A lot of people are using lavender oil in various areas of their life. Lavender in particular is known to be incredibly soothing and to have many health benefits. Additionally, it is a great product to use in your home cleaning and home fragrance products.
A lot of people are using lavender oil in various areas of their life. Lavender in particular is known to be incredibly soothing and to have many health benefits. Additionally, it is a great product to use in your home cleaning and home fragrance products. But just what is this essential oil? How is it extracted?
Any essential oil is a highly concentrate and volatile oil. It is not the same as an aromatherapy oil, which is often mixed with petroleum to make it more suitable for direct skin use. Lavender oil can be extracted from any fragrant plant and this process has been done for thousands of years. We know that there are various medicinal benefits to using 100% pure essential oils from lavender, in particular in terms of healing processes.
There are a few different methods of extracting lavender oil. If you purchase a bottle, the method used should be explained very clearly. However, you can also extract yourself if you know what you are doing. My own preferred method is to use distillation. This is because it is very easy to do and because it is relatively cheap as well. Additionally, when you purchase an essential oil, it is almost always extracted through distillation as well.
In my own work, I use a still, which I have purchased. You can, however, build one yourself if you want to and have the ability to do so. Any good still has a heat source, a holding tank, a condenser and a separator. Secondly, you need your lavender flowers. Make sure you check whether the plants are ready to be picked, and try to actually get just the flowers, and not a huge part of the stem as well. The plant material then has to be dried, which is best done in a shaded area. The benefit of lavender is that it can actually be dried on the plant, so you don't run the risk of cutting it too late. Lavender oil truly is one of the easiest to make. You then add your dried lavender and water to your still and boil it.
The oil should be automatically collected in your separator, which means it is very easy to do. However, do make sure your still always contains water to boil. Finally, collect your oil into a small bottle and start to enjoy it. Remember that you will have some plant residue, so you may want to choose to filter the oil before you pour it in a bottle. Remember that the oil you have just created is incredibly concentrated. Most people will mix it with some rapeseed oil to dilute it slightly. This won't take any of the benefits away, but it will make it possible for you to use it directly on your skin.
