Making herbal oils is super easy! Actually, the 'making' of most herbal products is pretty easy. The most difficult thing I have found when it comes to working with herbs is remembering the vast number of uses each herb has. This is mainly because each herb is so incredibly versatile. I feel like I am always learning, which is both what has captivated me so much over the years but also can be quite overwhelming. My goal is to help break down herbs into bitesized chunks to make it easier to digest and learn. Make it feel less intimidating. Below, you can find easy steps to follow to make a quick herbal oil which you would need to do in order to make a salve.
So, the method in the video is the 'double boiler' method. When I have time, I will use the long term method. This method is simple. Fill a glass jar 1/3-1/2 of the way full of the herbs you're wanting to use, pour the oil over it, let it sit for 4 weeks or so in a sunny location. Shake every day. When the time has passed, strain it using cheese cloth in a strainer (or at least that is what I do) and then put into an amber jar.
The double boiler method is super easy. You really don't even have to have a 'double boiler'. I have a make shift one. It is literally a pan on bottom with some water and another pan on top with the herbs/oil. I cannot stress enough how not fancy it can be. lol.
1. Get your pans set up. Fill the bottom pan half way or so with water. Put the empty pan on top.
2. Measure out the herbs you want to use and put them in the top pan.
3. Pour the oil you're using over the herbs. There isn't a 'direct' measurment really. Just make sure the herbs are covered pretty good. I normally fill the pan half way with the oil.
4. I normally bring it to a simmer for a couple of minutes (so the heat up half way) and then turn down to low and put the lid on for 30 minutes or so. Make sure you don't just leave it. I say this because I have made this mistake. You have to stir so the oil doesn't burn lol.
5. Strain and bottle.
My straining is lining a bigger tea strainer (you can find this at the dollar tree. It is a mesh like bowl with a handle) with cheese cloth. You have to cut the cheese cloth bigger than the the strainer. I clip it with clothes pins. Then I pour the herbs over it into a bowl underneath. You can then gather the cheese cloth and squeeze the herbs to get any remaining oil out. I then take a funnel (also from the dollar tree lol) and pour the oil into an amber bottle. Yes, an amber bottle makes a difference. Amber doesn't let light in as easily, therefore it allows oils to keep longer. I personally just love the way they look, but.. they do serve a purpose lol.
Maybe I should have put this at top but this is really a list of things you need to do this:
2 Pans.
Oil (Olive, Almond, Avocado are the most common)
Herbs.
Cheese cloth.
Strainer.
Funnel.
Amber Bottle.
This is a picture of the type of strainer I use... I just don't think my description probably describes it well.
One of my FAVORITE herbal oils to do, and I would recommend anyone do it, is calendula/comfrey. I use equal parts comfrey and calendula. Equal parts for me is normally 1/2 cup of both. Depending on how much you want to make though, you can adjust the quantities. I use olive oil most of the time. I will turn it into a salve using beeswax, which is ALSO super easy, but I will save that specifically for another post. :)
If you decide to give it a shot, let me know how it goes!!
xoxo
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