Home Made Essential Oils

Alternative health care is rapidly gaining ground now. The huge costs as well as the dangerous side effects associated with traditional Western medicine have made people opt for a healthier alternative. Consequently, the usage of aromatic essential oils has become hugely popular. However, it is often difficult to find the proper oil at all outlets. Adulterated oils are not effective at all and you end up using totally useless oil for your ailments. You can however, learn to prepare the required oils quite easily at home. This will give you the satisfaction of using freshly extracted and pure oils at cost effective prices.

Distiller- You need a distiller if you want to extract essential oils from the raw material. Buying the required distiller may set you back by a few hundreds of dollars but you can make one yourself just as easily simply by following the instructions online. The portions of the plant should be neatly chopped off before you attempt to use the distiller. The distiller is then filled with water and the chopped plant placed on the holding unit. Steam from the boiling water infuses with the plant within the distiller. The distiller cools down after some time causing the essential oil to separate from the water. The time may vary from plant to plant. Certain delicate plants like the rose may also require specialized handling.

Infusion- If you are reluctant to spend money on the process you can opt for an easier way. The infusion method entails the plant components to be simply mixed with a vegetable oil. The result is a less concentrated form of the essential oil. The entire method is very simple and you need to place the chopped up parts of the plant into a jar of vegetable cooking oil. Olive, safflower or coconut just any kind of oil will do. The plant should then be allowed to soak for a minimum of two weeks. Shaking the jar vigorously every day will help in the process of infusion. The oil can be strained off easily once the requisite time elapses.