Its My 1st Time Infusing Oils.. I Got A ???

[egirlxx7]

I purchased Calendula and chamomile in the powdered herb form and infused it in extra virgin olive oil.

I infused this over the stove in a water bath. I noticed a light whitish layer on top of the oil maybe a day after, when the oil was fully cooled,
I also strained this solution through a double layer pantyhose. You could still feel some tiny particles of the powder in the oil.
My thoughts is if I used cheese cloth I would still have tiny particles.

Has anyone else used the powdered herbs when infusing oils and noticed this as well? should I strain the oil another way to remove the remaining particles?

I would like to use this in a salve and process more infusions with these herbs to include in my soaps.

Any help/info is greatly appreciated.

**(Picture2 shows more particles have settled at the bottom of the jar)

also, would get this as well if I were to use the whole leaf flowers?


Thank you

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

I have never had this happen with powdered or cut/sifted herbs. Try filtering it again. How long did you heat infuse for?

 

[egirlxx7]

Well, A couple hours on medium, then I left it on the lowest setting over night..

I take it this is not a good thing....?

Should I dump it and start again, i would like to make a healing salve, not infect myself worse and have any limbs fall off. :roll:

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

Yeah...way, way too long :shock:
I wouldn't use it...not because you'll melt anyone's limbs off, or infect yourself...but because it probably doesn't have much in the way of benefit left. After so long, the heat starts to break down the oil and the herb in it.
And this may seem to be a bit of self-promotion, but I just did a blog post on herbal infusions last month:
http://alchemyandashes.blogspot.com/2013_02_01_archive.html

Try again with less heat for a shorter amount of time, or no heat for a longer amount of time. I find the fresh or dried/cut/sifted herbs work better than powders, if for no other reason than they're easier to strain. You can try the powders in soap or clay masks.

 

[egirlxx7]

Yes. I will give this another shot. Thank you.

BTW, you have some really nice soaps.