Questions from A Member

Recently a member wrote:

Hi Kathryn, can we get Arnica essential oil? Or do you recommend something else?

How come many herbs seem to be used in the leaf (or cut root) form but not in essential oil form, for instance: aloe, comfrey leaf or root, oak bark, gravel root, mullien, lobelia, marshmallow, skullcap and walnut bark? Is there a reason that you do not seek these out in essential oil form? I am looking at a bone, flesh and cartilage regeneration formula made by Dr. Christopher.

Thank you!

Thank you for this very good question.  As part of my answer, I would like to tell a quick story.  

Back in the 1990's, Michael and I decided to purchase a distiller, in order to gain more understanding of our local wild herbs, and to produce our own essential oils.  My very first candidate was a plant that we had planted in our garden for its medicinal qualities; Comfrey.  

Imagine my surprise when Michael and I had completed our first distillation, going through around 10 gallons of water in five hours, only to find out that only a small trace of viable essential oil could be skimmed from the hydrosol, not even enough to fill a 5 ml bottle!  

Of course, we discovered that the hydrosol was the real gift in Comfrey distillation, and used it for healing everything from broken bones to skin diseases, internally and externally.  It became a staple in many skin care recipes and internal tonics.

And this is an illustration of the fact that, many healing herbs do not produce enough essential oil through steam or water distillation, to make it a profitable venture.  Some plants, like aloes, carry mostly water-based components; others simply do not let go of their oils easily.  And some have a very small percentage of aromatic components  in their make up.  Which, again, makes it impossible for distillers to spend the many hours required to distill them, and be able to compensate their time and energy expended by selling some of the oil.  Oils produced from these plants would have unbelievably high prices.

In a case like arnica, this plant gives up its oil very easily;  so easily that the plant has been extracted as an infused oil (like a sun tea, with olive oil in place of water), by herbalists and wild crafters for many generations.  Because it is so widely available and easy to make yourself,  it is unlikely that the essential oil could command the price it would need to in order for someone to make money producing it.   

There are many plants in this category;  so many species that no one has yet invested the time and energy into exploring the possibility of distilling them.  Maybe someday we will have so many people distilling at home that most medicinal plants will become available in essential oil form.  I do believe that will take a long time to become a reality!

Infused Oil 

If you want to use these plants mentioned above, which are not available in essential oil form, there is at least one solution that I can think of immediately.  This is to extract the oils through infusion. 

 If you are working in co-creation, you will first want to connect with the plant spirits and ask permission for this process.  I like to place an offering somewhere outside; by a tree or plant, or in a place that feels right to you.  Pay attention to the ideas that pop in at the last minute when you are working this way; they are often coming from the plant spirits to help you with the process.

• Place some of the dried (or fresh if you have access) plant material into a pint ball jar.  Use as much plant material as you can, more is better in this case.  
• Fill the remainder of the jar with cold-pressed olive oil (Costco sells a good quality for this purpose).  
• Set the oil in a location where it will get full sun for several hours a day, and let it sit until the color changes and (if you are a dowser) it dowses complete.  Otherwise use your intuition in whatever form you use it.  The longer you allow the oil to soak, the stronger the essential oil content will become.
• Strain the plant material out before storing the infusion permanently, in a cool place and in light protected bottles.  Be sure to label your oil.

For hard, tough plant material such as bark and roots, you may want to accelerate the process by processing the herbs before you place them in the sun.  One way to do it is to place them in with the oil, into a Vita-mix or high speed blender.  Process on medium first, then go to high speed until you do not hear big chunks anymore.  This will change the clarity of the oil;  in many cases it will become less transparent and more cloudy, which is okay.

Another way is to bring the oil and plant material to a boil in a small sauce pan before pouring it into the ball jar.  Let the mixture simmer for 20 minutes, then proceed as before.  You will want to experiment with these methods to find out which one works best with the plant you are extracting, and produces the best oil for your purpose.

Blessings for a happy production!

Kathryn