How to Make Essential Oils at Home

How do you make essential oils at home? I know it can be difficult to hunt for the oil you want, and it’s expensive, too. However, you can make your DIY oil at home without splurging much. 

Generally, the oil is extracted through steam distillation. There’s a fine distinction between infused and essential oils; beware of methods you find on the internet. You can spot the difference easily. 

Let’s understand how to make essential oils at home.

What’s the Difference Between Infused and Essential Oils?

The infused oils are prepared by soaking the herbs in oil to activate the compounds and are then extracted. 

As mentioned before, essential oils are prepared by steam distillation. 

First, you have to simmer the plant material, which will release the steam by travelling through the tube, then pass it through the cold water. 

The liquid will eventually be separated into two compounds: oil and water. The water compound consists of floral water like rose and lavender; the oils, which will come on top, are your DIY essential oils. 

Generally, you don’t get real essential oils in the market, but flavoured ones. You can prepare this at home with plant materials.

If you enjoy experiments, you can make blended oils, which aren’t available in nature. You can also make the DIY oils from patchouli, oakmoss, and lavender.

Ingredients for preparing DIY Essential Oils

• Distilled water
• Crock-Pot with a lid
• Fresh Plant Material (Consider taking 4-5 cups of chopped plant material, as you’ll have to fill it about half)

Process

1. Place the plant material in a crockpot and fill it with water. The water should cover about 3/4th of the volume; don’t overfill it.
2. Put it upside down and turn the crockpot to high to heat the water. Once the water becomes hot, bring it to a low temperature for about 3-4 hours.
3. Once the plant material is cooked, please turn it off and let it cool. After that, place the crockpot in the refrigerator. If your crockpot is still intact, you can either place the whole unit in the refrigerator or transfer the entire liquid into the container. Keep it overnight.
4. Pull the crockpot out of the refrigerator the next day, and you’ll observe a thin layer surfing on top of the liquid. (voila, this layer is your essential oil). Again, be attentive and carefully lift the oil from the water; make sure you do it before it starts to melt.
5. To turn the oil into a liquid, gently heat it until the liquid is released from the oil. Remember not to overheat it, as it might lose its potency.
6. Transfer it into a coloured glass container and keep it away from the sunlight. Don’t store it in a transparent container.

Important Tips to Consider While Preparing Essential Oils

1. Always use fresh plant material rather than dried herbs. Fresh plant material yields more oil, which will bring in more volume. Never use any dead, bug-infested or diseased herbs.
2. At least try getting  4-5 cups of plant material to make more teaspoons of essential oils. This is the reason why essential oils are so expensive!
3. Chop the plant material fine to increase surface volume and let the oil escape more.
4. Consider using distilled water instead of tap water, which can help prevent bacteria and other contaminants.

The Takeaway

I hope you have enjoyed reading this article and have gained enough insights about essential oils. Make sure you give this DIY recipe a shot!

Now that you know how to make essential oils at home, which ones will you try? Tell us in the comments section below!

Click also to view our many scents of aromatherapy essential oils!

Also, a good read: 25 Best Natural Essential Oils Flavours, Why & How to Use?