How to Make a Rose Infused Oil
How to Make a Rose Infused Oil
Making a Rose Infused Oil is very easy but time consuming. The results can be well worth it though. Make small quantities at a time and do so every year and you will never run out.
Rose absolute oils are expensive, Rosa otto being the most expensive and Rosa Damascena Maroc being one of the cheaper ones. They are all rich, deep and extremely concentrated; usually dark brown in colour and very viscous. They are quite divine but beyond the purse of most of us and usually sold in tiny retail quantites ( like 2 or 3 ml)
So why not have a go at making your own infused oil?
It will not be anywhere near as deep, complex and rich with those honey overtones provided by absolutes (which, on average, use 9000 petals to make just 1ml of the absolute oil) but it could be deliciously floral and refreshing and good for your skin lt alone provide a decent rose oil based perfume. Remember though it ill be an infused oil so much weaker than an absolute.
Rose Infused Oil:-
You need a plentiful supply of rose petals and I really do mean plentiful. This is no job for the faint hearted. If you grow roses in your garden then you need a lot of them and you need to keep picking when they are at their best, not faded and past their best. Choose, if you will, an old fashioned highly perfumed rose. The Old English Roses are perfect. Choose one for its scent but if its just the floral rose secnt in general that you are lookig for then mix and match from any that you grow as long as they are scented.
You need a stable carrier oil to make your Rose infused Oil and to steep the petals in. Now White Mineral Oil is cheap and very stable but is a petroleum by product so whilst it IS ideal you might not want to use it. It is the stuff from which Baby Oil is made but ultimately the choice is yours.
If you want a stable but natural carrier oil then I don’t think you can go far wrong with Jojoba oil (which is really a wax but behaves like an oil) which is both stable and takes a long time to go rancid. It aso has a pleasing yellowish to green colour.
Get yourself a clean and sterilised glass Kilner type jar. One that is airtight but can be easily opened. Wash it thoroughly and then make sure you have sterilised it properly by placing it in a hot oven (200 degres Celsius) for 10 minutes and don’t wipe it with a tea towel which will just transfer all the bacteria on the tea towel to a nice warm glass jar.
Make sure your Rose petals are as clean and free from insects and dust as possible but don’t wash them – you can lightly rinse them but then let them dry.
Pack them as tighly as you can into your Kilner jar whilst it is still warm ( try not to handle the jar ) and then pour your chosen infusing oil over the top so that there is at least a centimetre between the rose petals and the top level of the oil.
Seal and put in a warm, preferably sunny, position for ten days. Open a couple of times very carefully and check that there is no fermentaton taking place and agitate gently every now and again.
The Rose petals will turn brown and the Rose Infused Oil will take on a subtle fragrance of the rose but you can increase the intensity by straining the oil and starting the whole process again with a new load of rose petals and using the same oil.
Keep doing this until the intensity of the fragrance held in the oil is at the level you like. This may take up to 5 or 6 infusions but the more you do the headier the final infused oil will be.
The oil is wonderful for skin care, can smell divine and will last about 6 to 12 months, longer if kept in the fridge. If you want to add a presevative then add some grapefruit seed extract or vitamin c powder to your final oil.