Ätherische Öle selbst herstellen (Making Essential Oils Yourself) – the Practical Guide by Bettina Malle and Helge Schmickl is an accessible, practice-oriented standard reference for everyone who wants to produce hydrosols and essential oils themselves. The book accompanies you step by step from the correct harvest and preparation of the plants, through distillation, to the separation, storage and application of the resulting oils and hydrosols.
Particularly valuable is its clear practical focus: you will not only learn how distillation works, but also why the harvest time, plant quality, size reduction, distillation speed and the correct set-up of the still are decisive for yield and quality.
What you can expect inside
- Harvest and preparation of the plants as the basis for high-quality hydrosols and essential oils
- Distillation in practice with detailed instructions on steam distillation
- Stills and materials for functional units
- Separating the essential oil from the hydrosol, with practical notes
- Yield calculation and proper storage of the oils
- Numerous plant profiles with information on harvest time, plant parts and yield
- Application possibilities for creams, soaps, perfumes, deodorants, bath additives and body care
Practical knowledge for better results
A high-quality essential oil starts with the plant itself. The book explains when and how plants should be harvested, which plant parts are particularly suitable and how the material is prepared before distillation. The correct size reduction, the quality of the dried plant material and the optimal harvest time are also described clearly.
In the chapter on distillation you will learn how much water is filled into the unit, how much plant material can be used and what to bear in mind with regard to distillation speed. Different distillation methods, suitable collection vessels and the practical separation of hydrosol and oil are also explained.
From the still to the finished oil
The book shows how a distillation unit should be set up sensibly from a process-engineering perspective, which materials are suitable and what to look out for when buying or building your own still. Different unit designs are presented – from simple constructions to classic stills and larger units.
A dedicated chapter is devoted to separating the essential oil: when can the oil be separated from the hydrosol? Which tools are suitable for this? How are oils and hydrosols stored correctly? These and many other questions are answered in a practical way.
With plant profiles, recipes and applications
A substantial part of the book covers numerous raw materials for distillation. Included are details on yield, harvest time, suitable plant parts and the optimal treatment of the plants. In addition, you will find practical recipes and application possibilities for home-made essential oils and hydrosols, for example for creams, soaps, perfumes, deodorants, bath additives and body care products.
Product details
- Authors: Bettina Malle, Helge Schmickl
- Publisher: ökobuch Verlag GmbH
- Edition: 8th Edition, 2022
- Length: 190 pages
- Format: hardcover, with colour illustrations throughout
- ISBN: 978-3-947021-28-4
View the Table of Contents
Watch a preview on YouTube
Further information
To complement the book, you will find further practical content on plants, distillation, hydrosols, essential oils and their application:
- eBook – Plant Collection for Essential Oils: PDF with more than 120 plants for distillation and application, for printing
- eBook – Making Essential Oils for Beginners: PDF for printing
- Online School: online seminars, videos
- Practical Seminar on Distilling Essential Oils: you do the distilling yourself
- Information on building a still
