Essential oils smell heavenly and work amazingly well at calming your nerves. Nobody can blame you if you can’t resist buying yourself a few bottles of essential oils with different scents. However, essential oils can get expensive and it can sometimes be difficult to find exactly the scent you want.
Fortunately, you can make and customize your own essential oil blends!
Before making your essential oils, it is important to note that there is a difference between essential oils and infused oils. Infused oils are made by soaking herbs in a specific oil to extract the active ingredients.
Essential oils are concentrated oils that contain the essence or aroma of a plant and are made by distilling plant material with steam.
The steam distillation process creates a water compound and an oil compound. The oil compound that rises to the top is essential oil.
The water connection under the oily layer is the so-called flower water, from which we obtain lavender and rose water. Now that you know the difference between the two, you can start making what you need for your aromatherapy session.
Everything you need to make your own essential oils at home can be found here.
What you need
-> Pot with lid
-> A small bowl that fits in the crockpot
-> Distilled water
-> Enough fresh plant material to fill the pot about halfway. Do not crush the herbs to preserve the oils.
steps
1. Place the small bowl in the middle of the pot.
2. Place the plant material or herbs around the bowl and cover the plants completely with water. Make sure the small bowl stays dry.
3. Cover the crockpot with the lid facing down so that the resulting steam can condense and fall back into the small bowl. If you don’t have a lid, you can use a plate.
4. Heat the ingredients in the crockpot over high heat. As soon as the water comes to a boil, reduce it to a simmer. Simmer on low heat for about three to four hours and place a few ice cubes on the lid to make it easier to cool. The cooling process helps separate the oil from the water. You can let it simmer longer if you want a stronger scent.
5. Once the time is up, turn off the pot and let it cool down. After cooling, pour the liquid in the bowl into a refrigerator-safe container. Put the container in the refrigerator overnight.
6. A thin oil film forms at the top, which hardens after cooling. This is the essential oil layer. Carefully lift the oil out of the water below. You have to work fast because it will melt quickly.
7. Place the essential oil in a dark bottle that will protect the contents from sunlight and oxidation.
Additional precaution
If you are storing the liquid collected in the bowl in glass jars (see step 5 above), it is important to let the collected liquid cool first before storing it in the refrigerator overnight.
This is to prevent the glass container from breaking and shattering in the refrigerator.
Essential oil blends to try
-> For focus: 2 drops of peppermint essential oil + 2 drops of wild orange essential oil
-> For a good night’s sleep: 3 drops of lavender + 4 drops of cedar wood
-> Wake up fresh: 2 drops of wild orange, 2 drops of frankincense + 2 drops of cinnamon essential oil
-> For headache relief: 1 to 2 drops each of peppermint, lavender, marjoram, thyme and rosemary
-> For outdoor use and insect protection: 5 drops of citronella, 2 drops of lemongrass, 2 drops of tea tree oil and 3 drops of geranium
-> For a masculine and woody scent: 2 drops of silver fir, 2 drops of cypress and 2 drops of winter green
-> To calm down: 3 drops of lavender, 3 drops of geranium, 2 drops of Roman chamomile, 2 drops of clary sage and 2 drops of ylang-ylang
-> For a mood brightener: 3 drops of bergamot + 2 drops of geranium + 3 drops of lavender
Although essential oils are made from natural products, knowing how to use and apply essential oil safely is important. So you can make your own reed diffuser to scent the home.
This article was first published in the Sun Buzz Essential Oil Aromatherapy Edition
