Rose-Infused Oil With the Cold Infusion Method
Lise
Today, I'm going to show you how I make cold-infused rose oil. And if you decide to make your own, I'll show you how to use the leftovers to make another product in an upcoming post.
Are you a little excited?
Excellent!
Let's get busy!
The Rose Quest
Apart from being a major fan of rose hydrosol, essential oil, powder, wax, and every other imaginable kind of rose I can get my hands on, I have also experimented with infusing rose into different fixed/carrier oils for quite some time.
Powder, dried petals, and dried buds of different types from a variety of different suppliers around the globe have made their way into my infusion jars.
The reason is simple.
I've been on a quest to
find which precise combination of oil and rose type produce the most fragrance
find optimal infusion time
This is admittedly a self-appointed 'against-all-odds' kind of a challenge. A cold oil infusion with rose doesn't generally produce much in the way of scent.
But, on occasion I have produced a very discernible and pleasant fragrance. And every good result has inspired me to continue and try to optimise even further.
So here are a few of my best cold infusion tips.
Infusing Oil with Dried Rose: Optimising the Fragrance
The solution is deceptively simple: use quality raw materials from start to finish. There is, of course, a hard part or this wouldn't have been an ongoing quest.
The hard part is finding the roses.
Now, I know there are a lot of suppliers who deliver top quality, but there's an additional factor.
Even though we are infusing dried material, we are looking for the freshest (read: most freshly-harvested) and most recently dried material. And that's the hard part, because the really fragrant rose types have a short season.
Therefore, if you are not growing, processing, and drying your own roses, your best bet is to source from producers of the raw material.
In my experience, many producers of dried roses also happen to be distillers of hydrosols and essential oils. Look for a company that specialises in rose products. Not only are they the folks who will be able to deliver the goods, but they are also passionate about what they do and therefore knowledgeable about the material.
Which roses are the most fragrant?
Rosa damascena (damask roses)
Rosa Centifolia (cabbage roses)
You could in principle use any roses you choose, but if fragrance is your goal, look to these first.
That said, I've also had some pretty good results with dogwood roses/wild roses (rosa canina) when I have had occasion to forage and dry them myself.
Which Oil to Use
As for oils, there are numerous possibilities that will provide a good result, but as a general guideline choose an oil that has
Long shelf life
Neutral scent
Function you like, want, and need
Skin feel you like, want, and need
There are several oils that fit this category. My personal faves are
Sweet Almond oil
Apricot Kernel Oil
Jojoba
Fractionated Coconut Oil*
Castor Oil
*this oil has no nutrients to offer in the way of skincare, but does have a very long shelf life and is quite forgiving to work with
Feel free to use any oil you prefer, but if you are on a fragrance-capturing quest, start with something from the list above.
So, now that you have sourced your dried roses and chosen your oil, you're ready to get busy infusing!
Here is the formula:
LisaLise's Rose Infused Oil
| Ingredient | Percent |
|---|---|
| Oil of Choice | 84.5 |
| Dried Rose | 15.0 |
| Vitamin E Antioxidant | 0.5 |
Method
Choose a container size that fits with your batch to avoid too much 'air headroom' in the jar.
Weigh ingredients
Place ingredients in a sanitised container
Place lid on container and label with date and contents
Allow to infuse for 4-8 weeks at room temperature. Place the container where the temperature does not fluctuate very much. Some prefer placing a cloth of some type over the container.
Agitate the container daily (and tell it how pretty it is to make it feel good)
Strain through tightly woven cloth (muslin or layers of cheesecloth)
Pictured above: organic sweet almond oil infused with rose. That golden color came about after 6 weeks of careful pampering (read: daily agitation and whispering sweet nothings at the infusion in progress).
Coming Up
Next time we get busy with rose, we'll use the leftovers from the infusion to make a brand new product.
Do Tell
Have you been successful capturing the scent of roses in an oil infusion? Please feel free to drop a comment below!
Want more oil infusion fun? The book below shows you how to make oil infusions with the heated method (as well as how to make your own stunning balms). Click the picture to read more.
