making fragrant oils?

Hello folks, Ive got a bee in my bonnet. Thinking of trying soap
making and would like to try Sage and Sweetgrass scented. I've found a
nice price on soap base, $1.26 a pound, but am aghast at the high
prices asked for Sweetgrass fragrance as Sweetgrass itself is free for
the taking in many areas and if it's not by you you can get plugs of
it to plant locally either at your local nursery or online.

My question FINALLY is how would one make Sweetgrass fragrance to add
to soap base? Is it as simple as heating chopped sweetgrass in an oil
base such as olive oil to extract it? If not does anyone know how to
do this? Please tell us all ;-)

Nia:wen Thank you

---
http://www.geocities.com/bearclanmohawk
http://www.cafepress.com/ohkwari

Otsinekwar wrote:
Hello folks, Ive got a bee in my bonnet. Thinking of trying soap
making and would like to try Sage and Sweetgrass scented. I've found a
nice price on soap base, $1.26 a pound, but am aghast at the high
prices asked for Sweetgrass fragrance as Sweetgrass itself is free for
the taking in many areas and if it's not by you you can get plugs of
it to plant locally either at your local nursery or online.

My question FINALLY is how would one make Sweetgrass fragrance to add
to soap base? Is it as simple as heating chopped sweetgrass in an oil
base such as olive oil to extract it? If not does anyone know how to
do this? Please tell us all ;-)

Essential oils are distilled from plants much as booze is distilled from
the grain/mash base: The chopped plant material is placed in a special
boiler and heated; the resulting steam is channeled through pipes and
the oil it carries condenses on the inside of the pipes and flows, drop
by drop, into a separate chamber.

The high cost is at least partly a factor of the large quantity of plant
material it takes to produce a very small amount of essential oil.
Distillation is a finicky, complex process involving high temperatures,
pressure and special equipment, and likely beyond most hobbyists. In
addition, in many parts of the US it's illegal to even own a still
(because of liquor laws) no matter what you use it for.

While steeping chopped plant matter in oil will extract some fragrance,
it won't have the intensity or staying power of essential oil.

You might try alcohol distillation (actually extraction, in organic
chemistry terms): Steep a large quantity of finely chopped plant
material in grain neutral spirits or vodka (do *not* use denatured
"rubbing" alcohol, as it is poisonous) in a large, sealed glass jar for
a couple of weeks. Strain the liquid through cheesecloth, squeezing the
plant matter in the cloth to make sure all the fragrant oil winds up in
the alcohol. Then freeze the resulting liquid. The oil will freeze; the
alcohol will not. Pour off the alcohol (save it for another use) and
what remains, once thawed will be reasonably pure essential oil.

Note: Wear gloves when you're working with essential oils. Many of them
can be irritating to the skin when applied full-strength.

--
Pat Kight