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FAQ: What Is an Infused Oil, and How Is It Made?
If you've ever read through a handmade salve or body product ingredient list and wondered what "infused oil" actually means, you're not alone. It's a great question and one I'm always happy to talk about.
An infused oil is exactly what it sounds like: a carrier oil that has been steeped with dried plant material — herbs, flowers, bark, stems, or other botanicals — over time, much like making a tea, until the oil absorbs the plant's properties. The result is a richly botanical oil that carries the character of the plant into whatever product it's used in.
There are two main methods for making an infused oil.
Cold infusion is the slow, traditional method. Dried plant material is submerged in a carrier oil and left to steep for four to six weeks in a cool, dark place. Time does the work. This method is gentle and well-suited for delicate botanicals like lavender, chamomile, and rose.
Warm infusion speeds the process up by applying gentle, low heat over several hours. The warmth helps the oil extract the plant properties more quickly without damaging them. This is the method I reach for when I need an oil ready sooner or when working with tougher plant material.
I use both methods depending on what I'm working with and what I'm making. For my Dreamweaver Salve, I infuse oil with chamomile, calendula, and lavender. For my Nettle and Lavender Salve, I infuse oil with purple dead nettle, calendula, plantain, and lavender. The same care and intention goes into every product I make.
As for the carrier oil itself, there are many to choose from. Sweet almond, olive, sunflower, jojoba, and grapeseed are all good options, each with its own texture and character. My personal favorites are sweet almond oil, olive oil, and jojoba oil for their skin feel and versatility.
Infused oils are an important part of many of the products I make and one of the things that set a handmade product apart from something pulled off a shelf.
🛁 FAQ: Why Do My Bath Bombs Fizz Before I Even Use Them?
Customers often ask why their bath bombs start fizzing, softening, or crumbling before they ever touch water. It's almost always humidity, not a flaw in the product. Bath bombs work through a reaction between baking soda (a base) and citric acid (an acid), the moment they meet water, or even enough moisture in the air, that reaction kicks off, releasing carbon dioxide gas. That's what creates the fizz and bubbling you see in the tub. It's a simple, harmless chemical reaction, but it means bath bombs are naturally sensitive to any dampness in the air, not just the bath itself.
In July and August especially, humidity can be high enough to trigger that reaction a little early, causing slight fizzing, softening, or crumbling before the bomb ever touches water.
As for shelf life: stored properly, bath bombs generally last around 6 months to a year. They don't really "expire" in a spoilage sense, but the fizzing power fades over time as they slowly absorb ambient moisture, and any essential oils in the blend can lose potency. If a bath bomb has gone hard, discolored, or lost its fizz entirely, it's still safe, it just won't fizz as dramatically.
Storage tip: Keep them in an airtight container or bag, away from the bathroom (the steamiest room in the house) until you're ready to use them. A closet, drawer, or sealed tin in a dry room works best. If one starts to crumble, it's still totally fine to use, just crumble it into the bath rather than dropping it in whole.
🧈 FAQ: Everything You've Wondered About Body Butter
Why is my body butter greasy?
Pure body butters (made from shea, cocoa, or mango butter) don't contain water, which is actually what makes them so effective, but it also means they take longer to sink in than a standard lotion. Lotions are mostly water with a small percentage of oils and butters, so they absorb almost instantly. Body butter is the opposite: concentrated, rich, and built to actually nourish skin rather than just sit on top of it.
Applying body butter right after a shower works perfectly for two reasons. First, the butter traps the water still clinging to your skin, sealing that hydration into your pores. Second, that leftover moisture acts as a vehicle, helping the thick butter glide smoothly across your skin and sink in much faster, without needing to use as much product.
Pro tip: Lightly towel-pat yourself so you're damp, not soaking wet, then massage a small amount of body butter into your skin.
What should I do if my whipped body butter melts?
Whipped body butter gets its light, fluffy texture from air whipped into the butter while it's semi-solid, similar to whipping cream. Heat is its biggest enemy, and if a jar sits somewhere warm, it can melt back down into a dense, solid texture. The good news is it's easy to bring back. Here's how:
Check the consistency. Take the melted body butter out of the fridge once it has cooled to a semi-solid, opaque state. It should look slightly cloudy and feel like soft butter or a thick paste. If it's frozen solid like a rock, let it sit on the counter for a few minutes to soften up.
Scrape it into a bowl. Transfer the mixture into a clean glass or metal mixing bowl.
Whip it up. Use a hand mixer or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment on medium-high speed for 5 to 7 minutes, until it forms fluffy, soft peaks.
Scoop and store. Spoon the revived, airy butter back into its jar, and keep it stored in a cool room below 75°F (24°C) so it doesn't melt again.
Note: If your body butter contains a high percentage of shea butter, melting and rapid cooling can sometimes make it feel slightly grainy. Whipping helps smooth this out, though it might not be quite as perfectly silky as the day you first bought or made it.
Can I use body butter on my face?
Generally, no. While body butter is incredibly deeply moisturizing for the thicker skin on your legs, arms, and torso, it's usually too heavy, rich, and occlusive for the delicate skin on your face. Body butters frequently rely on highly comedogenic (pore-clogging) ingredients like cocoa butter or coconut oil, and because facial skin has a much higher density of oil glands, these heavy fats can easily trap dead skin cells and sebum, leading to breakouts. Facial skin is also thinner and absorbs products differently, so body butter tends to sit on top of your face rather than sink in, leaving it looking greasy rather than glowing.
The one exception: if you have extremely dehydrated, flaking skin, eczema, or a compromised skin barrier, a pure Shea Butter or Mango Butter (both naturally low on the comedogenic scale, with no added fragrance) can occasionally be used on the face. Even then, stick to a tiny, pea-sized amount at night.
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