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Lavender, Calendula, and Chamomile Oil Infusion for Soap Making

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Hello friends,

I've been collecting our lavender, calendula, and chamomile flowers all summer, with the intention of making my own cold-pressed soap with an olive oil infusion from the flowers this autumn. Years ago, when I lived in Wellington, I attended a cold-pressed soap making course, and I have been making my own for years since then. It's an interesting combination of gardening and crafting, with a big splash of science, and it's a lot of fun to make once you know how to take the safety precautions.

The first step was to gather the flowers I dehydrated over the summer. I store them under the stairs in our home, the temperature is cool and dry there, so it's perfect for storing dried flowers.

I then filled a glass container up as high as possible with the dried flowers.

Once the container was full, I filled the jar with olive oil.

I usually use olive pomace oil, but I didn't have enough to fill the entire jar, so I had to go out and buy some mellow olive oil. The cheapest olive oil is the best to use, as I hate using extra-virgin olive oil for soap making, when it could added to meals.

Once the olive oil was filled up to the top, I removed as many air bubbles as possible, and used a spoon to ensure the flowers were mixed evenly.

After putting the lid on the jar and dating it, I stored the jar in a cool, dry place for two weeks while it infused.

When the time was up I passed the olive oil infusion through a cheese cloth to remove as many flowers as possible. The olive oil had taken on such a beautiful orange colour, and smelled like lavender.