Herb mix for Herbal Oil Preparation
I remember buying a small pouch of herb-mix from a street vendor in India to prepare homemade herbal oil. Those were the years when I could experiment with anything with my full head of hair without the fear of damaging them. But now when I don’t have that many hairs left, I do not dare to be that adventurous. I avoid using any harsh chemicals and hair treatments to prevent any trauma.
I have been wanting to make homemade herbal oil for a while now. I was collecting all the precious herbs from my garden for making it. Sharing with you the recipe of a herbal oil.
Ingredients- Herbal Hair Oil
Base oil mix
- 2 cups organic coconut oil
- 2tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 2tbsp sesame oil
- 2tbsp organic castor oil
Herbs: Dried/ Fresh
- Bringaraj Leaves
- Neem Leaves
- Curry Leaves
- Hibiscus flowers
- Kalonji/Black Seeds 2 tbsp
- Fresh Amla (Goosberry)
Essential Oils to improve the smell -OPTIONAL
- Sandalwood oil 5 drops
- Tea Tree oil 5 drops
Steps to Make Herbal Hair Oil
- Start by grinding the herbs and fresh ingredients in a grinder or food processor so that you can incorporate them well into the oil. By making small pieces we can get the most out of these herbs.
- Heat the base oils together. Since other than coconut oil the other oils that we are using are thicker and do not solidify easily due to cold, it is very easy to take the final product from the jar without much struggle.
- Add all the ground herbs to this oil. It is very important that the oil is not very hot. The stove should be set to low. Initially for a some time the oil will look frothy and bubbly. The bubbles start popping as the water evaporates. Gradually, the water goes away completely and bubbling sound also goes down. That is when we know that the oil is ready. It took me an hour but the time may be longer if the water content in the oil mix is higher.
- Strain the mixture through a strainer lined with a cloth to separate the oil from the herb-mix in a clean jar.
- The oil is not going to smell great as there are lot of herbs in it and not all smell good. But, you can improve the smell by adding a few drops of essential oils of your choice. This step is completely optional. I added a few drops of sandal wood oil and tea tree oil. If you are allergic to essential oils or worried about side effects then you can skip this part. I avoid menthol containing oils/ camphor because they have a cooling effect and I don’t like that feeling.
This oil stays good for approximately six months but I’m sure that it is not going to last that long as we all frequently do hair massage.