Infusing Herbs in Olive Oil

In my quest for receiving the ultimate benefit from herbs in soap, I began researching how to get the homeopathic benefit from these delicate herbs without losing out to the harsh realities of using lye to make soap.  Because Lye is sodium hydroxide (a caustic salt), it can be too harsh and destroy many of the good properties of the herbs. One way to retain them is to infuse them into an oil.

This method is simple, like making tea but we are using oil instead of water. So that we may use the oil in our soaps, herbal salves and balms.

Let's get started on how you can create your own herbal infusions.

Step 1-  I use regular pint sized wide mouth canning jars with the lids.

Step 2- Gather your dried herbs and place them into sealable tea bags. 

I used about 2-3 tablespoons

Step 3-  Iron them closed

Step 4- Place sealed tea bag into the jars and pour olive oil over the tea bags

till 3/4 full and lightly tighten the lid

(do not over tighten lid until it's pulled out of the water bath when it's complete).

Step 5- Place jars into canning pot and fill with water till jar is surrounded by water but not touching the lid.

Step 6- Simmer on low for a few hours, after about 1 hour, check to see if the oils 

have changed colors. You may need to steep them a little more or less.  

It will depend on the herbs you are using.

Step 7-  Remove them from the hot water carefully, I use my canning tongs to pull them out. 

Let them sit a while to cool off. 

There you have it! 

 A gorgeous herbal infused oil that you can use in your soap, herbal salves and balms.