I love essential oils and one of my favorite is lavender. While essential oils are great, they are also kind of spendy and need to be diluted with a carrier oil. They are a process to make as well, and most people don’t have the time, patience or equipment to make them at home. I decided that it would be better to make an infusion because it is very simple and in a lot of ways, I get some of the same benefits. Here is how you can make your own lavender infused oil at home.
How to Make Lavender Infused Oil
You will need:
1 Qt Glass Jar with a tight fitting lid
3 Cups of Lavender Buds (the fresher the better)
2 1/2 Cups of Light Olive Oil
Cheese cloth or a paper towel
Glass jar with a dropper to store in
Process to make lavender oil:
Place your lavender buds in the jar. Make sure they are washed and thoroughly dried before adding them.
Pour over the olive oil to cover your lavender buds. It is extremely important that none stick out the top as this will leave them exposed to mold during the process. You may need to add more oil than this recipe calls for as these are only approximates.
Place the lid on your jar and set in a place in your home that gets indirect sunlight.
Leave your jar alone for 1-2 months minimum. I set mine out for about 3 months. I wanted a very heavy infusion.
After time has passed, pour your oil and buds over some cheese cloth (or paper towels) that is on top of a bowl. Squeeze out the extra oil.
Using a funnel, add the oil to your jar with a dropper.
To use, simply use the dropper to extract it from the bottle. Always close the lid well when done. This should keep for approximately 6 months (or a year if kept refrigerated).
Some uses for Lavender Infused Oil:
Use for back rubs and muscle rubs. I find it very soothing for this use.
Lavender infused oil is great for many bug bites.
During the summer, I like it for sun-burnt skin. It is very calming.
This oil is great for rubbing on the bottom of your feet for relaxation.
Please note, this is NOT essential oil. I don’t recommend using it as you would an essential oil such as for diffusing. Since lavender and olive oil are both edible, it could be used in cooking, but I am not sure of any information on it as I have never used it for that purpose. I suggest checking with a professional on that.
Do you think you could use other types of oil, like maybe coconut oil?
Coconut oil wouldn’t work well for this unless it was summer since coconut oil is solid most of the time unless warmed up, however, I did find a recipe for it on another site but it still has the lavender buds in it, so it’s not quite the same thing. http://madincrafts.com/how-to-infuse-oil-with-lavender/
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Do you think you could put the lavender leaves in oil to infuse the scent?