Extracting Oils From Herbs., Which method is best? Options

Hello, hello. So, here's the 'deal'..I pretty much want to make, and use my own oils rather than go to some shop, and buy them, but I'm not sure which method to extract the oils are best. The first method I heard of was filling a jar with the herb(s), covering the herbs with some kind of cooking oil, leaving it in a windowsill for a month, shaking it daily, then straining it into a container and storing it. The second method was putting two cups of oil to 1 cup of dried herbs/ 2 cups of fresh herbs in a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water for 3 hours, then strain the oil. The third and last method I heard was putting a cup of lard in a saucepan over a low flame until it melts then adding the powdered herb(s) and mixing them together for about 10-15 minutes then straining it through a cheesecloth. Which one of these methods will extract the oil more potently, and keep it as 'pure' as possible? Any other methods anyone uses would also be appreciated. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/help.gif)

.::sempre Bene::..::Chris::.
-Fiat Lux (IMG:style_emoticons/default/Symbols_1911.gif)

This post has been edited by SangueDiNapoli: Mar 29 2006, 02:02 AM

greetings...
are you trying to make perfume oils or something that will touch your skin?? perfume oils are sometimes pressed to release the inner oils rather than soaking the plant (etc) matter directly into another lipid.

lard will give you a fairly soild final outcome (fragrant grease) -good for medicated balms, but should be refrigerated.

oils for the most part stay liquid (refrigeration may help preserve it, but can cloud some oils)

i highly recommend using the highest quality food-grade oil (or rendered lard) you can find. grapeseed is one of my favorites because of its high vitamin e content helps to preserve extracts much longer and its pretty transparent and colorless with a fairly unnoticeable scent -its also really good for your skin. grapeseed oil also has the added benefit of being able to withstand heat better than olive oil (in case youve decided to use a double boiler)

imo, long term cold soaking is best for extracting essentials that are heat sensitive or for delicate plants, warming the oil (lard) in a double boiler is best for faster results or for those things that can withstand heat better (stuff that doesnt degrade with thermal change)... sometimes sun extracts can be made as well, like you mentioned.. just keep in mind that solar radiation can degrade some actives -i prefer a cool dark spot for most projects.

experimentation helps, and so does having reference materials for heat-sensetivity and solubility. some things will only extract into alcohol, etc.... oh, and dont forget to store your results in tinted bottles, many extracts are photosensitive and should not be exposed to much light.

hope that helps...
-v

This post has been edited by vulnera: Mar 29 2006, 03:53 PM

make sure your utensils and bottles, including tops, are 'thrice washed', once with soapy water, once with salt water, and once with fresh rainwater or distilled water for the final rinse

boiled - get a mess of plants or roots (st john's wort, dawn primrose, or mix and match according to effect desired) and immerse them in boiling tap water in a large pot (tap water can be used as it dosen't affect the oil merely used to get it to rise - remember your planetary correspondences and timings and increasing moon phase and always use a stainless steel pot) - after about 5 minutes, turn it off and let it steep covered for about 4-8 hours until it cools off completely - all the oils in the plants will rise to the top and you can skim them off with a big (stainless steel) spoon into a bottle

solar - leave the mess outside in dew (on a night of increasing moon and favorable planetary conditions), at false dawn, bring them in wrap the mess tightly with plastic wrap or put them in a clear plastic garbage bag and close it up tightly. put it in the sun with a good corner hanging down like a funnel. give it a good shake to run the oils down into the corner, along with some enchatment, every few hours. the sun will draw out the moisture and oils and you can snip the whole plastic corner off the next night and transfer it to a bottle.

i usually put a sprig or two of the plants into the bottle as well for empowerment/stability (and identification!)

E.

Thank you both (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif). To answer vulnera's question, no, not trying to make perfume oils, and yes it will touch my skin., But I'm aware of which herbs do what ;-) make powders, and such from time to time, and essential oils from the local botanica just weren't doin' it for me. Again, thank you.

-Chris.

Mm, I realized I still didn't get an answer to which method might keep the herbs properties into an oil..If an herb is known for causing rashes, for smelling bad, for making you poop (Yeah, poop, trying to keep the language clean), for making you do the funky chicken (ha....) which method would keep those properties? I read that when using alchohol, the tinctures are stronger than with water, or oil, and it doesn't mess up any of the herbs properties (No, I wont just 'try it out', I'm not going to waste herbs on trying things)..Most (well, all) of the sites I've been to on extracting oil, just give methods, don't really say which are best for what. Again, any answers would be appreciated.

.::Mille Grazie::..::Chris::.
-Fiat Lux

Greetings!
It is not necessarily the plant oils that are causing the effects that you are looking for. Sometimes they can be produced by alkaloids, some by enzymes others by ketones, etc. Plant biochemistry is the subject that you need to bone up on. That and some good Materia Medica herbals. Unfortunately, once again, the DEA has made it difficult to purchase various ingredients that help in the extracting of various chemical components of plants because of the high danger of drug use. Some very fine oil extractions can be done by the utilization of ether. Methylene Chloride can be helpful also. I use a water bath and condensing unit ..."a still" but that can be construed as illegal moonshining in many states. Happy Trails! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

Wow, I was wondering the same thing but didn't really know how to ask the question so I'm glad you asked!!!

I want to make my own oils as well and the information you guys have given is really helpful! I cant wait to ryy it out!

A questionI have is : How long will the oils last? I mean do they ever expire or do they keep for a really long time?

moonlit

Well, from what I read, if you keep them in a dark, cool place they should last for about two years, which is more than enough time. I heard of putting some benzion tincture to preserve the oils.

-.::Sempre Bene::..::Chris::.
-Fiat Lux

Greetings!

Just a few suggestions. I am more used to working from a practical alchemy perspective but the methods are similer.

The easy method for an oil has been described above. Grind the plant very carefully and place in a very pure oil. An organic grapeseed or Extra Vigin Olive Oil. Be sure to use glass only and no metal then cover the top with plastic wrap and put the top on. Place the whole thing in a dark cool place for 30 days then strain. The oil will be infused with the plant but very weakly.

A very basic tincture can also be made very similer. Grind the herb and place in grain alcohol cover and let sit for 30 days then strain. The oils and waxes of the plant will be left behind in the alcohol.

The added bonus of this method is you can then burn the dead head and gather the essential salts of the plant as well. Or to make a strong oil you could distill the tincture and the remaining material will be almost complete oil of the plant. This of course can be strenthend even more by adding new material to the tincture and letting it ferment before you distill it. Then if you wanted could recombine the salts, sulphur, and mercury you now have to create a lesser stone.

You could also make a ens as well but that might be more than you are looking for. I hope this helps.

P.S. to do it right be sure to take into account the correct days and hours of the plant you are using.

Any suggestions help, thanks. & Bym, I tried looking up ways of extracting alkaloids, and madonn' the process is a real pain in the arse, even if I fully understood it (It was explained rougly, alot of room for questions), there are a bunch of materials. Just gives me a headache. lol.

.::Sempre Bene::..::Chris::.
-Fiat Lux.

Well, from what I read, if you keep them in a dark, cool place they should last for about two years, which is more than enough time. I heard of putting some benzion tincture to preserve the oils.

-.::Sempre Bene::..::Chris::.
-Fiat Lux

Ok thank you so much! I appriciate it!

I hope I'm not out of place here, but this is a good site where I find my glassware ect. sciencelab

All of the instructions above (unless i missed some) are how to make plant oils. They are not essential oils. While they do contain some essential oil, they are not as strong as actual essential oil. YOu need several pounds of herbs and a still to make full blown essential oils. Howeer, the herbal oils mentioned above work VERY well for magics! Let sit one onth at the very minimum. You said that you were not happy with the e.o's at your local botanica. Well sadly enough, half of the stores out their sell crap that is not even essential oil, but is perfume FAKE oil. Or watered down essential oil and so on. Some just do coloured water with a little fake fregrance. I recommend going to the health food store to get reall essential oils if you wish to use those. However essential oils are not the best option for many types of magic, the herbal oils we are talking about here are much better for physical affects in my opinion. I have found that oils made in this way for candle dressing and so on work much better then just adding a few drops of each essential oil that the recipe calls for. Essential oils have different properties and work on differnt things then plant infused oil for example. Tinctures are yet another use of herbs for magics. When doing alchemy one often will make and work with all 3. When doing spellwork it is good to know which is needed for whataffect and use that. Unfortunatly most folks just use essential oils and call it good. LOL seems this one turned into a bit of a rant... So make sure if a recipe calls for essential oil to use that, but if it calls for an herb infused oil, use that For example Abramelin oil, fast luck oil, compel oil and so on are NOT supposed to be made with essential oils! They are not thesame recip if done this way.

Athena

Which extraction menstruum and which method depend on which herb and the desired effect. One of the very important things to note when making herbal oils is to reduce water content as much as possible. This means either using dried herbs, or wilting fresh herbs before doing an oil extraction. Too much water in the oil extraction will provide a place for bacteria and mold to grow and will result in a spoiled or rancid oil in a short amount of time.

Solar oil extractions are usually the safest as they are good for the delicate oils and vitamins found in most herbs, flowers, and stamens in the plants. About two weeks is sufficient for the first extraction. At this point pour off the oil, do not press, and add fresh oil to the herbs and do another two weeks of extraction in sunlight. Again pour off the oil and do not press. Then remove the remaining oil and herbs to a cheesecloth and press. These three oils are of three grades and potencies. The first being the finest and most potent, while the last is the grossest and contains more waxes and solids than vitamins and oils, but is still very useful. Always store herbal extracted oils below 68 degree Farenheit to prevent spoilage. Exposure to sunlight will continue the breakdown that you relied on to get the stuff out of the plant in the first place. Just as in canning, minimal headspace is also important. Use sterilized marbles to bring the liquid level up, or transfer to smaller jars as the oil is used. Be sure to remove any cardboard lid liners from reused containers, and thoroughly boil and sterilize all equipment to avoid cross contamination. And of course avoid copper and alumminum in all herbal preparations, as they could leach toxins into the brew when in contact with various herbs both alkali and acidic.

The double boiler method is rough, but quick and is not appropriate for a lot of extractions. But for woodsy material, like roots, bark and stems, it can be useful. The line between warming an oil for extraction and deep fried comfrey root is a thin one. Use a thermometer if you are unsure. Again, wilting is important to avoid too much water in the final mixture.

In my experience tincture of Benzoin nor Vitamin E oil seem to make much difference in preservation. Proper preparation and storage have a much greater effect.