Homemade Herb-Infused Natural Baby Massage Oil
Learn to make an herb-infused natural baby oil for baby massage using chamomile, lavender, and calendula.
Baby massage is a wonderful practice. Not only does it help relaxing and calm babies, it also an incredibly bonding experience, and keeps baby's skin soft and healthy.
This all-natural baby oil recipe is easy to make and uses simple methods for creating an herb-infused oil. The herbs selected are deeply relaxing and also extremely nourishing and soothing to the skin.
This massage oil is not just great for baby, it's excellent for kids and adults too. If you could use a little extra relaxation in your life, this massage oil is for you.
Why Make Herb-Infused Massage Oil
Control Ingredients
I personally recommend making your own massage oil because it allows you to control the ingredients. This means we can avoid extra additives, especially article fragrances. This important for everyone, but especially for babies who are growing and developing.
Customization
Making your own massage oil also means you can customize it to suit your preferences. Don't enjoy one of the herbs in the recipe? Leave it out! However, if making this for a baby, I don't recommend substituting herbs without researching to make sure they are suitable for the sensitive skin of babies.
How to Make Herb-Infused Oil for Baby Massage
This process of making herb-infused oil is very simple and straightforward. In a nutshell, to create an herb-infused oil, place herbs in a heatproof jar, pour oil over the top, close with lid and allow to infuse. For a cold-infusion, leave for 4 weeks before straining out the herbs. For a warm-infusion, set jar in a saucepan with 2-3 inches of water and warm over very low heat for 4-8 hours.
You can only do the warm-heat method if you will be close by for 4-8 hours. This is important because you will need to add more water to the pot if the water level begins to get low.
If you need the herb-infused oil quicker, but can't stay by the stovetop, try the oven method described in this post.
See below for further instructions and a video demonstration.
Extra Step: Double-Straining
Even though this recipe uses the same technique as most any herb-infused oil, there is one extra step: double-straining. Instead of straining the herbs out once, the oil is left to overnight after the first straining to allow any extra pieces of herbs or flowers to settle to the bottom of the jar and then strained a second time to remove them. This step ensures the oil is smooth and free of any extra plant material.
Which herbs to include in Massage oil
This massage oil includes lavender, chamomile, and calendula. Lavender and chamomile are both deeply relaxing and help evoke a sense of calm. Calendula is especially soothing to the skin and is used in many herbal preparations for skin issues (such as calendula salve).
How to Make Herb-Infused Baby Massage Oil
This recipe comes from the Botanical Skin Care Recipe Book from Herbal Academy. It includes over 194 herbal skin care recipes! Read my full review of the book here.
See a video demonstration of the recipe here:
Ingredients
1.5 cups (12 fl oz) sunflower oil
1/4 cup dried chamomile flowers
1/4 cup dried calendula flowers
1/8 cup lavender buds
Directions
- Break up the herbs with clean hands or briefly grind in a mortar and pestle.
- Place herbs in a heat-safe jar and stir to ensure all herbs are coated with oil and remove air pockets.
- Cover with a square of natural wax paper or parchment paper. Close with lid (this is to protect the oil from any chemicals that may be on the bottom of the lid).
- Fill a saucepan with 2-3 inches of water and place jar in the pan. (You can place a canning lid at the bottom of the pot to set the jar on. This helps protect the jar and keeps jar from sitting directly on the heat.
- Warm over very low heat for 4-8 hours. Keep heat low enough that the temperature of the oil does not rise above 120-140 degrees F.
- Pay close attention to the water in the pot and add more as needed.
- Once sufficiently infused, remove jar and allow to cool.
- Place a strainer in a glass measuring bowl with spout. Line strainer with cheesecloth.
- Pour oil through the cheesecloth-lined strainer. Press excess oil out of the herbs with the back of a spoon.
- Using clean, dry hands, gather the edges of the cheesecloth around the herbs and squeeze out the excess oil.
- Pour infused oil into a clean jar and cap with lid. Leave to sit overnight. This allows any bits of herbs left in the oil to settle to the bottom of the jar.
- Strain the oil once more to remove any extra bits and ensure a smooth, clean oil for your baby.
- Pour oil into a dark amber bottle and close with lid. Add a label.
- Store in a cool, dark place for up to one year.
Printable Recipe
Herb-Infused Baby Massage Oil
Materials
Instructions
- Break up the herbs with clean hands or briefly grind in a mortar and pestle.
- Place herbs in a heat-safe jar and stir to ensure all herbs are coated with oil and remove air pockets.
- Cover with a square of natural wax paper or parchment paper. Close with lid (this is to protect the oil from any chemicals that may be on the bottom of the lid).
- Fill a saucepan with 2-3 inches of water and place jar in the pan. (You can place a canning lid at the bottom of the pot to set the jar on. This helps protect the jar and keeps jar from sitting directly on the heat.
- Warm over very low heat for 4-8 hours. Keep heat low enough that the temperature of the oil does not rise above 120-140 degrees F.
- Pay close attention to the water in the pot and add more as needed.
- Once sufficiently infused, remove jar and allow to cool.
- Place a strainer in a glass measuring bowl with spout. Line strainer with cheesecloth.
- Pour oil through the cheesecloth-lined strainer. Press excess oil out of the herbs with the back of a spoon.
- Using clean, dry hands, gather the edges of the cheesecloth around the herbs and squeeze out the excess oil.
- Pour infused oil into a clean jar and cap with lid. Leave to sit overnight. This allows any bits of herbs left in the oil to settle to the bottom of the jar.
- Strain the oil once more to remove any extra bits and ensure a smooth, clean oil for your baby.
- Pour oil into a dark amber bottle and close with lid. Add a label.
- Store in a cool, dark place for up to one year.
Want more herb-infused oil recipes? Here are some of my favorites:
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