Making peppermint oil at home with dried leaves is a simple infusion process that takes anywhere from a few hours to several weeks, depending on which method you choose. What you’re creating is a peppermint-infused oil, not a distilled essential oil (that requires steam distillation equipment). But a well-made infusion captures plenty of the aromatic and soothing compounds from peppermint leaves and works beautifully for skin care, massage, or homemade balms.
What You Need to Get Started
The ingredient list is short: dried peppermint leaves and a carrier oil. The standard ratio is 1 part dried plant material by weight to 5 parts oil by volume. So if you’re using 1 ounce of dried peppermint, pair it with 5 fluid ounces of oil. This ratio gives the oil enough plant material to absorb a strong peppermint profile without overcrowding the jar, which can introduce moisture problems.
For the carrier oil, your best options are ones that absorb easily into skin and have a mild scent that won’t compete with the peppermint. Grapeseed oil, sweet almond oil, and sesame oil are all light to medium weight and absorb quickly. Olive oil works too, though it has a stronger scent and heavier feel. If shelf life matters to you, grapeseed and sweet almond oil are good middle-ground choices. Avoid anything already close to its expiration date, since the infusion will only be as fresh as the oil you start with.
You’ll also need a clean glass jar with a tight-fitting lid, a strainer, and cheesecloth or coffee filters for the final filtering step.
The Cold Infusion Method
This is the most hands-off approach and the one most herbalists prefer for preserving delicate aromatic compounds. Place your dried peppermint leaves in a clean, dry glass jar. Pour the carrier oil over the leaves until they’re fully submerged with at least half an inch of oil above the plant material. Seal the jar tightly.
Set the jar in a warm spot out of direct sunlight. A sunny windowsill is a common recommendation, but indirect warmth is better since direct UV light can degrade the oil over time. Let the jar sit for 4 to 6 weeks, shaking it gently every day or two to redistribute the plant material. The longer it steeps, the stronger the peppermint character becomes.
The trade-off with cold infusion is patience. You’re waiting weeks for the oil to slowly pull compounds out of the dried leaves. But because no heat is involved, you preserve more of the volatile aromatic molecules that give peppermint its characteristic cooling sensation.
The Heat-Assisted Method
If you don’t want to wait a month, a gentle heat infusion can compress the process into a single day. The key word here is gentle. High heat destroys the very compounds you’re trying to extract.
Set up a double boiler by placing a heat-safe glass jar or smaller pot inside a larger pot filled with a few inches of water. Add your dried peppermint and oil to the inner container at the same 1:5 ratio. Bring the water to a very low simmer, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting short of turning it off. You never want the oil itself to simmer or bubble.
Let the infusion warm for 5 to 6 hours, checking occasionally to make sure the water level in the outer pot hasn’t dropped too low. Some people keep the heat going for longer periods, turning it off overnight to give the mixture a period of cold infusion, then warming it again the next day. A candle warmer or yogurt maker can serve the same purpose as a double boiler, providing steady, very low heat without the risk of overheating.
After the infusion period, remove the jar from heat and let it cool completely before straining.
Straining for a Clean Final Product
Straining is the step that separates a good infusion from a gritty, cloudy one. Dried peppermint crumbles into fine particles, and those tiny bits can make it through a standard kitchen strainer without much trouble.
Start with a fine-mesh strainer to catch the larger leaf pieces. Then run the oil through a second, finer filter. A coffee filter placed inside the mesh strainer is one of the most effective methods for catching the smallest particles. The downside is speed: coffee filters can take a long time to drip through, and they may clog partway, requiring a swap. Muslin cloth or a double layer of cheesecloth draped over a bowl works as an alternative, though very fine particles can still sneak through cheesecloth alone.
For the clearest result, do a two-stage strain: cheesecloth first to remove the bulk of the leaves, followed by a coffee filter for the fine sediment. Let gravity do the work. Squeezing the cloth forces more particles through and clouds the oil. It takes patience, but a well-filtered oil looks better and stores longer because there’s less organic matter sitting in it to promote spoilage.
Storing Your Peppermint Oil
Transfer the finished oil into a dark glass bottle with a tight-fitting lid. Amber or cobalt bottles are ideal because they block the light wavelengths that accelerate oxidation. A homemade herbal-infused oil typically lasts 6 to 12 months when stored properly, though this depends heavily on which carrier oil you used and how you store it.
Oxidation, the process that makes oil go rancid, speeds up with exposure to heat, light, and oxygen. Keep your peppermint oil in a cool, dark place. The refrigerator is the gold standard for preservation, especially during warmer months. Every time you open the bottle, you introduce fresh oxygen, so smaller bottles that you’ll use up faster are better than one large container you’ll dip into for months.
If the oil develops an off smell, looks cloudy after being clear, or takes on a noticeably different color, it has likely started to turn. Trust your nose on this one.
How to Use It Safely
A homemade peppermint-infused oil is already diluted in a carrier, making it much gentler than a concentrated essential oil. Still, peppermint contains compounds that can cause skin irritation, redness, and itching in some people. Those with sensitive skin or a history of contact allergies should do a patch test first: apply a small amount to the inside of your wrist and wait 24 hours to check for any reaction.
Avoid applying peppermint oil near your eyes, and keep it away from the faces of young children, as the cooling compounds can irritate mucous membranes. If swallowed in more than trace amounts, peppermint oil can cause irritation and a burning sensation in the mouth and throat.
For topical use, the infused oil works well rubbed into temples for tension headaches, massaged into sore muscles, or blended into homemade salves and lip balms. Because the concentration is lower than a commercial essential oil, you can generally apply it directly to skin without further dilution, assuming you passed the patch test without issues.