Making myrrh oil at home involves infusing crushed myrrh resin into a carrier oil over heat or time, drawing out the resin’s aromatic compounds. The process is straightforward and requires only two core ingredients, but the method you choose and how you prepare the resin will determine the strength and quality of your finished oil.
What You Need to Start
Raw myrrh resin comes in small, irregularly shaped pieces called “tears.” You can find food-grade myrrh resin tears online or at specialty herb shops. For your carrier oil, jojoba and olive oil are popular choices because they resist going rancid longer than most alternatives. Sweet almond oil and fractionated coconut oil also work well.
Beyond those two ingredients, you’ll need a clean glass jar with a tight-fitting lid, a mortar and pestle or heavy zip-lock bag, a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth, and a dark glass bottle for storage.
Preparing the Resin
Breaking down the resin before infusing it is the single most important step. Smaller pieces expose more surface area to the oil, which pulls out more of the resin’s active compounds. Myrrh is sticky and can gum up tools, so work with small amounts at a time. Use a mortar and pestle to crush the tears into coarse granules, roughly the size of coarse sand. If the resin is particularly gummy, place it in a zip-lock bag and tap it with a hammer or rolling pin.
Chilling the resin in the freezer for 30 minutes before crushing makes it more brittle and far easier to break apart. Avoid grinding it into a fine powder, which can make straining difficult later.
Cold Infusion Method
This is the simplest approach and preserves the resin’s delicate aromatic profile. Place your crushed myrrh resin into a clean, dry glass jar. A good starting ratio is roughly 1 part resin to 5 parts carrier oil by weight. For a small batch, that’s about 30 grams of resin to 150 milliliters of oil. You can increase the resin proportion for a stronger infusion, but going much beyond 1:3 can leave you with oil that’s difficult to strain.
Pour the carrier oil over the resin, seal the jar tightly, and give it a good shake. Store the jar in a warm, dark place like a cupboard near the stove or on a sunny windowsill. Shake it once daily. The infusion needs four to six weeks to reach full strength. The oil will gradually darken and take on a warm, earthy scent as the resin’s compounds dissolve into it.
Double Boiler Method
If you don’t want to wait weeks, gentle heat speeds up the extraction significantly. Set up a double boiler by placing a heat-safe glass jar or bowl inside a pot with a few inches of water. Add your crushed resin and carrier oil to the jar at the same 1:5 ratio.
Heat the water on the lowest setting your stove allows. You want the oil warm to the touch, not hot. Temperatures above roughly 150°F (65°C) can degrade the oil and break down some of the resin’s beneficial compounds. Maintain this gentle warmth for four to eight hours, stirring occasionally. Some people repeat this process over two or three days, letting the oil cool overnight and reheating the next morning, which can produce a richer infusion.
Never place the resin and oil directly in a pot over a burner. The direct heat is too intense and creates hot spots that can scorch both the oil and the resin, leaving a bitter, acrid smell.
Straining and Bottling
Once your infusion time is complete, strain the oil through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or a clean cotton cloth. Squeeze the cloth gently to extract as much oil as possible from the resin sediment. For an especially clear oil, strain it a second time through a fresh piece of cloth or an unbleached coffee filter. This second pass removes fine particles that can turn the oil cloudy over time.
Pour the finished oil into a dark glass bottle (amber or cobalt blue). Dark glass blocks the light that accelerates oxidation and rancidity. Label it with the date.
Storage and Shelf Life
Homemade infused oils are more perishable than you might expect. Light and heat are the two biggest enemies. Store your myrrh oil in a cool, dark place, and it will typically last three to six months at room temperature depending on which carrier oil you used. Jojoba oil has a naturally long shelf life of up to two years on its own, so infusions made with jojoba tend to hold up the longest. Olive oil and sweet almond oil go rancid sooner.
For longer storage, keep the oil in the refrigerator. Some carrier oils like olive oil will thicken or turn cloudy when cold, but this is harmless and reverses within minutes at room temperature. If you’ve made a large batch, freeze portions in small jars and thaw them as needed. A rancid oil smells sharp, stale, or like old crayons. If you notice that shift, discard it.
Infused Oil vs. Essential Oil
It’s worth understanding that what you make at home is an infused oil, not an essential oil. True myrrh essential oil is produced through steam distillation, a process that requires specialized equipment and large quantities of resin to yield even a small bottle. Essential oil is a concentrated, volatile extract that must be diluted before skin use. Infused oil is gentler, already diluted in a carrier, and ready to use directly on skin, in balms, or in homemade soaps.
If you want something closer to essential oil concentration, you can do a “double infusion.” After straining your first batch, pour the finished oil over a fresh portion of crushed resin and repeat the entire process. This layers additional resin compounds into the same oil, producing a noticeably stronger product.
Common Uses for Homemade Myrrh Oil
Myrrh-infused oil has a warm, slightly medicinal, balsamic scent. It blends well with frankincense, lavender, and sandalwood when used in aromatherapy or personal care products. Many people use it as a moisturizer for dry or rough skin, especially on heels, elbows, and cuticles. It’s also a popular addition to homemade salves, beard oils, and massage blends. A small amount mixed into melted beeswax makes a simple, fragrant solid perfume.