Boy Flower Grew Who

There are several methods of making essential oils. These include hydro distillation, steam distillation, solvent extraction, CO2 extraction, cold press and florasol extraction.

The desired essential oils reside in various parts of the plant which varies from plant to plant. Thus some distillation/extraction processes work better for some plants than others.

With skill and practice and the right essential oils distillation equipment, you can use several of these methods at home. Some plants can be processed with virtually no aroma therapy equipment. This is true of some flowers, spices and herbs.

The first step is to harvest your raw material. Different species will have optimal quantities of oil at various stages in their growth cycle, and factors such as time of day can have a dramatic impact on the amount of oil available from a given plant. So it's important to do your research on the specific plants you wish to process.

Among the easiest approaches to making essential oils is with fresh organic flowers picked in the morning. Good flowers for this process are roses, geraniums, honeysuckle, hyacinth, jasmine, lavender, violet, orange blossom, and lily of the valley. Gather 2 to three packed cups of flower petals and pack in a glass canning jar with about a half cup of sweet almond oil. Bruise the flowers with a mortar and pestle before added to the oil.

During the first week, the mixtures should be stored at a warm room temperature, ideally between 68-75 degrees. During the first week, the jar should be vigorously shaken daily to further bruise and mix the oil and petals. The mixture should then be placed in a dark area and allowed to seep for another week or two. It then should be strained through fine mesh cotton gauze. The oil should be transferred to amber or dark colored glass jars with tight caps. These should be stored in a cool dark place.

This same process can be modified for citrus peels, and spices such as cinnamon back, cloves and vanilla beans and also for herbs like borage, basil, rosemary, thyme, lemon balm and others. Cut citrus peels to small bits and use 1 cup per ½- cup of oil. For dry spices you can do a 1 to one ratio.

Gottlieb Smith is an advocate for aromatherapy, and natural herbal medicines. He encourages and using them. He has a free email course and offers an introductory book on aromatherapy called on his web site at aroma therapy scents.