Self Care Sunday: Oil Infusions

Jan 21

Written By

I was listening to the Skinny Confidential podcast this past week with guest Dr. Mona V and one of the first questions Lauren asked Mona was, “what are some of her most essential tips for Self Care?”

I loved her response.

“The littlest things can make you feel like a million bucks. This advice is particularly great for new moms who are staying at home a lot. When your particularly stressed out and you barely have time to get out of sweatpants. Taking a hot shower, put in a hair mask, shave your legs, and put on lotion.” ~A summarized quote from Dr. Mona~

I remember being back in school and between the program demands, work, and internships I literally had zero time to take care of myself. The one thing that I would always make myself do, particularly if I was experience next level stress and had just pulled an all nighter or two, I would force myself out of my sweats, take a long hot shower, and take the time to get dressed like a real human. Every single time I felt a million bucks afterwards.

I know it does not sound like much but think about it……

How often do you just go through the motions of getting dressed?

When I am crazy busy, I often just jump in the shower, slap on lotion, and run out the door. Days like these make-up, if it even happens, is getting put on in the car at stop lights.

Just typing that immediately taps into my levels of stress in those moments. A chicken running around with their head cut off is the phrase that comes to mind.

Ok back to the point. If you do nothing else for yourself at the very least take 45 minuets to take a long hot shower and pamper yourself after. By pamper I’m talking putting on some type of hair mask, face mask, or eye mask and/or ( and I leaning more heavily on the “ and" here. This is Self Care Sunday after all!) take a few minutes to rub yourself down with either your favorite lotion or body oil.

Being obsessed with all things DIY I really love infusing my own body oils. Messaging yourself with your own custom herbal blend is soooo gratifying.

Think custom blends like ………

For Dream Time

lavender, chamomile, and rose in jojoba oil

For Chapped Skin

calendula, yarrow. and plantain in olive oil

The possibilities are endless!

Making the oil is easy and fast. Let me clarify the process for infusion is slow (two weeks at least) but you actually doing anything requires very little time.

No More Babbling let's get to it.........

The How To....

Using dried herbs is recommended. If you desire fresh herbs, wilt them first for 12 hours to remove the moisture (too much water will cause your oil to go rancid), cut into small pieces, and crush with a mortar and pestle before adding to the jar.
Place herbs in a clean, dry quart jar.
Fill remaining space in jar with carrier oil of choice, making sure to cover herbs by at least 1 inch. If your herbs soak up all of the oil, then pour more oil on top to ensure the herbs are well covered.
Stir well and cap jar tightly.
Place jar in a sunny, warm windowsill and shake once or more per day. You can also cover the jar with a brown paper bag if you prefer that to direct sunlight.
After 2-3 weeks, strain the herbs out of the oil using cheesecloth or a mesh strainer. Make sure and squeeze out every precious drop of oil!
Pour into glass bottles and store in a cool dark place. The oil should keep for at least a year. Vitamin E Oil can be added to prolong shelf life of your oils.

To give you an idea of proportions.....

For this last batch I used

1.5 oz arnica to 14 oz oil

16 oz 2 oz lavender

Yes, the more flowers or herbs you use in the oil the stronger the oil will be. However, it is more important that the herbs are covered by oil. If your looking to make more potent oils I suggest double infusing.

How the hell do I do that?

Simple! After your oil has sat in the sun for at least two-three weeks. Strain your oil, add fresh herbs, and let you oils infuse for another 2-3 weeks.

Carrier Oils

What the hell is a carrier oil????

They are a “base” oil and are derived from (mainly) nuts and seeds of different plants. Different carrier oils offer different therapeutic properties and are suitable for different skin types and products. Essentially pick your carrier based on your end use.

They can be used by themselves (or in conjunction with another oil) as a moisturizer or to treat problem areas. You could 100% do a blend of carrier oils if your wanting to get really experimental.

My go to carrier oils

Olive Oil.
Jojoba Oil.
Sweet Almond Oil.
Argan Oil. ...
Avocado Oil.
Grapeseed Oil.
Moringa Oil.

Once your oil is ready you can simply use them on their own or they can be used a base for a nice DIY lotion. This is exactly how I make the arnica oil for my Cannabliss Muscle Rub.

Not to pat myself on the back too much, but the muscle rub is heavenly so you might want to check out that DIY as another Self Care Sunday treat.

I get that likely you don't have the necessary ingredients lying around to start infusing today, but that shouldn't stop you from DREAMING UP your perfect oil blend. Seriously, go pamper yourself and while your taking that long hot shower think of what you want your custom blend to be so that you can gather your ingredients for next week.

We would love to know.....what flowers or herbs will be in your dream blend?!?!?!