How to Extract Essential Oils

Essential oils are used for aromatherapy and other forms of homeopathic medicine. They have been in use for thousands of years, and numerous people swear by their medicinal effects. The plants and flowers that contain essential oils number in the hundreds, and several methods can be used to extract them from the plant tissue. The method described here tells you how to distill the oils from plants using water and steam in a still.

Things You'll Need

• 2 plastic 1-gallon milk jugs
• Several feet of 3/4-inch copper tubing in 2 pieces
• Empty tennis ball can
• Rubber stopper
• Metal teakettle
• Glass jar to hold the extract
• Glue or sealant
• Drill and 3/4-inch bit
• Meat thermometer
• Hacksaw
• Plant material
• Water
• Ice
• Cheesecloth
• Funnel
• Essential oil containers

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Instructions

Building an Essential Oil Still

• 1

  Drill a hole in the lid of an empty milk jug using a 3/4-inch drill bit, taking care to wash and clean the jug before you do so. Drill a second hole of the same size somewhere on the lower walls of the jug.

• 2

  Saw off the top portion of the second milk jug and drill a 3/4-inch hole in the bottom.

• 3

  Wrap a piece of 3/4-inch copper tubing around an empty tennis ball can. You will want at least 7 or 8 coils' worth, and there should be a certain amount of free tubing left on either end. You'll need enough free tubing on one end to reach between the two milk jugs, and enough on the other end to poke through the hole in the second milk jug.

• 4

  Seal a metal teakettle, using glue to seal the cap and a rubber stopper in the spout. Drill a 3/4-inch hole in the stopper for your copper tubing.

• 5

  Place a meat thermometer through the stopper--somewhere between the 3/4-inch hole and the edge--to allow you to monitor the temperature inside.

• 6

  Attach a second piece of copper piping to the hole in the teakettle stopper and the other end through the hole in the lid of the first milk jug.

• 7

  Connect one end of the coiled piece of copper to the bottom section of the jug, and lay the coils themselves in the second jug. Run the other end of the copper tubing through the hole in the bottom of the jug.

• 8

  Place a glass jar under the end of the tubing, to collect your essential oil extract.

• 9

  Seal all free openings to your still with sealant just before you begin the distillation process.

Distilling the Oil

• 10

  Find plant material containing the essential oils you wish to distill. You want plants with a healthy sheen to them and which have not been unduly damaged. Whole dry plant material works well because it allows you to fit more into the still and increase your yield.

• 11

  Fill the first milk jug full of the plant material, packing it in as tightly as possible. (Store-bought stills will have their own containers for the plants.)

• 12

  Fill the second milk jug (or the condenser on a store-bought still) with ice or extremely cold water.

• 13

  Add water to the tank of your still by removing the rubber cap on your teakettle.

• 14

  Set the teakettle or still tank over a stove and heat the water to a boil. Make sure all of your openings are sealed before beginning.

• 15

  Check the still regularly for signs of progress. The steam from the boiling water should distill the oils from the plants without any further effort on your part, but you'll want to watch out for any accidents.

• 16

  Filter the extracted oil through a clean piece of cheesecloth and then funnel it into an appropriate container made of steel or dark glass. Seal the container and store it in a cool, dry place. Most essential oils will last for up to 2 years if properly preserved.