Miz Gee's Kitchen
  • Making stuff, eating stuff.

Miz Gee's Frankincense Infused Oil

7/1/2014

21 Comments

 
Miz Gee's Frankincense Infused Oil
In the words of the great John Cleese, “And now for something completely different.” Instead of presenting you with food I am presenting you with a versatile and magical aromatherapeutic elixer: Frankincense infused oil. This is something you can make at home really cheaply and you will find a million uses for it. It does, however, taste terrible. This stuff is for topical use only.

Like many neo-hippy types I like my food and beauty products to be as natural, non-toxic, and economical as possible while preserving quality and efficacy. Additionally, I pride myself on my bargain-hunting and creative macgyvering abilities. When you live in a city like San Francisco, those are crucial life skills. All these predilections have come together in my experiments with aromatherapy. 

One drawback to home aromatherapy is that certain essential oils are often very pricey. Frankincense essential oil, for example, can easily cost $30 an ounce. I have found my way around this issue by putting some of the pricier ones on my X-mas wish list, and purchasing others from places like www.sfherb.com. There are also some substitutions that can be made, such and ylang ylang for jasmine, or one can buy diluted oils that are 1/5 the strength of pure essential oils. This can sometimes be a good option since essential oils are used in tiny quantities measured by the drop and this is especially true for bottom notes. 

However, one of my personal mantras is: “If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.” I habitually make my oils blends as strong as possible and this requires a lot of ingredients.  A 20% solution just won't cut it sometimes especially for an ingredient as versatile as frankincense. In aromatherapy it is used to alleviate anxiety, treat acne, fade scars and stretch marks, moisturize skin, and slow aging. It has many more benefits and uses, but these are the ones that interest me. Do a bit of independent research and you'll find out much much more. 

Click thru for directions.
Miz Gee's 
Frankincense Infused Oil

Equipment:
Spice grinder
½ cup measure
24 oz mason jar
Small heavy bottomed sauce pan
Stirring rod (chopstick)
Coffee filters
Funnel
16 oz brown glass bottle

Ingredients:
½ cup ground Frankincense resin
16 oz high quality grapeseed oil
Miz Gee's Frankincense Infused Oil
Miz Gee's Frankincense Infused Oil
Picture
Technique:

Ah, my loves, and oh, my friends, I know you are thinking a number of things: First, where the hell are you going to get frankincense tears? My favorite supplier of all things spicey, aromatic, and fabulous: www.sfherb.com . They are the inspiration for my making this infused oil in the first place. You can walk in there and buy a pound of frankincense, just like that! Wow! As I've mentioned before, when you have a pound of something like cinnamon and frankincense you find ways to use it. Second, I suppose a 20% solution is stronger than a homemade infusion, but your homemade oil will be cheap and plentiful enough that you can use it as the carrier oil for future concoctions. Third, yes, it will smell amazing.
  1. 1. Grind the frankincense tears in a spice grinder dedicated for this purpose. Even better, make it a cheap spice grinder. Frankincense is a resin, which looks dry and solid, but it's actually a gum. When you grind it mechanically, or by hand, it becomes sticky; your fingers and tools will get tacky. To minimize this effect you can freeze the resin in advance. Grind the resin little by little until you have half a cup of powder. When you have enough powder clean the grinder immediately; getting the the powder out of the crevices. Clean the interior by grinding some uncooked rice.

  1. 2. Pour the powder into the 24 oz jar. I used a recycled spaghetti jar and a funnel. 

  2. 3. Pour 16 oz of grapeseed oil over the frankincense. I get mine from a local coop that sells it in bulk. It is locally produced, expeller pressed, and deep emerald green in color. The oil gives everything I use it in a green tinge, but it is of such good quality that I don't care. Grapeseed oil is my carrier oil of choice for infusions because it is highly stable and has a long shelf life. It also is non-comodegenic, moisturizing, anti-inflammatory, and astringent. Combined with the healing properties of frankincense it makes strong medicine!

  3. 4. Stir the oil and powder until the frankincense is evenly distributed through the jar. It will immediately start sinking again, but you want the all the little granules to come in contact with the oil. And yes, I use a chopstick for this purpose. I know you are not supposed to split pairs, but I'm barbarian and an infidel, albeit one that smells fantastically.
Picture
Picture
Picture
  1. 5. Put the mason jar in a small sauce heavy bottomed pan and pour water into the pan. 

  2. 6. Place the pan on your range and heat the water. Now you have some choices to make. If you are not forgetful, you can keep it over low heat for about 3 hours. Refill the water as needed. If you are forgetful, like me, and fear letting the water boil away and burning the resin (which I have done), you can bring the water up to a boil then turn it off. Come back later and repeat. Do this 5 or 6 times every 20 to 30 minutes, stirring up the resin each time. Refill the water as needed.

  3. 7. Once the oil has cooled you can strain out the frankincense. If you don't need to use the oil immediately just cover it and let it sit unstrained in a cool dark place until you need it. Alternatively you can store it and strain out a bit at a time as needed. I have these really nice brown glass boston bottles that I get fish oil in, so I chose to strain the oil. 
Miz Gee's Frankincense Infused Oil
Miz Gee's Frankincense Infused Oil
  1. 8. Fold a coffee filter into quarters. Open one layer so it forms a cone. Place the cone in the funnel and the funnel into the neck of your chosen storage container. Pour the oil into the filter and let the oil drip thru. Eventually the cone will get clogged with resin, so you'll have to change it out for a new one.

  2. 9. Once all the oil has been strained it is ready for use. Go ahead, rub it all over your naked body! Your skin will love you!
21 Comments
Robin
12/12/2014 03:57:44 am

Thanks for posting this! I was able to purchase some frankincense powder from rose mountain herbs. Can't wait to try this. I'm experimenting with cold infusion now with whole tears.

Reply
Darcy
7/21/2015 02:27:04 am

I've heard that freezing resin before grinding it makes it easier. I've yet to try it but I wanted to suggest it.

Reply
Miz Gee
8/23/2015 04:28:49 am

Yes! I have heard that too. That takes a bit more forethought than is usual for me... but I shall try it next time. Thank you for the suggestion.

Reply
Monica
5/6/2017 10:53:58 pm

I freeze for 2 hours. I also used rapeseed oil because it is lighter and absorbs into the skin fast. I added 2 capsules of vitamin E for preservation.
I use this oil as a base for many things. It's truly liquid gold.

Reply
hayley
8/19/2015 05:58:59 am

finally ! thank you. I've been looking everywhere for a good post! can I use any carrier ? like Hemp seed oil? thanks!! :)

Reply
Miz Gee
8/23/2015 04:38:24 am

Hayley, you are quite welcome. I think you can use any carrier you like, but as I say above, grapeseed oil is highly stable so it won't go rancid quickly. It has a high smoke point, so heating the oil in the bain marie won't impart much damage. I wouldn't use a delicate oil like sunflower for anything that involves heat. Depending on what your intended use is for the infusion you may choose a carrier oil that complements that purpose. I don't know much about hemp oil, but a bit of research into carrier oils should help you make an informed decision. Thank you for your comment!

Reply
Remi link
9/25/2015 05:54:13 pm

I'm trying to make a frankincense salve for joint pain. Do you think you could mix this with shea butter and bees wax to make a salve? All the recipes I've found so far use coconut infused oil, not grape seed.

Thanks! This is a wonderful post. :)

Reply
miz gee link
10/3/2015 07:58:44 pm

you could totally mix this with shea butter and bees wax. i would also recommend using olive oil, because it penetrates the skin very easily. jojoba oil is great too.

Reply
Corinne Cotillis
12/29/2016 08:21:43 am

Will Sweet Almond Oil work with this infusion??

Marcia link
10/18/2015 03:25:05 pm

Great post & pictures. I love boswellia! My doctor told me about taking it internally for my arthritis issues. I chose to make topicals, so instead of tablets, I use ground frankincense in a grapeseed 3pts coconut oil 1pt infusion plus a cannabinoid extract from my own plants here in Oregon. I believe they work beautifully, synergistically together and I prefer the smell of Frankincense to most anything else.. ;)

Reply
sandra
12/3/2015 06:19:01 pm

Can you leave this out if the fridge. Just need to know how to store it.

Reply
Miz Gee link
12/11/2015 05:51:22 pm

Sandra,
I keep it in a brown glass bottle in the back of my closet. Basically just the usual "cool, dark place."

Reply
Robert Northcutt
1/8/2016 03:58:53 am

Hi,
Thanks for the recipe. I used a great carrier oil, Jojoba, from Edens Botanicals. This oil is great for your skin as well as aromatherapy. It works well in diffusers. I used really high qualtiy Oman white, premium frankincense resin. I used 8 oz. of jojoba and 1 cup of crushed resin. Wow, very nice oil.It's cooling at the moment, then I'll use coffee filters to filter, before putting it into 8, 1oz.dark bottles.
I already have customers wanting to buy this from me! The extra cost for the jojoba oil is well worth it. This wonderful oil is the best carrier oil, with the longest shelf life of any of them. It's odorless, tasteless and is light and golden. My finished product is the same. A light gold color. The scent is fantastic.
Smells like lemons, oranges, pine and other woods.Very earthy and fruity. I'm going to take a few ounces and add other essential oils to it. I'm adding lemon, orange, and Ylang Ylang for top notes. Should be really nice when done.

Reply
Carisa Tucker
10/1/2016 10:06:59 am

Hi! I pray that you can respond to this post, considering it was posted a few years ago.
Currently, I have been researching how to make a a frankincense oil infusion with grapeseed oil. I may also add just a little bit of sweet myrrh resin as well for my skin.
Can you please tell me after making the oil infusion using your recipe, what is the shelf life?
I, like a few other people, simply can not pay the price for organic sandlewood and frankincense essential oil. So, this a an excellent alternative.
One more question...lol...is it safe to put frankincense infused oil on the hair and scalp? Just curious, because if it smells as awesome as you say it does, I might just go there...
Again, thank you for your post and have a blessed day!
Carisa

Reply
Miz Gee link
10/1/2016 10:46:45 am

Hi Carisa,

this post has generated more interest than anything else i wrote! The oil is definitely safe for hair and scalp. Grapeseed oil is a bit heavy so for leave in purposes I'd apply lightly or cut it with a lighter oil. If you are going to rinse it out then go as thick as you want. For shelf life i would say 1 year perhaps? maybe longer if kept in the fridge. I haven't been very active with making aromatherapy products, the last while, but it's definitely time for me to make myself a new batch... heh. And this time I'll keep it in the fridge. The grapeseed oil I got from Rainbow Grocery in SF.

Reply
riff
11/8/2016 06:04:55 am

Thanks for this info, I think I will buy fresh ground because i only need 50g or so. Has anyone tried this method but used a crock pot for boiling the water? I usually do mine in the oven (mason jars with oil in a roasting pan without 1 inch of water) set on automatic for x hours, stirring when I remember. Cheers!

Reply
Melanie
12/27/2016 07:15:15 pm

I have been reading all about using frankincense and myrrh tears rather than the essential oils for a while and finally ordered some. I just chewed small bits (the myrrh tastes gross but the frank is doable). I like the idea of using a crockpot for the water bath because I have a hard time remembering to recheck things. Has anyone tried warming these in an electric oil/tart warmer? This is all so exciting!

Reply
kiannaa
4/13/2017 08:37:48 am

How about the water soluble portion of the frankincense resin? .. what are you doing with the marc? discarding? .. i think you can use this still for health supplement. (there are amazing qualities in the whole resin, both the water soluble portion and oil/alcohol soluble portion)

Reply
jsand
9/28/2017 12:10:28 pm

I did one with jojoba oil 21 oz and 4 oz of Royal green Frankincense!!! the best thing going, thx

Reply
Jasmine Williams
10/28/2019 07:20:23 am

Can this same method work in the crock pot

Reply
Jean
8/26/2022 03:06:38 am

Hello i am infusing frank in olive oil pumice, yet there there is no smell..wondering how i can get more of the wonderful frank smell? I grind and put into jars into the crock pot for 4 hours, yet no smell
thank you
peace
J

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    About the Author

    Miz Gee is a lover of food, cooking, and crafting. She lives in the fantastic San Francisco Bay Area.

    Picture

    Archives

    June 2014
    May 2014
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013

    Categories

    All
    Baking
    Desserts
    Drinks
    Duck
    Eggs
    Fat
    Fowl
    Glaze
    Irish
    Kale
    Main Course
    Meat
    Potatoes
    Roast
    Sides
    Sourdough
    Travel
    Vanilla

    RSS Feed


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.