The purple flowers of the lavender plant have a delicate, calming scent that can be used as an alternative treatment for anxiety and depression, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. You can anoint your skin with the essential oils derived from the lavender plant as a form of aromatherapy. Make lavender oil in your own home with fresh flowers and base oils.
Step 1
Pick the fresh flowers off of a lavender plant. Unopened buds or fully bloomed flowers are fine. Collect enough lavender to fill a 2-cup measuring cup.
Step 2
Crush the flowers gently with a rolling pin to release their scent.
Step 3
Put the crushed lavender into a pint-sized glass canning jar. The jar should have an airtight lid.
Step 4
Pour enough almond or olive oil into the jar so that the oil covers all of the lavender buds and flowers. You will probably need at least one cup of olive, or perhaps a bit more.
Step 5
Screw the lid on the canning jar and gently shake, so that all of the lavender is saturated with oil.
Step 6
Place the jar of lavender oil in a warm spot in your home, preferably in sight so you don't forget about it. Shake the jar once every day for a month to reincorporate settled ingredients as the oil seasons.
Step 7
Strain the lavender flowers out of the seasoned oil with a mesh strainer. Use a second clean canning jar to catch the lavender oil. Keep the oil in the tightly closed jar in the refrigerator to prevent spoilage.
Things You'll Need
- Measuring cup
- Rolling pin
- Glass canning jars with lid
- Lavender flowers
- Almond or olive oil
- Mesh strainer
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