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Be a Romantic Scientist: Distill your own perfume oil.
by Kiteman on January 21, 2007
Table of Contents
intro: Be a Romantic Scientist: Distill your own perfume oil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
step 1: Materials needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
step 2: Distillation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
step 3: Making your scent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
step 4: Using the scent safely. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
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intro: Be a Romantic Scientist: Distill your own perfume oil.
Perfume is often seen as a last-minute gift that requires little thought. But what if you made your own, unique scents?
Image Notes
1. My wife's ornamental lavender bush got a bit of a trim...
step 1: Materials needed
You will need a vessel to heat water in, a source of heat, gauze or muslin, thread, a delivery tube, a receiving vessel and ice.
You will also need a pretty bottle to store your scent.
For this example, we used a conical flask, a fabric bag of sprigs of lavender plus shredded, a plastic delivery tube and a test-tube in a beaker of cold water. The oil was
stored in a film cannister. You may use whatever equipment you can find, at whatever scale you need to produce your scent.
If you are blending oils, you will need a dropper pipette for each raw oil you use.
Image Notes
1. The raw materials are in the muslin, the muslin is poked into the flask, and
the bung is wedged in after.
2. Simmering, not violent boiling.
3. This flexible delivery tube gets even more flexible when it's hot.
4. We chopped up the lavender and peel with scissors.
5. The beaker is full of chilly water to aid condensation.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Be-a-Romantic-Scientist%3a-Distill-your-own-perfume-/
Image Notes
1. The end of the delivery tube goes into a test-tube standing in cold water.
2. You don't have to use polythene tubing, but this glass tubing proved to be
extremely fragile at the bends.
Image Notes Image Notes
1. My wife's ornamental lavender bush got a bit of a trim... 1. These elderly rose-buds did not make a very nice scent. Maybe fresh flowers
would have been better.
step 2: Distillation.
Gently heat the water so that it simmers, rather than boils violently. You need a steady supply of steam passing through the lavender.
Notice how the equipment is arranged so that the steam must pass through the lavender on its way out.
The steam passes along the plastic tube to the test tube, where it condenses on contact ith the ice-cooled glass.
Image Notes
1. The raw materials are in the muslin, the muslin is poked into the flask, and
the bung is wedged in after.
2. Simmering, not violent boiling.
3. This flexible delivery tube gets even more flexible when it's hot.
4. We chopped up the lavender and peel with scissors.
5. The beaker is full of chilly water to aid condensation.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Be-a-Romantic-Scientist%3a-Distill-your-own-perfume-/
Image Notes
1. Condensation already beginning in the delivery tube. As the process continued,
the tube warmed up and we had to rely on the cold water condensing the steam.
2. There was a bit of leakage around the bung, so the whole lab smelled rather
pleasant.
step 3: Making your scent.
The disillate needs to be kept in an air-tight container.
Try a variety of materials to extract the oils. They will not always smell the same after extraction as before, as some oils are easier to distil this way.
Try:
Scented leaves like lavender, mint or thyme.
Flowers - roses or violets are good.
Fruits like citrus or apple peels or pears
"Green" smells, like mosses, or leaves and twigs fresh from the tree, nuts and kernels like almond or a cracked-open peach-stone.
Spices, like cinnamon stick, liquorice root or vanilla pod.
When you have a "library" of scents, try blending them to achieve the affect you want. Make sure you add them to a clean container, and use a separate dropper pipette
for each raw oil, otherwise you will mix them in unexpected ways.
We used lavender, orange peel, lemon peel and lime peel, both separately and together in the flask.
step 4: Using the scent safely.
Some scented oils are not suitable for direct application to the skin, possibly causing irritation or allergic reactions.
Your oils should, therefore, be used indirectly. Use them in proprietory oil-warmers, or add a few drops to pieces of cloth and hang them in warm places, like over lamps
(not too close to the bulb), on radiators or in front of your car air-vents.
It's tempting to make scented candles from the oil, but there is too much water in it - add water to melted wax and you risk rapid boiling spraying molten wax all over the
place.
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Comments
50 comments Add Comment
view all 77 comments
Nov 22, 2008. 8:24 AM REPLY
nerdmom920 says:
Is it appropriate to use dried herbs, or like the rose heads, would the smell be off. I ask because I make a tea out of white willow bark to use as astringent,
but I use the dried version of the plant.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Be-a-Romantic-Scientist%3a-Distill-your-own-perfume-/
 Nov 22, 2008. 10:21 AM REPLY
Kiteman says:
The rose-heads were already a bit off before we started. If the herb has a decent scent, it's worth a try.
Feb 3, 2007. 5:00 PM REPLY
Tetranitrate says:
So perfume isn't made by soaking dead women in giant vats of oil. Dammit, Hollywood has fooled me again.
Nov 19, 2008. 11:55 AM REPLY
iamchrismoran says:
AWESOME reference. I loved that movie.
"Perfume, Story of a Serial Killer"
May 2, 2008. 10:44 AM REPLY
deth2all says:
wtf?
Dec 8, 2008. 12:05 AM REPLY
jeffconnelly says:
i don't get it either
lol
Sep 25, 2008. 1:35 PM REPLY
cazomatic says:
Do you think a section of garden hose would work for tubing?
Sep 25, 2008. 1:43 PM REPLY
Kiteman says:
It depends on the scale of your set-up. It's way too wide for the version I've shown here, and could be damaged by the heat of the steam.
May 23, 2008. 8:05 PM REPLY
joey2542667 says:
is there a vial in the cold water, and the water cools the vial?
And, what is a muslin?
Sep 11, 2008. 2:29 PM REPLY
dutchypoodle says:
Muslin is a type of cloth-- closely-woven cotton, typically undyed.
Sep 11, 2008. 5:15 PM REPLY
joey2542667 says:
ok
Jun 16, 2007. 5:28 AM REPLY
Vendigroth says:
in chemistry yesterday, we extracted the limonene from orange peel and lemon peel.
'twas a shame to leave the fruit, tho, so i ended up eating 4 oranges.
i don't know why we bothered extracting the oil, really, I myself smell of oranges enough now....
Jun 16, 2007. 6:14 AM REPLY
Kiteman says:
Spray the limonene on your garden to keep the cats off?
Orange peel is supposed to keep cats off your garden - didn't work for me though, they just defacated on the peel. Cheeky little sods.
Sep 11, 2008. 2:33 PM REPLY
dutchypoodle says:
Citrus oil is an excellent fly, gnat and flea repellent-- and although it may not discourage CAT presence, it is toxic to them.
Mar 27, 2008. 7:02 PM REPLY
wocket says:
lol, it's ment to work on dogs, not cats.
:)
http://www.instructables.com/id/Be-a-Romantic-Scientist%3a-Distill-your-own-perfume-/
 Jun 30, 2007. 7:06 PM REPLY
pyro13 says:
also could u freeze distlill the oil to take down the water concentration and further concentrate the oil, making it appropriate for candle making?
Jul 1, 2007. 6:27 PM REPLY
Kiteman says:
Probably not, unless you use a huge mass of needles.
Jun 16, 2007. 6:17 AM REPLY
Vendigroth says:
cheeky bastards.
we've tried everything, and i've now got carte blanche to shoot any can in the garden with my paintball-popgun
ever since i shot at one on the shed roof once, i've not seen any more, but they just sneak in when i'm asleep....
i'll try the limonene idea, tho, it's obviously much more concentrated.
looks like i won't be getting scurvy for a while.....
Aug 1, 2008. 5:50 AM REPLY
hilary007 says:
This is great - however in the deep south do they even have a "science" store to purchase these items? Do they teach Science? (I shall try Ebay - hope to
not get tagged by buying this stuff as something else)
Point on the request for ambergris - it is available as a synthetic USE THAT - the other is extracted from Whales and not PC.
ambergr
Aug 1, 2008. 6:15 AM REPLY
Kiteman says:
You don't have to use the exact glassware that I did - substitute a jam-jar for the conical flask, copper tube for the delivery tube. It doesn't have to cope
with pressure, just heat, so there are lots ways of making set-ups that do exact;y the same job.
Aug 3, 2008. 1:50 PM REPLY
hilary007 says:
so I don't need a stopper? I do have a lid with a hole where the knob handle came off... not bad.. thank you!
Aug 3, 2008. 1:56 PM REPLY
Kiteman says:
The stopper is just there to make sure all the vapour goes the right way.
Maybe seal around the hole (when the pipe is in it) with modelling clay or similar.
Jul 30, 2008. 6:14 PM REPLY
UltraMagnus says:
interesting...........
two questions
1) how would you modify this to make Cologne
2) Anyone know where you can buy Ambergris? ;-D
Aug 1, 2008. 5:53 AM REPLY
hilary007 says:
http://edenbotanicals.com/about_amber_oil.html
I just did a google search and found this for you.
Jul 31, 2008. 2:58 AM REPLY
Kiteman says:
1. Not a clue.
2. Maybe a passing Japanese "Scientist"?
Jul 31, 2008. 1:19 AM REPLY
UltraMagnus says:
*damn not being able to edit comments*
as a side note, usually, as i understand it, the steam is usually piped into a Florentine flask that is capped rather than a test tube, and then allowed to settle
into water and oil.
as for safety, i can't understand why anything that is safe to put against your skin wouldn't be safe to use as a perfume, its not like you are extracting
perfume from belladonna (well, at least i hope you are not!)
http://www.instructables.com/id/Be-a-Romantic-Scientist%3a-Distill-your-own-perfume-/
 Jul 31, 2008. 3:00 AM REPLY
Kiteman says:
It's the concentration - concentrated plant oils are more likely to trigger alergic reactions, and some of them cause chemical burns.
May 23, 2008. 8:08 PM REPLY
joey2542667 says:
oh yeah, and is the cloth holding the rose or whatever it is?
May 24, 2008. 2:09 AM REPLY
Kiteman says:
Muslin is a thin cloth, and it holds the rose (or whatever).
There is a test-tube in the cold water, because the water cools the tube to make the oils condense.
You don't have to use a test-tube, any small glass bottle will do.
May 24, 2008. 9:03 AM REPLY
joey2542667 says:
oh, okay thanks!
Feb 9, 2008. 7:26 PM REPLY
Bran says:
Very nice.
Two questions that I have, though:
1) Would the orange peel perfume be sticky, as orange juice is?
2) Could use the same methods with oak bark or pine needles, to purify the tannin?
May 12, 2008. 5:18 PM REPLY
Goodhart says:
The "oils" in orange peel is very flammable, but I doubt that they would be in the evaporate. They would have to be obtained by other methods. Kiteman
is correct though, it isn't sticky for lack of fructose.
2) I am not sure about oak bark (nor the reason there unless you will be tanning hides), pine needle pose the same problem the oils in citrus fruits do,
and tannin is also referred to as tannic acid (a weak acid at best)....that can be distilled in a similar fashion to make it stronger/more pure.
Feb 10, 2008. 1:01 PM REPLY
Kiteman says:
1) I didn't poke my fingers in it (just in case of a reaction), but the stickiness is down to the sugars in the orange, and they aren't carried over by the
steam.
2) Pass.
Feb 10, 2008. 6:05 AM REPLY
CapnChkn says:
Is this a troll?
Feb 10, 2008. 1:02 PM REPLY
Kiteman says:
No. Are you?
Feb 10, 2008. 7:23 AM REPLY
Bran says:
Pardon?
Feb 12, 2008. 9:19 PM REPLY
CapnChkn says:
Not you Kiteman. Tannins are polyphenols, which react with the proteins in the skin, which I assume your question actually is from your avatar
Bran. And takes time. Condensing the chemicals wouldn't make the reaction any faster.
I've tanned leather in Florida using swamp muck. Get the peat not the mud. Roll the fleshed and dehaired hide in it, bury it in a container, and
pour cold, strong tea in it to cover. As it evaporates, continue to add tea.
Troll, Noun, Person who asks annoying, strange, or obvious questions to get a response. Named after the act of pulling lures and/or bait behind a
boat to catch fish.
Nov 26, 2008. 5:49 AM REPLY
PeeWeeBee says:
Sorry to be a fussy anus
Trawl- means to drag bait, net, etc behind a boat.
Trawler- the fishing boat that does this
Troll- internet nuiance
- Norse beings, hates noise, kidnaps chilren and lives under bridges extracting toll money. From trolliga- evil magic
http://www.instructables.com/id/Be-a-Romantic-Scientist%3a-Distill-your-own-perfume-/
The confusion is US misspelling due to phonetic pronunciation.
Feb 14, 2008. 11:02 AM REPLY
Kiteman says:
I know what a troll is, and I know you meant Bran.
I have known Bran long enough, and exchanged posts with him enough, to know he is not a troll. You, I don't know.
Feb 13, 2008. 12:58 PM REPLY
Bran says:
Person who asks annoying, strange, or obvious questions
So, which one of those is my question?
Thanks, by the way. :-)
May 2, 2008. 4:06 AM REPLY
Earl_Grey says:
Just a note - use distilled water or deionised water or u are introducing various contaminants from te word go (chlorine, fluoride etc)
May 2, 2008. 11:29 AM REPLY
Kiteman says:
The oils we made smelled OK, except for the rose-heads that had already gone off before we used them.
I think the volatile impurities (chlorine etc) never condensed in the TT, and the heavier ones (minerals in the water) never evaporated in the first place.
May 3, 2008. 2:23 AM REPLY
Earl_Grey says:
Thinking about it, you're distilling the water anyway via your distillation and most labs have some form of in-line 'cleanser' on the way to the tap.
May 2, 2008. 10:43 AM REPLY
deth2all says:
lol, bung.........
Apr 10, 2008. 8:10 PM REPLY
flio191 says:
this reminded me of the movie "perfume" haha.
really cool stuff!
Mar 31, 2008. 12:57 AM REPLY
Dim-1 says:
GREAT INSTRUCTABLE!!!!!! This instructable is going to get me some! Thanks!
Mar 5, 2008. 9:42 PM REPLY
Phyrkrakr says:
How long did you keep the water at boil? I would assume you just boiled all of the water in the beaker off, but is there such a thing as boiling too much water
through the plants?
Mar 6, 2008. 6:08 AM REPLY
Kiteman says:
We simmered for about 15 minutes, but only because we were limited to an hour in total, and that included preparation and clearing up afterwards.
Mar 5, 2008. 9:38 PM REPLY
Phyrkrakr says:
You can separate the water (aka hydrosol) by simply letting the oil and water naturally settle out. Then, just draw off the excess and put it in a separate
container. Some of the hydrosols can be used separately in themselves like lavender or rosewater or you can use them in place of distilled water in the
distillation process again.
Feb 14, 2008. 8:37 AM REPLY
incorrigible packrat says:
I had an idear. What about eliminating the steam entirely, by using one of those vapourizer-type things, that certain segments of the population use for
obtaining certain volatiles from certain plants, without messy combustion. If the outflow of such a dingus was connected to a chilled metal container (Altoids
tin with a Peltier junction stuck to it perhaps?), the oils could be collected without water contamination.
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