Homemade Herbal Oils and Salves: Solar Infusion Technique for Potent Plant Remedies
Creating your own herbal oils and salves is a very simple yet potent way to utilize the healing properties of medicinal herbs and botanicals. The solar infusion method uses gentle, natural heat from the sun to slowly extract beneficial plant compounds into the oil —no special equipment required and many herbalists like myself prefer or only use solar infusion methods when making our personal and professional topical skincare products. I find that solar infused oils and salve carry a healing quality that is unmatched by conventional stove top or induction (electrical) heat sources.
What You’ll Need
To get started, gather a clean glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Mason jars are excellent and a half pint is plenty large enough for home use. Quart jar recommended if making a larger quantity for the year or to share with friends and family.
Your choice of dried herbs or botanicals. You can use a single herb like calendula, lavender, comfrey, or a combination of botanicals chosen for their healing properties and aromatic/essential oil content. Make sure your herbs are completely dry, as any moisture can lead to spoilage or mold growth. (Double dry your calendula and other high moisture botanicals.)
Your choice of high-quality organic carrier oil such as olive, sweet almond, or jojoba oil. First cold-pressed organic olive oil is easily accessible, affordable, is usually of higher quality than other grocery store oils and has a longer shelf life compared to almond and jojoba oils.
Step 1: Fill Your Jar
Loosely fill your jar about halfway to three-quarters full with dried herbs. Avoid packing too tightly; you want the oil to circulate freely around the plant material.
Step 2: Add Oil
Pour your carrier oil over the herbs until they are fully submerged, leaving about a half inch of space at the top. Stir gently with a bamboo skewer or wood spoon to release any trapped air bubbles. A metal utensil is fine if you can’t get a wooden skewer, but wood is preferred over metal.
Step 3: Seal and Place in Sunlight
Secure the lid tightly and place the jar in a sunny windowsill or a warm outdoor spot. The gentle heat from the sun will slowly draw out the plant’s beneficial compounds.
Optional: open your jar after a few days and add more oil if necessary to top off jar to just below lid. As the oils soak into the plant matter, you may want to add a touch more oil to maximize your quantity.
Step 4: Infuse for 2–6 Weeks, Shaking jar daily
Allow the mixture to infuse for at least two weeks, and up to six weeks. Timing of solar infusion depends on the amount of solar heat. A Wintertime infusion on the windowsill may need 6-8 weeks, while a summertime infusion with jar place in direct all day sunshine may only need 2 weeks. Typically four weeks is ideal for a stronger, quality botanical oil.
Shake the jar gently every day or two to keep the herbs coated and evenly extracted.
Step 5: Strain Oil
Once the infusion period is complete, strain the oil through cheesecloth, a dedicated nut bag used for all your oil infusions or a fine mesh strainer into a clean, dry glass container. Allow herbs to drain for a full day to allow maximum retrieval of your oil. No need to press oils out!
Optional: Turn Your Oil into a Salve
To create a salve, gently heat your infused oil in a double boiler and add beeswax (about 1 ounce of wax per 8 ounces of oil). I typically add grated raw beeswax first and once melted, add in the herbal oil to gently heat. Occasionally stir with wooden bamboo skewers or other wooden utensil until all beeswax melted and combined with oil, then pour into tins or jars and allow it to cool completely.
TIP: for smooth or “pretty” salve tops, fill tin or jars 3/4. Once they are mostly cooled and contracted, top off remaining ¼ with freshly heated beeswax oil mixture.
Storage
Store your herbal oil or salve in a cool, dark place. Properly prepared oils can last 2-3 years depending on the quality of your oil and plant matter you used, while salves may last even longer due to the stabilizing effect of beeswax.
An Herbalists Thoughts
The solar infusion method is a simple, beautiful, and effective way to craft your own herbal remedies. With a bit of sunlight, you can create nourishing oils and salves that carry the healing qualities of potent botanicals and the vital essence, or life force, of the sun. This seemingly simple and most effective method of creating topical herbal remedies and skincare is as old as time, and an essential self-care, family-care, and community care way that has been carried within all our lineages.
Enjoy your medicine-making adventures and thank you for continuing the legacy and healing tradition of topical herbal medicine!
Hedieh - Herbalist at HoneyPaw Love