Herbal Oil Infusion: Warm Winter Skin Tonic

I came up with this herbal blend at the supermarket the bright, warm colors of the carrots, ginger, and grapefruit called out to me! Orange foods are rich in carotenoids, which have been shown to “accumulate mostly in the epidermis and act as a protective barrier.” (source) They make an incredible tonic for the skin and infuse very well into oil.

Herbal Skincare Benefits: Carrots are antioxidant-rich, protect the skin from damage, and give the skin a real glow. Ginger is warming (boosting circulation) and anti-inflammatory. Grapefruit is stimulating, it promotes flow and moves accumulation in the tissues.

Use it daily as a therapeutic body oil. The herbs are tonics for the skin – they boost vitality and strength, externally and deeper within. The warmth and stimulation help you to feel in balance during darker, colder, and heavier seasons of life.

You can use it directly on the skin (right after a shower is best) and add it to skincare recipes that call for oil.

How to make a strong herbal oil infusion:

This oil is bright orange and smells amazing. To make your oil infusion strong, there’s a little extra step that I recommend – it makes a big difference:

Once you’ve measured and combined the ingredients – blitz it all together into an “herbal oil slushie.”

Breaking down the botanicals – helps to enhance the extraction process. The oil is able to draw out more of the beneficial compounds.

You’ll notice the color comes out vibrant, the aroma is wildly aromatic – and you can feel the therapeutic, warming, stimulating actions over your skin.

Recipe: Ginger, Carrot + Grapefruit

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 carrots, dehydrated
• 1 grapefruit, dehydrated
• 1 pound ginger, dehydrated
• Carrier oil of choice: I used Apricot Kernal

*This amount made about 8 ounces of herbal oil for me

METHOD:

• Prep your ingredients. Wash everything, and then slice thinly. Set it to dehydrate. I recommend using a dehyrator, but you can use the oven set at the lowest temperature. Note: The ingredients need to be fully dry before infusing in oil, this helps prevent molding.
• Once that’s ready, you can begin the infusion process. Fill a jar 3/4 of the way with dried carrot, dried ginger, and dried grapefruit (equal parts of each)
• Pour in the carrier oil to fully cover the ingredients.
• Pour everything out into a bullet blender, and blitz for at least 5 minutes.
• Pour the “oil slushie” back into the infusion jar. Cap it and decide whether you want to do a slow, cold infusion. Or if you prefer to do a warm, quick infusion. There’s no difference in the final product – it comes down to time and preference. Both ways are amazing!
• Slow, cold method: Set the jar aside in a warm (definitely not cold) spot in the home, away from direct light. Leave it for 4 weeks to infuse, and try to give it a good shake every couple of days to help the infusion process.
• Warm, quick method: Set the jar to infuse, in your chosen heat source (sous-vide, boxed dehydrator, yogurt maker…) at 120° for
  3-10 days of continuous heat.
• Strain out the oil, and bottle it in a dark, glass container. It’s ready to use!

Hope you enjoy the recipe and feel warm and cozy using it. Here are a few more pictures from my herbal oil-making session at home. Take care, Militza.