How to Make Essential Oils

Essential oils have many uses around the home and have been used throughout the history of alternative medicine. Because of this, learning how to make essential oils is a useful and fun skill. In order to make essential oils, you will need a still. These can be purchased or made by hand, depending on your ability and preference. A still is made of four parts, including the heat source, the holding tank, the condenser, and the separator. Once you have a still, making essential oils is simple.

After the still has been acquired, the first step in learning how to make essential oils is to collect your fresh plant material. Before collection, you must decide which oil you would like to make. All plants have different properties, and some are better candidates for making essential oils. If you have a plant in mind, do a little research to find out the best time to harvest the plant for its oil. Some popular choices are rose, lavender, geranium, and peppermint oil. If you're looking to increase the material you can fit into each batch, it's recommended that you dry the plants first. Drying, however, depletes some of the plant's oil; so if you're looking to extract the most oil possible, work with smaller, fresh batches.

Next, add filtered water to the holding tank of your still. If you have purchased one, just follow the included instructions. If there are no instructions available, you want to have enough water to last for the duration of the distilling process, which can be more than six hours. There should be a holding area for your plants above the water line, and this should remain dry. Layer your plants, without cutting them, in this area. Now you're ready to close it up and boil the water.

You must be vigilant while boiling the water. Normally, the oils will be released at the boiling point of the water. If need be, add more water if it appears that it may run out. As the steam travels through the condenser, you will soon notice the extraction entering the separator. Here, the essential oils will be separated from the steam. You can use clean cheesecloth to filter your essential oil into a sterilized dark container. If stored properly, essential oil can last for years.

Now that you have learned how to make essential oils, you may wonder what to do with the leftover water in the still. Depending on the type of plant used, the water itself can have many uses. It can also be used to immediately make another batch, or you can add it to your compost. Once you have the basics down, feel free to be creative and explore the seemingly endless world of essential oils. With a nice collection of homemade essential oils, you can combine them to find the ideal aromatherapy recipes to complement your lifestyle.