You can make clove oil at home using two main approaches: a simple carrier oil infusion that requires nothing more than cloves, oil, and heat, or a steam distillation that produces a more concentrated essential oil. The infusion method is far more practical for most people and takes as little as a few hours, while steam distillation requires specialized glassware and yields only a small amount of pure oil.
Carrier Oil Infusion Method
This is the easiest way to make clove oil at home, and it produces a versatile infused oil suitable for topical use, aromatherapy, or household purposes. You’ll need whole cloves, a carrier oil, and a way to apply gentle heat.
Start by lightly crushing your cloves with a mortar and pestle or the flat side of a knife. Research on clove extraction shows that grinding cloves roughly doubles the oil yield compared to leaving them whole, jumping from about 7% to over 14%. You don’t need a fine powder. Just crack the buds open to expose more surface area.
Place the crushed cloves in a clean, dry glass jar and cover them with your carrier oil of choice. Use roughly 1 cup of oil for every 2 tablespoons of crushed cloves. Olive oil works well because of its long shelf life and stability, but fractionated coconut oil is a popular alternative since it’s nearly odorless and absorbs quickly into skin. Almond oil is another solid option, especially if you plan to use the finished product for massage or skincare.
Slow Infusion (Cold Method)
Seal the jar tightly and place it in a warm, sunny spot for 1 to 2 weeks. Shake it once daily. The warmth helps draw the active compounds out of the cloves and into the oil. After the infusion period, strain the mixture through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer into a clean bottle, squeezing out as much oil as possible. You can repeat the process with fresh cloves in the same oil for a stronger result.
Quick Infusion (Heat Method)
If you don’t want to wait two weeks, you can speed things up with gentle heat. Place the jar of cloves and oil into a small saucepan with a few inches of water, creating a makeshift double boiler. Heat the water on the lowest setting and let the oil warm for 2 to 3 hours. The oil should never get hot enough to bubble or smoke. You’re aiming for a slow, steady warmth that coaxes the clove compounds into the oil without degrading them. Strain as described above.
Steam Distillation for Concentrated Oil
Steam distillation produces a true essential oil rather than an infusion. The process works by passing steam through the cloves, which carries volatile compounds (primarily eugenol, the substance responsible for clove’s sharp, warming sensation) into a condenser. The steam cools back into liquid, and the essential oil floats on top of the water, where it can be separated.
You’ll need a steam distillation setup: a steam-generating flask, a connecting tube, a condenser with cold water flowing through it, and a collection vessel. Home distillation kits designed for essential oils are available online and typically cost between $50 and $150. Place your crushed cloves in the distillation flask, generate steam from a separate water source, and let the steam pass through the plant material for 20 to 30 minutes. The condensed liquid that collects in your receiver will separate into two layers: a thin film of essential oil on top and clove-scented water (hydrosol) below.
The yield is small. Expect roughly 10 to 15 milliliters of essential oil from a large batch of cloves. For most home users, the carrier oil infusion is more practical and cost-effective.
Choosing the Right Cloves
The quality of your starting material matters more than the method you choose. Buy whole clove buds, not pre-ground cloves from the spice aisle. Pre-ground cloves have already lost a significant portion of their volatile compounds to evaporation during processing and storage. Look for plump, oily buds that release fragrance when you press a fingernail into them. Organic cloves from a specialty spice shop or bulk supplier tend to have higher oil content than older supermarket stock.
Clove buds yield more oil than clove stems or leaves, and the composition is different. Bud oil has the highest concentration of eugenol, which is the compound behind most of clove oil’s practical uses, from soothing toothaches to repelling insects.
Storing Your Clove Oil
How you store your finished oil has a direct impact on how long it stays potent. Research on clove essential oil stability found that oil stored in dark glass bottles at cool temperatures (around 4°C, or standard refrigerator temperature) maintained its eugenol content with minimal changes over four months. By contrast, oil exposed to direct light and higher temperatures degraded rapidly.
Use amber or cobalt blue glass bottles with tight-fitting caps. Store them in a cool, dark place, or in the refrigerator if you have room. Avoid plastic containers, which can interact with the oil’s compounds over time. An infused clove oil (made with a carrier) will generally keep for 6 to 12 months depending on the shelf life of your carrier oil, while a distilled essential oil lasts longer if stored properly.
Dilution and Safe Use
Clove oil is potent, and using it undiluted on skin can cause irritation or chemical burns. If you’ve made a distilled essential oil, you need to dilute it in a carrier oil before applying it to your body. The National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy recommends a 1 to 2.5 percent dilution for normal skin, and 0.5 to 1 percent for sensitive skin. In practical terms, a 2 percent dilution is about 12 drops of essential oil per ounce of carrier oil.
An infused oil made with the carrier oil method is already diluted by nature, so it’s generally mild enough for direct skin application. Still, test a small patch on your inner forearm and wait 24 hours before using it more broadly.
Safety Concerns Worth Knowing
Clove oil, whether infused or distilled, contains eugenol, which slows blood clotting. If you take blood thinners or antiplatelet medications, using clove oil could increase your risk of bruising and bleeding. The same applies if you have a bleeding disorder. Stop using clove oil at least two weeks before any scheduled surgery.
Clove can also affect blood sugar levels, which matters if you take diabetes medications. And it may change how your liver processes certain drugs, potentially altering their effects. Keep clove oil away from children entirely. Even small amounts of concentrated clove oil taken by mouth can cause serious side effects in kids, including seizures and liver damage. For adults, topical and aromatic use of properly diluted clove oil is the safest approach.