How do you make oils?

[Jake1001]

So I'm planning on making Oils for differnet magick uses, but I don't really know how so is it like the oil is base then you add scents, herbs etc or? Like a full moon oil/liquid incense.

[Holdasown]

I have made oil using olive oil and witch hazel, lavender. Take the oil and put it in a glass or ceramic, oven safe pan. Add your herbs and bake at 250 for six hours. Strain and use. It's not food safe so you don't ingest them. We use the witch hazel for bug bits, sunburn and other stuff rash or itchy related.

[YanaKhan]

I use almond oil for base. Cut the herb you want oil from and put it in a bottle and seal it. Leave on the sun for about a month to 40 days, shake daily. Filter and keep in a dark place. That's the long - time way. The homemade oils have short life, so make sure you use them for no longer than 6 months. And don't make too much. Holda's way is excellent if you need the oil and can't wait for 30 - 40 days.

[AnaisStar]

I have done both cold and heat infusions. I use almond oil as my base (although if using on someone with a nut allergy you need to find a different oil). I prefer almond oil because its very moisturizing, absorbs fairly quickly without being heavy. I dont use olive oil in my oils because I find it has its own scent that affects the scent of the oils/herbs that I add in.

Cold infusion - exactly how YanaKhan described. Place herbs in a mason jar, fill and completely to cover herbs with your base oil. Let set in sun for a full moon phase or 4-6 weeks.

Heat infusion - there are several ways to do this. You can place herbs in a oven safe dish, cover with oil and bake on a low temp for a few hours as Holdasown described. You can place the herbs and oil in a heat safe dish like a mason jar, or bowl and add to a double boiler. I actually have a small crock pot that I use for heated infusion. Set at low and leave for a few hours. You have to watch the herbs/oil don't burn though when doing a heated infusion so you have to be constantly checking and stirring them.

I prefer the cold infusion method but it just takes so long because of the wait. If you can wait I would do cold infusion. If you need the oil quickly than do heat infusion.

If you are using EOs (essential oils). Than just add your base oil to a bottle you decide to use, and add in drops of the EOs until you get your scent.

Depending on what you are going to use the oil for you can build a ritual around. Put your intention in to the oil, burn a candle whose color relates to the intention for the oil, etc. Add runes or sigils to the bottle that align with your intention in using the oil.

I'm mostly using herbs and eos to create cosmetic/body products, but eventually I will be making ritual oils, spell oils, tinctures, incense blends etc for more magickal uses instead of purely cosmetic.

[Jake1001]

Love these ideas, but do they necceseralliy have to be essential oils trust me if i could get them I would but i doubt my parents would let me order them online with their credit card and my metaphysical store sells one small bottle for 15-20$ so :/ I have fragrance oils which is obviously fake, not real and bad but could I add them or no?

[Holdasown]

I have made mine with dried herbs. I don't buy essential oils either.

[AnaisStar]

Love these ideas, but do they necceseralliy have to be essential oils trust me if i could get them I would but i doubt my parents would let me order them online with their credit card and my metaphysical store sells one small bottle for 15-20$ so :/ I have fragrance oils which is obviously fake, not real and bad but could I add them or no?

I dont like working with Fragrance oils. If you can get your hands on some herbs I would make your own. It might not have the fragrance you have in mind, but it would be stronger because of the energy from the plant you use. You could use one of the methods I mentioned above to create your own oil.

Take a look in your kitchen/pantry and see what you have on hand. Some everyday common herbs or spices we use for cooking food have amazing magickal properties and you can use those to start making some oils.

Such as Bay leaves, Basil, Cloves, Cinnamon, etc.

Think about what you want to use the oil for, or what intention you have in making it. Then find some herbs to match.

[loona wynd]

I was going to use almond oil as my base oil, but there are far to many people allergic to nuts that I dont want to risk using that, especially since they are going to be sold or given as gifts. I was wondering what you would consider a good base oil aside from almond oil?

Edit: I have been told that adding Vitamin E (you can buy gel caps where you get vitamins) will act as a preservative increasing the lifespan of oil from six months to two years. This is just what I have heard from some one who has made and sold Hoodoo style oils at fairs and conventions.

[Gentle Melody]

I think Sunflower oil can be a good base oil, it have almost no scent at all and allergies occur rarely. Maybe it is an option for you Loona.

PS: I never made essential oils, so I'm not sure if this oil is effective for this use

[loona wynd]

I think Sunflower oil can be a good base oil, it have almost no scent at all and allergies occur rarely. Maybe it is an option for you Loona.

PS: I never made essential oils, so I'm not sure if this oil is effective for this use

I'm not making essential oils. I dont have the materials for that. I'd be making infused/blended oils. Oils that are crafted as a magical and ritual item. They would essentially be spells in bottles.

[Gentle Melody]

I think Sunflower oil can be a good base oil, it have almost no scent at all and allergies occur rarely. Maybe it is an option for you Loona.

PS: I never made essential oils, so I'm not sure if this oil is effective for this use

I'm not making essential oils. I dont have the materials for that. I'd be making infused/blended oils. Oils that are crafted as a magical and ritual item. They would essentially be spells in bottles.

Oops, I mistook everything, sorry.
What I meant is: I don't know if the oil will achieve the desired results, like scent, its lifetime.
I know that Sunflower oil its very sensitive to higher temperatures, so I think it'll be okay in a cold infusion.

[loona wynd]

I think Sunflower oil can be a good base oil, it have almost no scent at all and allergies occur rarely. Maybe it is an option for you Loona.

PS: I never made essential oils, so I'm not sure if this oil is effective for this use

I'm not making essential oils. I dont have the materials for that. I'd be making infused/blended oils. Oils that are crafted as a magical and ritual item. They would essentially be spells in bottles.

Oops, I mistook everything, sorry.
What I meant is: I don't know if the oil will achieve the desired results, like scent, its lifetime.
I know that Sunflower oil its very sensitive to higher temperatures, so I think it'll be okay in a cold infusion.

Understandable. I'm new to crafting anything basically other than incenses or tinctures. So I figured that since there was already a topic I'd ask my questions in the topic. I also figured that like anything else in the Craft that you would have a mixture of responses for on what base oils work the best. So like anything I'm going to read and research peoples experiences and then make my decision. I like using my resources.

[AnaisStar]

I was going to use almond oil as my base oil, but there are far to many people allergic to nuts that I dont want to risk using that, especially since they are going to be sold or given as gifts. I was wondering what you would consider a good base oil aside from almond oil?

Edit: I have been told that adding Vitamin E (you can buy gel caps where you get vitamins) will act as a preservative increasing the lifespan of oil from six months to two years. This is just what I have heard from some one who has made and sold Hoodoo style oils at fairs and conventions.

I didnt think about that until recently as well. So Ill have to find a new base oil. I made a salve with herbs infused in almond oil and gave it to a friend. She said she recently developed a reaction to nuts. But she tried the salve anyway (because mixed with the other ingrds, its a relatively small amount of almond oil) and she didnt have any issues. I know some people can have a reaction to the nuts by skin contact, but I think its a small chance of happening.

Let me know if you find a good base Loona. I dont want to use olive oil because to me it has such a strong odor and distracts from the EOs and Herbs Im using.

I think another good one to try is Jojoba oil. Lightweight, greaseless, easily absorbed, and fragrance free really. I think most fragrance oils made by others use jojoba oil (like BPAL?)