I am going to go ahead and post this since I have had a lot of questions! This is very similar to the recipe I posted for creating tinctures:
You can make infused Oils with basic stuff you get at the grocery store. Here is a very easy formula! You will need:
2 Clean Glass Jars (at least 8 oz big) with a lid
1 Bottle of Oil – Jojoba oil or Olive Oil
1 oz of whatever herb you plan to use.
Cheesecloth
Bruise the herbs a little bit and place the them in the jar. Now place the Oil in the jar to cover measure up to double the amount of herbs you have. So for example – if in your jar, you have about 1 inch of herbs, you want to pour the oil until it measures 2 inches up (1 inch to cover the herbs and another inch after that).
Here is where the recipe changes – you can create your oil in one of 2 ways:
* Natural Infusion – Shake the jar well and place in a sunny window. Open the jar to let vapors esacpe every day and then close it. Shake the jar everyday to make sure the herbs are well mixed. You will need to leave the herbs in your window for about 3-4 weeks so that the oil gets very well infused.
* Slow Cooker infusion – loosely close the jar and place it in water and in a slow cooker. Fill the cooker with water so that the water completely surrounds the jar. Put it on the lowerst heat setting – its also good to keep a candle thermometer nearby so that you can check the temperature of the water. You want it stay between 120 to 150 degrees. I bought a small slow cooker just for this – it was $4.99 at target – its smaller than my big on and easier to handle. You must keep the herbs in constant heat for 7 days – make sure the lid is loose on top of the jar so that vapors can escape it. If you keep the jar sealed it may burst.
Regardless of which method you used, your infusion should be done. Just strain the mixture through the cheesecloth into your second clean jar – wash and clean the first jar again – you will need it the next day. Take it away from the sun now and place it on your counter. Let it sit undisturbed for 24 hours. This is called decanting – you basically letting the more solid matter sink to the bottom of the jar.
After 24 hours, open the jar and carefully pour the oil into the first jar again (should be clean). Be careful that if there is any plant material at the bottom of the jar, you do not pour it in. Normally there is a little ring of herb residue on the bottom – you want to make sure that does not get poured. Wash the old jar again, and let the new jar with the oil decant again another 24 hours. Technically, you should be done – I generally like to decant my tinctures and oils 3 times. The more you decant, the less plant matter you will have in your oil and the longer the shelf life will be.
What is very important is that you use whole or partially whole herbs for this – DO NOT use ground herbs! If decanted properly, your oil will last about 10 months if you used olive oil as your base and 2-3 years if you used Jojoba oil!
Here are some easy ones you can make from herbs from the supermarket:
* Rosemary – for healing, purification and love
* Rose petals – for love, family, and protection
* Peppermint – for dream magick and healing
* Bay Leaves – for purification, empowerment, money and protection (some people may be sensitive to this when used directly on the skin – test before you use!)
* Cinnamon – success and spirituality (Do not use cinnamon bark on the skin – it will cause irritation!)
* Ginger – Power, love, success (Be careful when using ginger on the skin – it can cause irritation)
* Parsely – protection and purification
* Basil – Love, health, protection, money
I highly recommend that you infuse each oil with only 1 herb. If you want to create blended oils, then infuse several oils and then blend together after they are already infused.
Happy Infusing! =)
