There are three distinct products called “carrot seed oil,” and the one you can make at home depends on which type you’re after. Steam-distilled essential oil requires specialized equipment. Cold-pressed seed oil needs an oil press. But a carrot-infused oil, which captures the plant’s beneficial compounds in a carrier oil, is something anyone can make in a kitchen. Here’s how each method works and what you’ll actually get from it.
Three Types of Carrot Seed Oil
Before you start, it helps to know these are chemically different products. Carrot seed essential oil is produced through steam distillation of dried Daucus carota seeds. It’s a concentrated, volatile oil dominated by a compound called carotol (typically 19 to 33% of the oil) along with smaller amounts of pinene, sabinene, limonene, and geranyl acetate. This is the potent oil sold in tiny bottles that must be diluted before skin contact.
Cold-pressed carrot seed oil is a fatty “carrier” oil extracted by applying mechanical pressure to the seeds, the same way olive oil is made. Its main fatty acid is petroselinic acid (60 to 70%), followed by linoleic acid at roughly 12%. It also contains a small amount of polyphenols that give it antioxidant properties. Mature carrot seeds contain about 17% lipids by weight, so the yield from pressing is modest.
Carrot-infused oil (also called macerated carrot oil) is made by soaking carrot root material in a carrier oil over several weeks. This is the version most commonly made at home because it requires no special equipment. It’s worth noting that beta-carotene, the orange pigment most people associate with carrots, is found primarily in the root, not the seeds. So if you want that characteristic orange color and beta-carotene content, an infusion made from carrot root is actually your best option.
How to Make Carrot-Infused Oil at Home
This is the most accessible method and produces a versatile oil suitable for skincare. You’ll need dried carrot material (grated or shredded), a carrier oil like sunflower or olive oil, a clean glass jar with a lid, and a fine strainer or cheesecloth.
The standard ratio is 1 part dried carrot to 9 parts oil by weight. So 100 grams of grated, thoroughly dried carrot goes into 900 grams of carrier oil. Using dried rather than fresh carrot is important because any residual moisture introduces the risk of mold growth in your jar.
To dry fresh carrots, peel and grate them finely, then spread the shreds on a baking sheet. Use a food dehydrator or your oven at its lowest setting (around 60°C or 140°F) until the pieces are completely dry and brittle. This can take several hours.
Once dried, pack the carrot shreds loosely into a clean glass jar and pour the carrier oil over them, making sure all the plant material is fully submerged. Seal the jar tightly. Store it in a cool, dark place for three to four weeks, shaking it every day or two to help the oil extract compounds from the carrot. After the infusion period, strain the oil through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer, squeezing out as much liquid as possible. Discard the spent carrot material and transfer the finished oil to a dark glass bottle.
Solar Infusion Variation
Some people place the sealed jar in indirect sunlight instead of a dark cupboard, using gentle warmth to speed extraction. If you try this, keep the jar out of direct, intense sun, which can degrade the oil. A sunny windowsill with filtered light works. The infusion time is similar: two to four weeks.
How to Distill Carrot Seed Essential Oil
Making true carrot seed essential oil requires a steam distillation setup. This is a more involved process, but hobbyist distillation kits are available in the 25 to 50 liter range.
Start with clean, dried carrot seeds with a moisture content below 10%. Load the seeds into the stainless steel distillation chamber. Steam is supplied at 90 to 100°C, either generated externally or from water in the bottom of the still. As steam passes through the seed bed, it vaporizes the volatile compounds. These vapors travel through a condensation coil cooled by cold water, turning back into liquid. The condensed liquid collects in a separator (called a Florentine flask), where the essential oil naturally floats on top of the water. The water layer, called a hydrosol, has a mild carrot-like scent and can be used as a facial toner.
The yield is small. Essential oils from seeds generally produce a few milliliters per kilogram of plant material, so you need a substantial quantity of dried seeds to get a usable amount. For most home users, purchasing carrot seed essential oil is more practical than distilling it, unless you already have distillation equipment for other botanicals.
Cold-Pressing Carrot Seed Oil
Cold-pressing requires a screw press or hydraulic press designed for oilseeds. The seeds are fed through the press, which applies mechanical pressure to squeeze out the fixed oil. The key constraint is temperature: the pressing process generates friction heat, and keeping temperatures low preserves the oil’s bioactive compounds, including its phenolics and essential fatty acids. Commercial “cold-pressed” designation generally means no external heat was applied during extraction.
Carrot seeds contain roughly 17% lipids, so you’d need about 6 kilograms of seeds to yield approximately 1 kilogram of oil under ideal conditions. Actual home press yields tend to be lower. This method is realistic only if you grow carrots at scale and let them go to seed in their second year, or if you can source bulk carrot seed from a supplier.
Antimicrobial and Skin Benefits
Carrot seed essential oil shows strong activity against certain bacteria and fungi in lab studies. It’s particularly effective against gram-positive bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus and against dermatophytes, the fungi responsible for conditions like athlete’s foot and ringworm. It also disrupted the growth of Candida albicans biofilms at very low concentrations. Against gram-negative bacteria like E. coli, the oil showed little effect.
For skincare use, concentrations matter. Lab testing on human skin cells (keratinocytes) found that the oil maintained over 94% cell viability at low concentrations, confirming a good safety profile when properly diluted. The standard dilution for topical use is about 2% essential oil in a carrier oil for general application, or 1% if you have sensitive skin. That translates to roughly 12 drops of essential oil per ounce of carrier oil for a 2% blend.
Cold-pressed carrot seed oil and carrot-infused oil are gentler and can be applied directly to skin without dilution, making them more forgiving for home formulations like serums and facial oils.
Storage and Shelf Life
All three types of carrot seed oil should be stored in dark glass bottles, away from direct sunlight and heat. Essential oils are volatile and will degrade with light and air exposure. Cold-pressed and infused oils are susceptible to oxidation because of their fatty acid content.
With proper storage in a cool location, carrot seed oil keeps for up to two years. Refrigerating the oil after opening helps extend its usable life, especially for the cold-pressed and infused versions. If the oil develops an off smell or becomes noticeably thicker, it has likely oxidized and should be discarded.