Making herbal infused Oils is fun and easy to do. Infused oil is made when you start with a good quality base oil and then infuse the herbs into the oil and place is over gentle heat to extract the medicinal properties of the herbs. Infused oils are not to be confused with essential oils which are steamed distilled.
here is a list off all of the supplies that you will need:
3.5 oz herbs
Oil jar
cheese cloth
Oil jar
cheese cloth
Place herbs in a clean, dry quart jar. Leave at least 1 to 3 inches of open space above your herbs to cover with oil.
Fill remaining space in jar with oil of choice, making sure to cover herbs by at least 1 inch or more. If the herbs emerge above the surface of the oil at any point while infusing, pour more oil on top to ensure the herbs remain covered.
Make sure to cap the jar tightly and shake well. (you dont want to go to shake your container and get oil and herbs everywhere, trust me...) This step is super inportant because you want to herbs to be completely covered in oil for a good infusion process.
Place jar in a sunny, warm windowsill and shake once or more per day. I personally like to use a crock pot when infusing oils. I find that keeping the crock pot on low uncovered is a great way to complete this process and you can do it in a couple of hours instead of a couple of weeks.
After 2 to 3 weeks, strain the herbs out of the oil using cheesecloth or a mesh strainer. Make sure to squeeze out as much of the precious oil as possible!
Pour into clean, dry, glass bottles. Dont forget to label your jars with the date, type of oil, and herbs used.
Store in a cool, dark place. The oil may keep for up to a year. Vitamin E oil at a concentration of up to 1% may also be added to prolong shelf life for oils to be used topically.
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