Lavandula oil
Long loved for its delightful fragrance and beauty, lavender has also been used for medicinal, cleaning and household purposes. Essential oils are never cheap though, and making your own lavender oil is one option. While the lavender-infused oil suggested here won’t be as true to form as a properly distilled lavender oil, the homemade version will still carry a lovely scent and the properties of lavender will still be imparted into the oil.
Instructions
- Pour the non-scented oil into the jar and stir in the lavender flowers. Cover tightly and leave the mixture to steep for 48 hours in a sunny windowsill, shaking every 12 hours.
- Lay a piece of muslin over the bowl and strain the oil. Gather up the muslin and squeeze the material to extract as much as you can.
- Put the oil back into the jar and add fresh flowers. Place on the windowsill again. Repeat this process until you get the aroma you want.
- If the weather is cold and dull, you can place the jar in a saucepan of cold water. Slowly heat it until the water becomes just hand-hot. Maintain that temperature for 10 minutes. Remove the jar. Do this once a day.
- After the final straining, you can pour the oil into a dark glass bottle. The shelf life for lavender infused oil is 6 – 12 months if kept in a dry, dark, cool place.
