Making Eucalyptus oil

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plantlady

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Good morning folks.

I have some big eucalyptus trees and am wanting to make some oil. Now this will not be essential oil, just a hot process with olive oil.
So my questions are:
Has anyone tried this and does it smell strong enough for soap?
Since it is olive oil would I just add some in place of the regular measurement of olive oil?

Thanks for any help.
 
If you are talking about an infusion, that's pretty easy to do. You would use the infused olive oil in place of regular olive oil in your recipe.

Unfortunately, there's not near enough plant matter in the infused oil for the smell to carry through. You could add eucalyptus EO for the scent. :)
 
If you are talking about an infusion, that's pretty easy to do. You would use the infused olive oil in place of regular olive oil in your recipe.

Unfortunately, there's not near enough plant matter in the infused oil for the smell to carry through. You could add eucalyptus EO for the scent. :)
Yes. Easy process and I assumed it wouldn't smell that strong. Might be pointless for soaps then. I am currently looking at purchasing more bulk essential oils and boy are they expensive. How are you all getting this stuff for soap? It seems outrageous right now.
 
Yes, EOs are definitely more expensive. I like Camden Grey and New Directions Aromatics myself. Their prices are competitive, and they often have free shipping if you buy enough (which isn't hard to do, given the prices).
 
I always liked Liberty Naturals as another source to check for EO's also this is another one of my sources. 16 oz Essential Oils - BUY 2 OR MORE GET 10% - Largest Selection - GLASS BOTTLES | eBay
I know some here have posted having problems with Sun Botanicals but I never have and just received an order from them for a couple of EO's. I received my order in 4 days with no issues as always. My Lemongrass EO is delicious as is the Tea Tree I ordered.
 
Hi plantlady ...
You could do your infusion using heat and adding fresh leaf matter (they will wilt and shrink during extraction) until you can't add any more leaves in ... that MIGHT get you to a noticeable scent strength (depending on the Euc variety - some have more oils/a stronger scent than others).
(cheescloth is good for this method ... I get more oil off the leaves I am infusing when I use a cloth to hold the leaves). The leaves can be composted.
You will still lose some base oil doing this, so weigh the oil (for soapmaking) after the extraction.

An alternative method:

Eucalyptus has a range of active ingredients, and a few of the strongly "Euc" scented ones can tolerate high heat.
This means you can do a rough extract by just boiling the leaves in water with the lid on.
Keep adding leaves (as the old leaf bulk wilts and shrinks), until you run out of room under the water level of the pot.
Put a weight on the leaves (keep them under the water) and let the whole thing cool to room temperature and skim/pour the oil from the top.
(If you have bulk leaves, you can get some good oil doing this, but it still won't feel like much, in comparison to buying a bottle of EO).
 
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