Making your own essential oil
Would you like to make your own essential oil? Read more about this below. Essential oil is often quite expensive to buy, so it can be interesting to make your own essential oil with our Copper Column Still.
What is essential oil?
Essential oils are oils (essential oil) derived from aromatic plants. Well-known plant species used for essential oil include rosemary and lavender. In total, there are more than 500 different plants that contain essential oils. Essential oil is also referred to as volatile oil.
What is essential oil used for?
Essential oil is used for a variety of purposes. The best-known purpose is aromatherapy. Aromatherapy uses essential oil to care for the body and balance the mind. Essential oil can be used in baths and steam baths and can be rubbed on the skin. Essential oil can also be used in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, in perfumery, for flavourings and aromas.
Distilling plant matter
The neck of the Copper column still has a grid on which the plant matter can be placed. By subsequently heating water in the still to 100 degrees, the oil can be extracted from the plant matter by steam. The steam is cooled down again in the cooling bucket, creating the essential oil. The essential oil can be separated from the hydrolate with a type of funnel called an separating funnel – oil separator.
Hydrosol
Hydrolates are also called hydrosols, herbal water or essential water. This is the portion of the distillate that remains after the essential oil has been removed. Hydrosols contain a wealth of ingredients and therefore have a therapeutic effect. They are cooling, hydrating, healing and anti-inflammatory.
Are you thinking about making your own essential oil? View our Copper column stills here. This still can also be used to make liqueur or whisky, in which case the complete sets are also recommended.