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Article Series: Aromatherapy
Teach Me Some
Aromatherapy Benefits
How
to Make Your Own Infused Oils
Aromatherapy is one of the most popular forms
of alternative medicine in the world today. Part of the reason
it seems to be catching on at such a rapid rate is that it
can help with so many horrible problems. In the world of medicine,
there are a number of different applications. Women use it
to ease labor pains on a regular basis. It is often used by
seriously ill patients, like those dealing with cancer to help
ease the problems associated with the side effects of traditional
treatments. It has even been used to help rehabilitate people
with heart problems. You don't have to be sick to benefit from
aromatherapy, though. It can simply help you to focus your
mind. It can improve your memory, improve your mood, it can
even invigorate you after a long night. One great way to change
your aromatherapy practices is to make your own infused oils.
This means you can create your own combination of scents based
on the plant essences that work best for you.
You can make infused oil by simply placing
the plant material in oil and allowing it to steep over
low heat for a specific
period of time. This helps to concentrate the parts of the
plant material that will be most useful during your standard
aromatherapy practices. Historically, there have been hundreds
of uses for infused oils. It has been recorded that ancient
Egyptians used this homeopathic practice for many purposes.
They used sweet smelling oils during massage sessions for upper
class individuals. They used them in the medical treatments.
Cosmetics used botanical oils. They were even used in the practice
of embalming dead bodies. Even Hippocrates talked of the use
of aromatic oils. He suggested a massage with these oils was
helpful not only mentally, but also physically. Over time,
they have been used for cosmetic, medical, and perfume style
applications.
Dealing with infused oil in an aromatherapy procedure is a
lot like dealing with your standard essential oils. Infused
oils have many of the same attributes as an essential oil.
Better than most essential oils, though, they can have multiple
benefits that are simply not present in most essential oils.
One reason that some use infused oil instead of essential oil
is that some plants have a very low oil yield when trying to
extract the essential oil. As a result, it simply wouldn't
be possible to use those plants in aromatherapy circles without
procedures like infused oils. Moreover, though, infused oils
can be made right in your own home, which means that they don't
require some of the expensive equipment the manufacturing of
essential oils often does. Some essential oils have to be diluted.
Infused oils, though, can be used exactly as they are without
any form of dilution.
In
order to make your own essential oils, you should first
use only dried plant material. If you choose to use fresh plant
material, you might end up with moldy oil, which is not the
best thing for your aromatherapy procedures. Choose the plant
material or the combination of plant materials that works best
with your normal aromatherapy procedures. Start the process
with a glass jar, like a mason jar. It should be heat resistant.
It should also have an airtight seal. Add the dried plant material
until the jar is half full. It should be crushed, but it should
not be in powered form. Add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar.
Use one teaspoon for each cup of oil you plan to add. This
should help to release all of the plant materials. Shake your
jar well. Your next step is to actually fill your jar with
oil that has a good shelf life. You want something that has
been cold pressed. You have many options in this area. Jojoba
makes a great oil for this purpose. Macadamia also makes a
wonderful oil to work with during the infusion process. High-oleic
sunflower oil can also be quite helpful. Now you are ready
to place the lid on the jar. Keep the jar in a warm place,
something that measures at least one hundred and thirteen degrees
for no less than twenty-four hours. A sunny windowsill or an
incubation box would work quite well. A crock-pot filled with
water would also work for these purposes. Once your twenty-four
hours is up, you need to filter the oil first through the use
of a sieve, then through a cheesecloth to catch any extra particles.
At this point, you have a single infused oil. Many, though,
choose to make a double or triple infused oil by taking the
infused oil, adding a new batch of plant matter, and sending
it through the entire process again.
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by SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
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