The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

How to Make Bay Leaf Oil: Everything You Need to Know

How+to+Make+Bay+Leaf+Oil%3A+Everything+You+Need+to+Know

Bay leaf oil is a unique essential oil that’s perfect for cooking, healthcare, skincare, and it can even help with hair loss. While bay leaf oil can be found online at an affordable price, it’s also possible to make the oil yourself. However, you’ll have to secure the ingredients yourself.

Thankfully, we’re here to help you with the process and to show you how to make bay leaf oil.

What Is Bay Leaf Oil?

Bay leaf oil comes from the bay leaf. The bay leaf comes from a tree known as the Laurel Tree, which is native to the Mediterranean region. It’s an aromatic evergreen tree and it’s useful in cooking, medicine, and skincare. Bay leaf oil is extracted from the leaves to create a more potent substance.

What Is Bay Leaf Oil Used For?

Bay leaf oil is used to help with hair loss, revitalize skin, and much more. It’s also a medicinal herb that’s been used for many centuries to treat inflammation, pain, and several other conditions.

Bay leaf oil is also useful as an essential oil to bring you these benefits passively. For example, you can use bay leaf oil in an aroma diffuser to improve the smell of your home, relieve headaches, and feel calm.

3 Ways to Make Bay Leaf Oil

Bay leaf oil is best as an essential oil if you want to get the health benefits. That said, you’ll have to make it with fresh bay leaves or look for a reputable essential oil to get the benefits of bay leaf oil. Learn more about how to make bay leaf oil below.

1. Cooking the Bay Leaves

One of the easiest ways to make bay leaf oil is to cook it. You’ll need to get your hands on bay leaves, which you should get fresh from your local supermarket or online.

Once you have the bay leaves, grill them until they turn black. After you grill the bay leaves, add them to a food processor and add carrier oil along with lemon juice and salt. Next, blend the mixture for about 10 minutes in the food processor until you have your bay leaf oil. When done right, the oil should be dark green.

2. Infuse

Another way to make your own bay leaf oil is to go the infusion route. This method produces great bay leaf oil but you have to be careful for the best results. To begin, start by heating the bay leaves in carrier oil. You’ll want to use something strong enough for the infusion process but not overpowering; we recommend grapeseed oil or olive oil.

After you heat the bay leaf oil, put the ground leaves in a jar and pour more olive oil or grapeseed oil over them. Then, seal the jar and store it in a dark location, and let the bay leaves infuse with the oil for around two weeks. From there, strain the bay leaves out of the oil and add two more fresh bay leaves. When done right, you’ll have a dark green oil.

3. Distill With Steam

The last way to make bay leaf oil is to use steam distillation. For this method to work you’ll want to use bay leaves from a Laurel Tree that’s been around for at least 5 years. Then, add salt and water to the still and begin the distillation process.

This method produces high-quality bay leaf oil but it takes a lot of time and only extracts about .05 to 1.5 percent of the weight by volume into bay leaf oil.

Experience the Revitalizing Properties of Bay Leaf Oil Today

Bay leaf oil is one of the best natural remedies for things like hair loss, skincare, and even stomach problems. It also has plenty of anti-inflammatory properties that can help you manage painful conditions like arthritis.

While you can make bay leaf oil yourself to experience its benefits, you can get a higher concentration and better results when you use a verified bay leaf essential oil from a reputable brand – we recommend this oil.

Wholesale Botanics’s bay leaf oil is one of the better essential oils on the market. Plus, icomes packed with enough potency to use in a diffuser for relaxation or to apply to your scalp for help with hair loss.

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