<\/figure>\n\n\n\nMaking Your Essential Oil<\/h3>\n\n\n\n This is a bonus section I talked about before. It\u2019s added here because you need it before you can continue to the next section. Why you need to find out how to make essential oil is because it will be easier for you to make your perfumes after you have derived the essential oils from the plant materials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You may decide to go straight to making your perfume without deriving the essence of the aromatic substances but the truth is, it may not yield the best result. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reason is, you cannot blend different fragrances if you do this. Since it is not advisable to make perfumes by adding all the aromatic materials in one container (you have to derive their fragrances separately), you will have no other choice than to use essential oils or stick to just one aromatic material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this section, you are going to find out the different methods of obtaining the essential oils from the aromatic substances you are about to use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The method that will be described here will not require you to set up a mini-laboratory in your home or cause you to spend money to buy many pieces of equipment you don\u2019t already have. In other words, you don\u2019t have to worry about facing difficulties as you obtain your essential oils because you won\u2019t; they are very easy to secrete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every essential oil, as you must have known, contains the essence of a particular plant. The nutrients, pigment, and scent of the plant you used to make that oil are contained in the oil. So, when you want to choose the aromatic materials you will use to make your essential oils, go for the ones you don\u2019t react to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Essential oils can be secreted from plants and plant materials using different methods. The commonest methods you will see out there are the distillation and the mechanical expression methods. However, these methods will require you to buy some pieces of equipment and\/or set up a laboratory each time you want to extract your oil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since you are doing a DIY perfume, which will require you to use only what you have in the kitchen, we won\u2019t be into those methods. We are going to look into a simple method that works all the time. I know it will work for you too. So, here we go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Materials you will need<\/h2>\n\n\n\n 1. The plant aromatic substance from which the essential oil will be extracted. Remember, the plant material you go for depends on what you wanted. It is entirely your choice to make. So, experiment with as many substances are can lay your hands on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. The carrier oil. This is the oil that will be used to extract the essence of the plant material. The oil you are going to use here should not have any scent so it doesn\u2019t interfere with that of the plant material. However, some people prefer using scented oils because they love the flavours they add to their essential oils. But if you want to go for the non-scented oils, you can use jojoba oil, almond oil, or coconut oil. If you don\u2019t have any of these, you can use olive oil, grape seed oil, canola oil, or safflower oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. A stove. Some people use ovens too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. A pot or saucepan with a lid. You should go for a small pot because the quantity of the essential oil you are going to make right now will be small. If you get it right, you can increase the quantity during your next experiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Wooden spoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. Strainer and cheesecloth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
7. A jug and\/or a funnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
8. A bottle with a lid. Dark bottles are mostly preferred here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Procedure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n i. Gather the materials you will use for the experiments together. This is very important because it will prevent you from running around, looking at everything is, when you are making the oil. So, get everything, including the plant materials, together before you start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ii. Prepare your plant materials. If you have not separated your flowers\u2019 petals from their stalks, this is the time to do that. If you are going to make the oil from any of the citrus fruits, you should scrape the zest and set them ready. Grind the materials that should be grounded and get everything ready. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
iii. Wash and dry your pot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
iv. Put the plant material into the empty pot. Remember, you should not make one type of essential oil from more than one aromatic substance. Each substance should have its own essential oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
v. Add the carrier oil to the pot. You can decide to add the oil into the pot before putting the plant material, it\u2019s your choice. However, just make sure all the plant materials you are using are soaked with oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
vi. Cover the pot with its lid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
vii. Place the pot on the stove and turn it on. Reduce the heat to the lowest temperature the stove can give.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
viii. Allow it to cook for 5 to 6 hours. You don\u2019t have to leave it to cook for 6 hours straight; you can break down the 6 hours into two or three different periods. For instance, you can allow it to cook for 3 hours and then turn off the heat. When next you are free to monitor the pot, you can turn on the heat to complete the work. Always stir the content of the pot every hour to help the plant material release its oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ix. When you have completed the cooking, transfer the content of the pot into the sieve and let it strain into the jug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
x. Put the funnel in the bottle and cover it with the cheesecloth. Then pour the content into the funnel so it goes directly into the bottle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
xi. Cover the bottle and keep the oil aside until you\u2019re ready to make your perfume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NB. Use this same process to make the essential oil for each of the aromatic materials you want to use for the perfume. When you have made enough essential oils to start experimenting with the perfume making, you can go over to the next section. Remember, you are not going to use all the essential oils you made for this perfume. As you will see later, you will only need a few drops of the oils to make your perfume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n