Monday, August 11, 2014

Steps On How To Make Homemade Essential Oils

By Annabelle Holman


Essential oils have already been used for therapeutic and medicinal purposes since ages ago. Aside from that, they have been used for culinary reasons, as well. These essential liquid are extracted from flowers, plants, and even peelings of citrus fruits.

A person may decide to make an oil of his own at home. This is certainly possible and guides are available on how to make homemade essential oils. It should be noted, however, that the resulting product from the homemade process is not that potent as those that are manufactured and bought commercially.

The three most frequently used methods for creating essential oils are extraction, expression or the method of pressing the plant mechanically, and distillation. There are also other methods in making the essential oil. For homemade procedures, the best and easiest method to employ among the three would be distillation.

The producer should keep in mind several pointers prior to commencing distillation. It would be good if he can do a thorough research regarding the plant he will be using as different organic materials will produce different outcomes. He can use any flora which could from plants, flowers, spices, to fruit peelings. He should ensure that these materials are clean and have not been exposed to chemicals like pesticides.

The apparatus that the producer will be using for the process is a still. Stills can be bought in commercial stores but they may be expensive and may cost him a lot of money. If he wants, he can try building a homemade still, instead. The handmade still should have a separator, a condenser, a tank or pot, and a furnace.

The maker should have his raw materials gathered. The raw materials can be herbs that he have planted himself. He needs to handle them very well so as not to damage them. He can also purchase them from the market but he needs to make sure to purchase those in whole form. The plants should appear healthy and in good condition.

To make sure that there will be a bigger amount of produce, drying the organic plants that are to be distilled is recommended. Ideally, the flora should be dried under the shade or inside a very dark room. This is to lessen the amount of oil that will be lost, as well. The plants should stay dry and should not be exposed to sunlight directly.

The producer will then need to heat the tank or pot filled with water. This is where the dried materials will be submerged and boiled. Once the herbs are dry, he can put them inside the pot and boil them for several hours. The process may take a certain amount of time as it will depend on the quality and quantity of the material used.

Once the distillation has ended, the producer will then separate the oil from the water by pouring them into glass receptacles through the use of a cheesecloth or any fabric. The cheesecloth should be clean as well as dry so that the liquid will not be contaminated. The finished product should be kept inside rooms where only a little amount of light can enter.




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