March 12th, 2010 
Catherine It has been like Christmas all over again at my house this week. I received my order from Mountain Rose Herbs to restock the herb shelves, what fun! I love opening those boxes of herbal goodness.
After I unpacked my box of dried herbs and supplies, I got started on a few projects. Making herbal oils was the first item on my list.
Creating your own herb infused oils is easy to do and only takes a few items. You will need herbs, a good quality oil like olive or almond, and a jar or other covered container (preferably glass).
There are many herbs that can be used to create herbal oils for skincare, healing wounds, soothing bumps and bruises, and so forth. Calendula makes an excellent oil for the skin, and is what is pictured above. I am also making Comfrey oil and Arnica oil for easing bumps, bruises, and muscle aches and pains. If you are just getting started making herbal oils, dried herbs are less tricky to work with and what I use most often.
I make my herbal oils using what is known as the simpler’s method, which is really quite simple!
Place the desired amount of herb into a jar. (Use a jar that will be filled almost to the top when the oil is added, too much air space can sometimes cause a problem with spoilage.)
Cover the herbs completely with oil adding enough to cover by about an inch or so.
Cover your jar with a lid.
Place it in a sunny spot to infuse for 2 weeks.
Shake your jar several times a day to stir things up a bit and help the herbs infuse.
After 2 weeks, strain the oil through a piece of cheesecloth or muslin fabric into a clean container.
If you want an extra strong infusion, add more herbs and let it sit for another 2 weeks and then strain again.
Now you have a beautiful herbal oil to use!
If you’d like a nice fragrance, you can add a few drops of an essential oil to the jar. I like to use lavender essential oil when making skin care products. It smells wonderful and is good for the skin, as well.
I hope you will try creating your own herbal oils, it is a fun activity and the resulting product is a lovely thing!
Next time, I’ll show you how to turn those herbal oils into a salve or ointment, and then we’ll move on to making oils with fresh herbs and create one of my favorite skin remedies- Chickweed Salve.
Peace & Joy,
Catherine
Posted in
Thanks Catherine for this post. I started making my oils last summer/fall just his way and look forward to making them again this year. I have also cooked a few on low in the crockpot, but prefer the simple method.
I look forward to your postings on salves and creams as I have wanted to try those next. Do you have a book that you use and would recommend for this.
Thanks again and blessings to you this fine day.
What a nice post! I had no idea it was so easy. I have one question though. When you say put the desired amount of herbs into the jar, how much do you mean – a couple teaspoons? Half the jar?
Thanks for the kind words ladies
!
Lorie,
I have many books that I refer to (I love books almost as much as herbs), but in this instance I would recommend books by Rosemary Gladstar or The Herbal Medicine Maker’s Handbook by James Green. For online information, HerbMentor.com is great .
Liza,
!
Sorry if that was confusing. I first decide how much oil I want to make, and then add enough of the dried herb that once the oil is added it will come almost to the top of the jar. In the photo I used a baby food container, so it was a few tablespoons of calendula. If I wanted to make a pint of oil, I would need to add a lot more. Hope that helps
Blessings,
Catherine
nice !!!! I have arnica infusing now for pain rub
[...] herbal salves is just as easy as infusing oils. If you made an infused oil following my last post, now you can use that to create your own [...]
Hi Catherine……….You do everything don’t you? Wonderful informative post. Have a great day…………Teresa