Making an Herbal Oil

Herb-infused oils are easy to make and, depending on the herbs used, encompass a variety of healthful uses -- from healing up scrapes, cuts, bumps and bruises, to reducing scar tissue, to soothing a baby's rashy bum, to eliminating aches and pains.  In this article, I'll teach you how easy it is to make calendula-infused oil using dried calendula flowers and vegetable oil... but first, a little introduction to the benefits of using calendula topically.

Calendula possesses three main actions which give it high esteem as a topical medicinal herb.  First, it is considered a vulnerary, which is a funny way of saying it excels at healing wounds.  Combine this with the herb's anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties and you've got a winning combination.  I use calendula salve topically for a variety of conditions including eczema, burns, scrapes, bumps and bruises as well as diaper rash and other fungal problems like athlete's foot.  Calendula is high in carotenoids (an antioxidant pre-cursor of Vitamin A) and combined with chamomile, calendula excels at reducing the redness and inflammation of rosacea.  OK, so let's learn a "folk" method of making calendula oil.

Ingredients and Kitchen Equipment Needed:

• Blender or Vita-mix
• Spatula
• Quart Glass Jar with Lid
• Dried Calendula Flowers (I prefer just the orange flowers as it makes a deeper orange oil with more carotenoids).
• Organic Vegetable Oil (Sunflower, Olive or Sweet Almond oil are nice choices).

Directions:

1. Add calendula flowers to your blender
2. Add some vegetable oil - do not cover the flowers in oil - maybe about 1/2 way (it's best to start out with less oil and add it as you need to).
3. Blend the herbs and oil, stopping to tamp down the flowers and then blend again.
4. Add just enough oil so that the oil and herbs blend together.  It should be thick.
5. Blend for a couple of minutes until the blender container becomes warm (this starts the maceration process).
6. Use the spatula to pour the contents of the blender into a clean glass jar.
7. Put the lid on and place the jar in a paper bag.
8. Set the jar in a warm spot for 2 weeks (I put mine out on the sunny porch in the summertime).
9. Strain through a muslin cloth and bottle.
10. Keep refrigerated to extend the shelf life.  This oil will last a year refrigerated.