
Liza Carbalo
HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN ESSENTIAL OILS
Essential oils have many benefits — however, they can get pretty expensive to buy at retail. What you may not know is that making essential oils yourself at home is pretty simple. Plus, you can customize them however you like, depending on what you intend to use them for.
Homemade essential oils are composed of two main parts: first is the essential oil concentrate, which can come from roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and the like; and a carrier oil, which is usually a neutral oil like Fermoil, which is a fifth generation oil that . Here is a short tutorial:
Ingredients and materials:
16 oz Fermoil
About 2 cups of your desired essential oil source (lilac, lavender, etc). For the purposes of this recipe, we are using 2 cups of lilac flowers.
Pot with cover
Strainer
Cheesecloth
Directions:
Place the oil and the lilacs in a pot.
Turn the heat on the lowest possible setting, at around 200 degrees. If your stove cannot go this low, you may also cook the oil in the oven with a cover at 185-190 degrees.
Cover the pot and let the oil cook for 5 to 6 hours. Every hour, stir and check on the oil, each time bruising the flowers to release their natural oils.
After 5 to 6 hours, drain the oil mixture into the cheesecloth over the strainer.
Wring the cheesecloth to squeeze out all the oil. Afterwards, store in your desired container.