Guest guest Posted December 4, 2001 Report Share Posted December 4, 2001 Hello everyone:) I am just starting to study oils and essential oils and have been confused. I'd like to make my own essential oils, but have no clue how to. Then I was reading about making your own oils and I think I know the difference, but am hoping someone can help me. Essential Oil: The oil taken directly from an herb/flower/whatever. I'm not sure how you go about *collecting* it, though. Oil: What you get when you sort of soak some herbs in virgin oil, then strain the herbs out so you're left with just an oil. Is this even close? Help?! AoB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2001 Report Share Posted December 4, 2001 Hey AoB You are sort of right. E.O.'s are distilled, expressed from plant matter. Citrus oils come from having their peels squeezed, although you DO find steam distilled citrus oils as well. Distillation generally refers to th process where the plant matter is heated and the steam carries the e.o. to another chamber. The eo is then seperated from the hydrosol (waters left after the eo is siphoned off) INFUSED oils is the process where the plant matter is placed in a vegetable oil such as Olive oil. Does that help? Cheers! Kathleen Petrides SmeLLeNNiuM: 101 Aromatic Stories http://www.101aromas.com - " Angel of Bast " <angelofbast Tuesday, December 04, 2001 11:35 AM Question on Oils > Hello everyone:) > > I am just starting to study oils and essential oils and have been > confused. I'd like to make my own essential oils, but have no clue how > to. Then I was reading about making your own oils and I think I know the > difference, but am hoping someone can help me. > > Essential Oil: > The oil taken directly from an herb/flower/whatever. I'm not sure how > you go about *collecting* it, though. > > Oil: > What you get when you sort of soak some herbs in virgin oil, then > strain the herbs out so you're left with just an oil. > > Is this even close? Help?! > > > > AoB > > > > > My Pictures of Aromatic Plants and Exotic Places In Turkey > http://members.home.net/chrisziggy1/triptoturkey.html > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2001 Report Share Posted December 4, 2001 Kathleen Petrides said: > You are sort of right. At least I'm not completely dumb:) > E.O.'s are distilled, expressed from plant matter. Citrus oils come > from having their peels squeezed, although you DO find steam distilled > citrus oils as well. So, in essence, if I grow say parsley, I could squeeze some oil outta that and have Parsley Essential Oil? I don't know if there's really any oil in parsley but it was the first thing I thought of. > Distillation generally refers to th process where the plant matter is > heated and the steam carries the e.o. to another chamber. The eo is > then seperated from the hydrosol (waters left after the eo is siphoned > off) This I really don't get. > INFUSED oils is the process where the plant matter is placed in a > vegetable oil such as Olive oil. This I completely get. So if I put say some goldenrod, an acorn and sugar cane in some oil and let it soak, then strained the oil out of the rest, I essentially would have an infused oil for Love, right? I don't suppose you have AIM, do you? lol I'm clueless. AoB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2001 Report Share Posted December 4, 2001 Sandi Lundberg said: > Check out Butch's site for a home still for distilling it may help. > > http://www.av-at.com/stovestill2.html Holy cow! That's a pretty neat set up. Unfortunately, I'm a few sales away from being able to afford something that nice:) Although...I'm on the look out for some vials. Butch, do you sell those on their own? If not, could you recommend someone? AoB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2001 Report Share Posted December 4, 2001 Yes I have aim. My user name is Smellennium. You can't have " expressed " parsley oil, as it doesn't have a peel ;-). You CAN have a distilled parsley oil. Any plant can be distilled, but the question is, does it have enough oil to make it worth while. Last time when I described the distillation process, I only had one hand (and it's about to be put out of action again! LOL). A simple distillation process requires a section that heats up water. When the water is heated until it is steam, the steam is then carried to the HUGE container holding your " parsley " . Your parsley is then heated up with the steam from the first chamber, until your parsley starts breaking down and releases it's " essence " or oil. This oil is then carried by the steam into a third chamber where the steam and oils cools. At this point they seperate, so that the Oil (MOST of the time) floats on the top. Then a tap can be opened at the bottom of the water, and it's drained out. Until all one has left is Pure Essential oil. This is then bottled! In other words, you can't go out and pick your parsley and voila! Essential Oil. You actually need the proper equipment and it can be quite expensive. Great for a hobbiest, but in most cases, not for a practicle purposes. Is this a better explaination? Cheers! Kathleen Petrides SmeLLeNNiuM: 101 Aromatic Stories http://www.101aromas.com - " Angel of Bast " <angelofbast Tuesday, December 04, 2001 11:51 AM Re: Question on Oils > Kathleen Petrides said: > > > You are sort of right. > > At least I'm not completely dumb:) > > > E.O.'s are distilled, expressed from plant matter. Citrus oils come > > from having their peels squeezed, although you DO find steam distilled > > citrus oils as well. > > So, in essence, if I grow say parsley, I could squeeze some oil outta that > and have Parsley Essential Oil? I don't know if there's really any oil in > parsley but it was the first thing I thought of. > > > Distillation generally refers to th process where the plant matter is > > heated and the steam carries the e.o. to another chamber. The eo is > > then seperated from the hydrosol (waters left after the eo is siphoned > > off) > > This I really don't get. > > > INFUSED oils is the process where the plant matter is placed in a > > vegetable oil such as Olive oil. > > This I completely get. So if I put say some goldenrod, an acorn and sugar > cane in some oil and let it soak, then strained the oil out of the rest, I > essentially would have an infused oil for Love, right? > > I don't suppose you have AIM, do you? lol I'm clueless. > > AoB > > > > > My Pictures of Aromatic Plants and Exotic Places In Turkey > http://members.home.net/chrisziggy1/triptoturkey.html > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2001 Report Share Posted December 4, 2001 Kathleen Petrides said: > Yes I have aim. My user name is Smellennium. My super duper secret name is GrumpyNHiding. I only use that when I don't have a whole lot of time to talk. Otherwise it's TheCommandos. > You can't have " expressed " parsley oil, as it doesn't have a peel ;-). Talk to me like I'm three...a peel like an orange peel? > A simple distillation process requires a section that heats up water. *snip* Okay, now that machine that Butch has for sale makes even more sense, and boy am I envious! > Is this a better explaination? I think so. Like I said, talk to me like I'm 3 and we'll get along reallllly well! Here's my whole thing. My friend Nanette and I have wanted to open up an eShoppe for about four million years now. We finally got off our butts and started applying for business licenses, investigating different crafts to sell, so on. During our search, we stumbled onto homemade soap, shampoo, etc. and I took a fancy to that. In learning about that, I came across herbal sachets, bath salts, etc. and oils was the next natural procession. I'd like to make a few oils, send them out to lucky victims for testing, and see if I (we) have what it takes to make it. For the last five years or so I've been wanting to open an in-the-flesh shoppe but just don't have the experience or knowledge to do it. I'm hoping this eShoppe will be a nice segue into the whole business. I discovered bath salts are relatively easy to make, but you need essential oils. I figured that was no big deal- I can buy those, but I think the product would be better if I could make it myself, plus I'd like to offer Bath Oils, which would be pure oil. *whew* I'm long winded today...sorry! AoB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2001 Report Share Posted December 4, 2001 --- Angel of Bast <angelofbast wrote: > At least I'm not completely dumb:) No one here will think you are dumb, we are all always in a learning process. > So, in essence, if I grow say parsley, I could > squeeze some oil outta that > and have Parsley Essential Oil? I don't know if > there's really any oil in > parsley but it was the first thing I thought of. Petroselium sativumn (Carum sativum) Umbelliferae family (France) Parsley Seed oil My guess is it would take a lotta seed to make 1 oz of oil. Petroselinum crispum is distilled from the leaves and considered apiole free. My guess is it would take a lotta leaves to distill an oz of oil. All tho there there are some nice home distilling units. They look like a cross between a pressure cooker canner and a still. >Distillation generally refers to th process where > the plant matter is > > heated and the steam carries the e.o. to another > chamber. The eo is > > then seperated from the hydrosol (waters left > after the eo is siphoned > > off) > > This I really don't get. As you begin to understand the steam distillation process and the volumn of water involved. You see the water left has the scent of the oil from which it was distilled. Nice in toners, lotions etc. > > INFUSED oils is the process where the plant matter > is placed in a > > vegetable oil such as Olive oil. > > This I completely get. So if I put say some > goldenrod, an acorn and sugar > cane in some oil and let it soak, then strained the > oil out of the rest, I > essentially would have an infused oil for Love, > right? Oh sounds interesting! Oh the education of us all, what fun. Janet Buy the perfect holiday gifts at Shopping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2001 Report Share Posted December 4, 2001 At 03:17 PM 12/04/01, Angel of Bast wrote: >I discovered bath salts are relatively easy to make, but you need >essential oils. I figured that was no big deal-I can buy those, but I >think the product would be better if I could make it myself, plus I'd like >to offer Bath Oils, which would be pure oil. Um.. I think you should do a *whole* lot more learning and researching before you get started. From what I've read, you seem to be in the same place I was just a few short months ago as far as having an understanding of just what essentials oils are; and you will soon learn that your product would be better if you use essential oils that you purchase from a reputable supplier rather than trying to distill them yourself. It takes a LOT of plant product to create a little bit of oil. Also, I don't understand what you mean when you say you bath oils would be pure oils. Bath oils are usually fixed oils (sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, olive oil, etc.) that have essential oils or fragrance oils added to them. Essential oils aren't just something you can whip up yourself. Distilling for essential oils is a HUGE undertaking, and you need to really know what you're doing. Plus I'm not sure what kind of volume of oils you're looking to produce. It might not be worth it to go through the research, learning, buying of distilling equipment, etc., just to make oils for your own use. Research research research. Here's a start.... type " aromatherapy " or " essential oils " into your favoritie search engine and check out some of the information websites you'll find there. -- Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2001 Report Share Posted December 4, 2001 Sandy Fields said: > Um.. I think you should do a *whole* lot more learning and researching > before you get started. Which is exactly what I'm doing. I'm reading what I can get my hands on, but I don't think you can gain *all* of your knowledge from books. Most are really big on recommending what oils to use for what, but don't explain the best and most cost efficient ways to obtain them are. > From what I've read, you seem to be in the > same place I was just a few short months ago as far as having an > understanding of just what essentials oils are; That's entirely possible, so I would imagine you have an idea of how I feel, then. > and you will soon > learn that your product would be better if you use essential oils that > you purchase from a reputable supplier rather than trying to distill > them yourself. It takes a LOT of plant product to create a little bit > of oil. That would be where this research I'm doing comes in. I grew up in Madison Wisconsin. My idea of an oil is something I put on my salad, and not much more. What I've learned in the past few weeks is blowing my mind already with the possibilities. I have the honor of being somewhat gifted when it comes to other talents and that was the premise of our shop when we first talked about it a few years ago. The more services we can offer, the better we can serve our customer base. That's why we started looking at avenues such as homemade soaps, oils, salts, etc. > Also, I don't understand what you mean when you say you bath oils would > be pure oils. Bath oils are usually fixed oils (sweet almond oil, > jojoba oil, olive oil, etc.) that have essential oils or fragrance > oils added to them. I put that in with bath salts, and meant to clarify it would be an actual oil. My bad. > Essential oils aren't just something you can whip up yourself. Apparently some do. I'm deciding on whether or not that's worth my time and effort, and I'm seeing that right now it's not. > Distilling for essential oils is a HUGE undertaking, and you need to > really know what you're doing. Hence research and asking questions... > Plus I'm not sure what kind of volume > of oils you're looking to produce. I've gotta have a product to lift in order to get an idea of that. Again, that would explain the research... > It might not be worth it to go > through the research, learning, buying of distilling equipment, etc., > just to make oils for your own use. Knowledge is knowledge, regardless of whether or not it's immediately used. I enjoy learning about what I'm into at any given moment. You're correct in that buying a ton of equipment and spending all that revenue I don't yet have may be futile, but it's information stored. > Research research research. I could not agree more, and I thank everyone here for assisting me in that. > Here's a start.... type " aromatherapy " or " essential oils " into your > favoritie search engine and check out some of the information websites > you'll find there. I've been to quite a few websites throughout the past few weeks on herbs, but have just turned my fancy to oils. It just dawned on me while reading that I wasn't clear on what essential oil and just oil was, and I read enough to gain a basic understanding, but wanted to check out what I thought to be true. AoB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2001 Report Share Posted December 4, 2001 I said: >> This I completely get. So if I put say some >> goldenrod, an acorn and sugar >> cane in some oil and let it soak, then strained the >> oil out of the rest, I >> essentially would have an infused oil for Love, >> right? And Janet said: > Oh sounds interesting! > > Oh the education of us all, what fun. I'm sorry...again I forgot this was NOT a pagan list-lol. It's kind of a standing joke about Love Potions/Spells. Most 12 year olds that decide to be a witch one day come to elders with the question " How do I like get this like boy to like want to like be my like boyfriend, like fer shure? " . It gets rather annoying because that's not what witchcraft is about for the vast majority. What I suggested above is more to spice up a relationship and give your romantic life a little more " oomph " than attacting a new lover. But then again, I'm still learning. It could be a recipe for goats to attract donkeys for all I know AoB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2001 Report Share Posted December 4, 2001 Hi AoB, Just to add my bit ;-) > It takes a > LOT of plant product to create a little bit of oil. .... and a lot of experience to get good quality oils from the distillation process - which is as much an art as a science ! Infusing your own oils can be a wonderful experience, but it's not really a first step to learning distilling ! Learn first how to make the products you want to sell - buy a few EOs & make up some bath thingies & use them yourself first so you *know* what you've got. Make a batch of soap & a few pots of cream - once you start actually doing it yourself, you'll begin to know what questions to ask to refine your process. Get to know the EOs you choose to use so when your customers ask you questions about your goods, you answers can be from your own experience. I wish you well in your e-venture, & agree with Sandy on research etc. Find out as much as you can about the ingredients needed for each product you want to make & ensure you have a really good understanding of the reasons for choosing one ingredient over another. There's lots of information available online - & some of the best you'll find will come from the experience of other people who've trodden the same road. It doesn't matter what business you want to go into, there's always a need for gaining a combination of knowledge & skills in the area first ! So yes, research research research .... and ask ask ask !!! Jane :-)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2001 Report Share Posted December 4, 2001 At 03:51 PM 12/04/01, Angel of Bast wrote: >Which is exactly what I'm doing. I'm reading what I can get my hands on, >but I don't think you can gain *all* of your knowledge from books. Most >are really big on recommending what oils to use for what, but don't explain >the best and most cost efficient ways to obtain them are. Butch can probably recommend some books to you for that. > > From what I've read, you seem to be in the > > same place I was just a few short months ago as far as having an > > understanding of just what essentials oils are; > >That's entirely possible, so I would imagine you have an idea of how I >feel, then. Yep. Been there.. done that.... still have a *lot* to learn. But I was coming from and going to a different direction than you are. I wanted to learn about essential oils and their uses, but I've never thought about making them myself.... so the books you spoke about above are just right for me -- while you will be looking for some much heavier reading. :-) >That's why we started looking at avenues such as homemade soaps, oils, >salts, etc. Sounds good to me! And this group is a great place to learn. I can't tell you how much it's helped me over the past few months. -- Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2001 Report Share Posted December 4, 2001 --- Angel of Bast <angelofbast wrote: > What I suggested above is more to spice up a > relationship and give your > romantic life a little more " oomph " than attacting a > new lover. But then > again, I'm still learning. It could be a recipe for > goats to attract > donkeys for all I know Too funny! You are welcome to come by some time & look through some of my reference books. I do have a few. The library is bookcases 31' long x 6' high, not all aroma but there are a few. Janet Buy the perfect holiday gifts at Shopping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2001 Report Share Posted December 4, 2001 Janet Golden said: > You are welcome to come by some time & look through > some > of my reference books. I do have a few. Wait wait wait...Janet as in Janet I was going to meet for coffee last week? Oh girl! I got your email and was going to call my boyfriend to make sure he could go home right after work and let the dogs out, and my computer crapped out TOTALLY! I lost all my files and everything. Second time in like two months. I finally get up and running and my server and I redesigned my email here and I lost all my emails. I'm so sorry but I DO want to get together soon!! I wasn't ignoring you or blowing you off-Life just sort of stepped in on me. AoB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2001 Report Share Posted December 4, 2001 AoB Essential oils are steam distilled, in most cases, and one needs a " still " to produce them... Infused oils are when herbs are macerated in a fixed oil- like olive... most fixed oils come from cold pressing or expeller pressing... WELL many are solvent extracted but not the ones I use!!! HTH MIchelle - Angel of Bast <angelofbast Tuesday, December 04, 2001 2:35 PM Question on Oils > Hello everyone:) > > I am just starting to study oils and essential oils and have been > confused. I'd like to make my own essential oils, but have no clue how > to. Then I was reading about making your own oils and I think I know the > difference, but am hoping someone can help me. > > Essential Oil: > The oil taken directly from an herb/flower/whatever. I'm not sure how > you go about *collecting* it, though. > > Oil: > What you get when you sort of soak some herbs in virgin oil, then > strain the herbs out so you're left with just an oil. > > Is this even close? Help?! > > > > AoB > > > > > My Pictures of Aromatic Plants and Exotic Places In Turkey > http://members.home.net/chrisziggy1/triptoturkey.html > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 5, 2001 Report Share Posted December 5, 2001 AoB asked: " This I completely get. So if I put say some goldenrod, an acorn and sugar cane in some oil and let it soak, then strained the oil out of the rest, I essentially would have an infused oil for Love, right? " This is exactly what I do, and sell, in my store. I make magickal anointing and dressing oils. I use a lot of hoodoo formulas, and some other traditions too. Basically, I start with my base oil (a blend of Sweet Almond, Jojoba, and Safflower). To this I add a does of Vitamin E oil (for a preservative) and Grapefruit Seed Extract (also a preservative). I mix this up in large quantities and put it in a big bottle with a pump. For each formula there is a base blend of e.o.s. These I mix in a master bottle, w/ no carrier oil. Okay, now we are at the bottle that is actually for sale. I add the right amount of the master eo blend (depends on how big the bottle is). For a 2mL bottle I use 0.4mL of eo. Then I add to the bottle, the herbal and stone ingredients. For example, in my Fast Luck formula, I would add a piece of cinnamon stick, a snip of vanilla bean, and a few pieces of crushed pyrite (a stone). Then I fill the bottle with the base oil to full. Then I add the coloring agent. You can use dyes meant for oils, or you can use natural dye herbs to color it. I use the natural herbs. Most of these need to sit a few days, or be heated to get them to dye the oil. Again, in my Fast Luck formula, I drop in a few flakes of alkanet root (to make it red). I put in the cork and shake. Then I stick it on the sitting shelf. I let it sit for several days as the color develops and the blend harmonizes (gets to smelling right between eos, and herbs added). Then it gets a wax seal, and goes on the sale shelf. I have some pictures of these up at my website (very few pictures at the moment, still working on that part:). So you don't have to go digging for them (and I'm not sure if my domain name is connected right yet [!@#%$!$#]), I stuck a few in the photo section. Just look in the photo album titled " Anointing and Dressing Oils. " (go to the group website at [lst]) I also take the master eo blends and use them in other products. I make matching bath crystals, floor washes, matching powders, and incenses, and sometimes things like lip balms, body washes, shampoo, foot soaks, hand scrubs, and talismans. For this, I sometimes need to add a bit of infused oil to the eo blend to mimic the herbs put in the sale bottle. I use infused oils instead of eos here because of the scent strength. Hope that helps. I'm happy to answer more questions. Blessings, Soseneda AIM: SosenedaA ICQ: 47264444 : soseneda_arianrhod Looking for herbs and other witchy supplies? http://www.twiningvines.com Real Witchs, Real Magick, Real Knowledge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.