Herbal oils are easy to make at home.  You can use them as salad dressing or bread dipping oil.  They also make excellent massage oil and base ingredients in home skin care creams and lotions.  Below is the way I prepare mine.  I've also provided links to videos showing different methods.

All you need are herbs, vegetable oil and a glass jar. I prefer to use dried herbs and extra virgin olive oil. Here is how I do it.

• Place dried herbs in jar between half full to within 1 inch of rim depending on how strong you want the oil.
• Fill jar with olive oil and cover with lid.
• Store at room temperature between 2-3 weeks.
• Strain the oil through cheesecloth and use oil as desired.

Some people prefer to store in the sun or simmer the mixture overnight or even for several days. You can experiment and see what works the best for what you want to use the oil for. You may also use fresh herbs. Just be sure to cover them completely with oil so no part of the herb is exposed to air so they don't go bad.

You can use any herbs you want. If you want to make a dipping oil or salad dressing with herbs and garlic or onions, then you may want to store the oil in the refrigerator for just a few days and not in a cupboard like you would with just dried herbs. Some excellent salad herbs would be:

• Rosemary
• Oregano
• Basil
• Lemongrass

Some good skin care herbs and flowers are:

• Lavender
• Peppermint
• Chamomile
• Rosemary
• Roses
• Marigold
• Calendula
  

Other base oils can be used. For food use, you might try peanut or safflower oil. For skin care, you can try grapeseed, apricot or sweet almond oils.

One of the easiest ways to use your herbal oils for skincare is for massage.

I also like to mix up a peppermint olive oil and make a foot cream. To do this:

• Pour prepared herbal oil in small double boiler sauce pan.
• Simmer over low heat but do not boil.
• Place beeswax chips (see below) in the oil to melt until the oil is thickened.
• Pour into a glass jar or plastic container.

When this mixture is cool, it's ready to use. This is an adaptable recipe and can be made thick or thin in texture. I like to add a few drops of essential oils that are helpful for the skin such as chamomile or lavender. You could add other products such as aloe vera gel or coconut oil. It's also a great way to recycle lotion containers instead of throwing them away.

Some people prefer white beeswax for skin products which is what I use. I bought mine from beekeepers in block form which can be hard to break off into pieces.  But there are companies that sell beeswax pellets that are much easier to use in homemade skin care mixtures.

Be careful with making your own skin creams and lotions. Make sure you know how your skin reacts to the ingredients you're using. Just because something is natural, doesn't necessarily make it safe for you.