on top and repeat the process.
- Don’t forget to label your jars so you remember when to strain them. Strain through a sieve covered in cheesecloth or a jelly bag. If you used fresh material it is wise to let it stand for a week and check if any water has settled in the bottom of the jar. If so pour off the oil and discard the water.
- Bottle the resulting oil and label and date.
The Heat Infusion Method:
This is a quicker method if you need to prepare your oil for immediate use.
- Use about 50-75g of dried herb, or 75-100g fresh herb per 300ml base oil. This is an approximate amount as some herbs are bigger and fluffier than others! Basicially you want the oil to just cover the dried herb.
- Place the oil and herbs in a double boiler or bain marie with a tightly fitting lid over a pan of gently boiling water.
- Allow to infuse at a continuous heat for 2 hours making sure the water does not boil away! Stir every half hour or so and check the progress of your oil.
- Strain and bottle or repeat the process if you desire a stronger, double infused oil.
- Always remember to label and date your products.
Some Simple Recipes for infused Oils:
Comfrey Salve:
Ingredients:
70ml Comfrey macerated oil
25g Grated cocoa butter
5g Beeswax
- Melt the cocoa butter and beeswax in a double boiler or bain marie over a pan of boiling water.
- Add the comfrey oil and stir slowly until completely dissolved. Don’t allow the oil to start to bubble, turn the heat down immediately if this happens.
- If you would like to add an essential oil then do so now, mix well and pour into jars. Leave to set in the fridge for a few hours before using liberally.
Comfrey has a long history of traditional use for healing damaged tissues such as strains, sprains, broken bones and slow healing wounds. Its common name was ‘knitbone’ and it possesses profound healing capabilities which enable it to aid in the ‘knitting’ together of tissues. It may also be helpful for inflammation and rashes. Comfrey oil is not recommended for internal use or use on broken skin but you can use this salve freely for bruising or any injury of the muscles or bones. Even if you have to wear a cast you can rub the slave into the skin at the top and bottom to help the bones heal strong and healthy.
Simple St John’s Wort Lip balm for Cold Sores:
Ingredients:
60ml St John’s wort infused oil
15g Cocoa butter
15g Shea butter
10g beeswax
25 drops Melissa Essential Oil
25 drops St John’s wort tincture
25 drops Melissa tincture
- Melt the cocoa butter, shea butter and beeswax in a bain marie over a low heat and when completely liquid add in the infused oil and mix thoroughly.
- Add the Melissa oil and the tinctures and whisk lightly with a fork to ensure the tinctures are well mixed with the oils.
- Pour into small jars and use liberally when you feel the first tingle coming on.
St John’s Wort and Melissa are both anti-viral and therefor helpful for treating the herpes virus that causes cold sores.
Rosemary Warming Massage Oil:
- Infuse fresh rosemary in oil according to one of the methods detailed above.
- To 100ml of the oil add 10 drops rosemary essential oil, 5 drops ginger, 5 drops black pepper and 5 drops cardamom.
- This would be a wonderful oil for promoting circulation and easing sore muscles and joints.
Thanks for this info! I might try one of the recipes, the class seemed like a lot of fun!
Yes they’d be great in hair products, especially the classic hair herbs like rosemary, chamomile and sage!
This is great! We will have to try the longer/sun method. We made comfrey salve using heat to infuse the oil. Is one method better or more effective than the other?
Hi S, I think it depends on the herb. I like the sun method for Calendula and St. John’s Wort but both seem to work well for Comfrey. Some fresh herbs can go off a bit using the sun method so heat can be preferable. If the sun is very strong where you are it can be too intense – though this is never a problem in the UK!!
[...] infuse where appropriate. For a detailed explanation of how to infuse an oil see my previous post here. Elderflower [...]
I just came across your site and love it1 I have always wanted to try infusing oil. My question is , can I leave it indoors on the counter or do I have to put it in a cupboard like the ones in my kitchen?
Thank you so much.
Hi Rohini,
They often work better left out on a windowsill in the sun or at least in a warm place such as an airing cupboard. I always make mine sun infused or with the heat method. I never put them away in a dark place to infuse and they all seem to have come out well and have a decent shelf life. The counter would be fine to leave them on as long as it’s not in a cold room.
Hope that’s helpful,
Lucinda
Thank you for sharing Lucinda.
Hugs,
Rita
oh I am so happy to have found you…!!! just made some comfrey oil today..put some in jars covered with paper towel and put in hall cupboard..medium dark..but have a big counter gets light ..would that be better? also cut up comfrey and put in double boiler covered with oil and have been cooking for about 2 hrs..but no top should i have used a top? also can you use a crock pot..grew a bunch of calenula last and this year..wanted to make oil from that and was hoping i could use the oil sooner than later..to make a salve.I have both fresh and dried. sorry so many questions ..just happened to be doing all this today and found you!!! also making lavender oil but will check your site first..and I love the name of you site and picture and Dr. Bach!! thanks lizzy r.
Hi Lizzy,
I’m so glad you like the site, I will try to answer your questions as best I can!
I would put your comfrey oil in the sunlight as the warmth and light from the sun is what helps the herbal properties infuse into the oil. I know it seems odd as other herbal preparations you would want to keep out of direct sun and heat and certainly all of them you would store in a cool, dark place once they are made. I think because oils are thicker and fatty they need a bit of a boost to absorb all the properties like the volatile oils which are easily released with heat.
I wouldn’t worry about the top on the pan as long as you are sure that nothing can get in your oil, beware of condensation running down the sides and into the oil for example. If you think some water may have got into it then leave the oil to stand for a few days until the water has separated out and pour the oil off. If you are using fleshy leaves like comfrey it can actually be better to keep the lid off so moisture can evaporate off. However if you are doing an aromatic oil like lavender or rosemary then be sure to keep the lid on as the essential oils will readily evaporate off and you’ll loose some of the scent and properties of the oil.
Yes you can use a crock pot. Just keep it on a low heat for a couple of hours. I sometimes do my oils on the lowest heat in the oven and that works quite well.
For your calendula oil you can use the dried or fresh but if using fresh, allow it to wilt overnight to reduce some of the moisture content. I often use dried for Calendula and double infuse it.
Hope that helps!
Thankyou for all that info…. I just love doing this and am so happy to find you..the passion and compassion you seem to have for this is wonderful..thanks for sharing so much..tata for now! lizzy
hello again!! just love your site quite a joy to check out thanks so much…I was wondering about making lemon verbena oil..I love the plant and have a few …some times i dry it and now i was thinking it would be nice to make oil…for use in salves and so on.. what would be the best carrier oil for this ..also eucalyptus leaves..what would be a good carrier oil…is there a list somewhere with this info. i would love to just do some but it is a bit costly when buying some of the carrier oils…so I will listen for the whispering earth to guide me…take care elizabeth r.
Hi Lizzy, I think lemon verbena would make a fantastic herbal infused oil. Any base oil that is light in smell and heat stable will be fine- sunflower, a light olive oil, almond and apricot are all good choices. A good quality organic sunflower is useful for most infusions and good to have on hand. It would be good for the Eucalyptus leaves too.
I have had a few questions regarding oils recently so I will try to get a post together in the next few weeks about the properties of different base oils.
Take care and enjoy your oils!
Thankyou ..I will work on that today…sure do wish i lived in your neighborhood. instead of borrowing that cup of sugar from your neighbor it would be more like a cup of calendula oil…..love all the pictures you post…they are like getting a glimps of heaven…take care lizzy
I love this post. I might need it very soon. I want to make a hair mud wash and I’m running out of lavender essential oil so I figured I’d give making infused oil a try since I have every base oil.
I’m sure that would be beautiful!
Hi I just stumbled upon your website. Thanks so much for the great information. Which way do you feel is the best to infuse herbs in oil? We live in the North east so we are limited on sunny days. Would it be ok to place a jar in the window during the day and a t night place on a counter? Or is it best to wait until Summer or try the double burner approach?
Any info you can share will be helpful!
Thanks so much!
I like the windowsill approach in summer but at this time of year I generally do a heat infused oil as it is easier and often works better with dried herbs which is what I am likely to be working with over winter and early spring before things have got growing.
You can also do it in the oven but on the very lowest heat so you don’t cook your oil and herbs!
I do like the sun infused method for very delicate flowers like elderflower, rose petals or violets but otherwise the double burner method is probably the best.
It’s helpful to double infuse too if you want a more potent oil.
Hope that helps!
After I have infused oil with flowers, can the remaining flower heads be used for anything? I’m thinking maybe they would work in homemade candles or even incense, although I’ve never made either (yet!). Any suggestions? Thanks!
I think it would depend on what flowers you were using. Something like rose petals or elderflower will start to brown and go a bit soggy once you take them out of the oil. I usually just compost them to be honest. Something more robust like calendula would work well in candles though. I haven’t tried it myself but they hold their shape well so I don’t see why not!
Let me know if you give it a go!
I recalled that I have a “Scentsy,” gadget that slowly heats scented wax in a dish over a light bulb. So I am trying my oil infusion with the oil and herbs in a glass mason jar, set over the top of the light bulb. So far after 3 hours the oil is just nicely and gently warmed. Think it should be effective and safe to leave it like this. It looks pretty too with the light shining up through the oil and herbs. Like artificial sunlight. Living in MN in March, there is not a lot of warm sunlight yet.
I haven’t heard of one of those before but it sounds like it will do the job perfectly.
Hi Lucinda. I just stumbled on your site a few days ago and have been back every day since for more wonderful information! Thank you SO much! I am very new to herbal products and your site is so very encouraging to me. My first of probably many questions is what is the shelf life of an infused oil and what is the best way to store it? I can’t wait to get going! Thank you again so much for the wonderful site!
Hi Sarah,
Thank you.
So glad you are finding something useful here.
The shelf life of infused oils will vary depending on how they were made and if there is any water in the oil. If you use fresh plant material and any water remains they can go off quite quickly. It’s good to keep an eye out for any moisture settling at the bottom and then pour the oil off the top to keep it fresh. If using dried plant material there won’t be much moisture and they can last a couple of years in my experience.
You can always tell when an oil is going off by the smell so just keep an eye on it and trust your senses.
Hi Lucinda. I absolutely love your blog, it is so inspiring. I want to make a comfrey salve to use on a bone fracture. To make the infused oil I just have to do with the dried version at this time of the year. Would you recommend using comfrey leaf/herb, or comfrey root for this kind of salve? Or can I use both, and what are their different medicinal propperties? Thanks again, Sina
Hi Lucinda,
I dried some rose petals and tried the double boiler method and i am wondering if the infused oil should have a strong smell.?It seems to me that it just has a wiff of rose in the background,,,Do you think this is ok or should it have a stronger scent?
Thank you,
Lucinda