Carrier Oils And Infused Oils: A Practical Guide for DIY Aromatherapy

If you’ve ever wondered why essential oil recipes always call for another oil alongside them, this is the page that answers that question.

Carrier oils are the base that makes essential oils practical to use in body care, roll-ons, and DIY blends.

Infused oils take that foundation a step further, bringing the character of dried botanicals into the mix.

Together, they’re what turns a few drops of essential oil into a finished product you can actually use.

This hub covers everything you need to know about both: what they are, how they differ, which ones to choose for different projects, and how to store them properly.

Each section links out to dedicated guides when you’re ready for more depth.

What Are Carrier Oils?

Carrier oils are plant-based oils extracted from the fatty portions of nuts, seeds, or kernels. They get their name from their primary role: they carry essential oils into your DIY recipes and, where relevant, onto the skin.

Essential oils are concentrated plant extracts. Without a carrier oil, these extracts would be too concentrated to use directly in body care products.

Carrier oils are neutral, mild, and stable. They don’t compete with the scent of your essential oils. They add texture, spreadability, and body to finished products, whether that’s a roll-on blend, a body oil, a sugar scrub, or a lip balm.

Each carrier oil has its own weight, absorption rate, and subtle character, which is what makes choosing the right one for each project worthwhile.

The most common carrier oils in aromatherapy are sweet almond, jojoba, fractionated coconut, grapeseed, and apricot kernel. Each is explored in the carrier oils guide.

For a more detailed, beginner-friendly introduction to why carrier oils are used at all, this post on why essential oils need a carrier oil covers the reasoning clearly.

What Are Infused Oils?

Infused oils are carrier oils that have been steeped with dried botanicals such as herbs, flowers, or plant material until the oil takes on their color, scent, and character.

The base remains a carrier oil throughout. It’s the same mild, stable oil it started as, now enriched with the essence of whatever botanical was used.

The process of making infused oils is simple. Dried plant material is combined with a carrier oil and left to infuse over time, either slowly over several weeks in a warm spot or more quickly using gentle heat. The botanicals are strained out at the end, leaving behind an oil that carries their aromatic and visual qualities.

An infused oil is not an essential oil. It does not have the concentration or intensity of a distilled or cold-pressed essential oil extract. Instead, it is a gently enhanced carrier oil, with a more subtle character that works beautifully as a base in traditional-style body care recipes.

For example, lavender essential oil is a very different product from lavender-infused oil. They are not interchangeable.

The essential oils vs infused oils post covers the differences in more detail if you want a clear comparison.

Popular infused oils include calendula, rose, lavender, chamomile, and yarrow. If you’d like to make your own at home, the individual infused oil guides in this category walk through the process step by step.

Carrier Oils vs Infused Oils: Key Differences

Both plain carrier oils and infused oils serve the same foundational purpose: they provide a base for essential oil blending and DIY body care. Here’s a quick comparison of how they differ.

The key thing to remember: an infused oil is still a carrier oil. It has been enriched with botanical material, but it functions exactly the same way in essential oil recipes.

You can add essential oils to infused oils just as you would to a plain carrier oil, and you can mix the two types together in the same recipe.

Common Carrier Oils and Their Uses

Each carrier oil has its own texture, weight, and absorption rate. Here’s a quick guide to the most useful ones to have in a DIY aromatherapy collection.

Sweet Almond Oil

Light and smooth with a very mild natural scent. Sweet almond absorbs well without feeling heavy and works in almost every DIY application: body oils, roll-ons, scrubs, bath oils, and balms. It’s a reliable all-purpose carrier oil and a good first choice for anyone just starting out with DIY blending.

Jojoba Oil

Technically a liquid wax rather than an oil, which gives it a much longer shelf life than most carrier oils. It’s lightweight, absorbs cleanly, and leaves no greasy residue. Its stability makes it particularly well-suited to roll-on blends and facial products where you want the carrier to last without going rancid. A practical and versatile addition to any DIY collection.

Fractionated Coconut Oil

A refined form of coconut oil that stays liquid at room temperature. It’s colourless, odorless, and absorbs quickly without leaving a greasy feel, which makes it one of the most popular carriers for roll-on blends and body oils. Fractionated coconut is produced by a process that isolates the medium-chain triglycerides from regular coconut oil, which also extends its shelf life compared to the unrefined version.

Grapeseed Oil

Very light and fast-absorbing with a near-neutral scent. A good choice for summer body oils and blends where you want something that disappears quickly into the skin without any weight or residue.

Apricot Kernel Oil

Gentle, smooth, and similar in weight to sweet almond. A good alternative for projects where you want a slightly more refined feel. Works well in roll-ons, body oils, and lighter body care recipes.

Avocado Oil

Thicker and richer than most carrier oils. Best used in small amounts blended with lighter oils, or in intensive body butter and balm recipes where a heavier texture is welcome.

Olive Oil

Rich and robust with a noticeable natural scent that can compete with essential oil blends. Best suited to soaps, winter body care recipes, and projects where its character is an asset rather than a distraction.

Common Infused Oils and How They’re Made

Infused oils are made by steeping dried botanicals in a carrier oil until the oil takes on their qualities. There are two main approaches.

Slow Cold Infusion

Dried botanicals are combined with carrier oil in a sealed glass jar and left in a warm spot, such as a sunny windowsill, for two to six weeks. Time and gentle warmth do the work. This method is simple and hands-off, though it requires planning ahead.

Warm Infusion

The oil and botanicals are gently heated together using a stovetop double boiler or a slow cooker set to its lowest setting, for several hours. This speeds up the infusion process significantly and produces usable oil in a single day. The key is keeping the heat genuinely low, which preserves the aromatic character of the botanicals.

Both methods result in the same thing: a carrier oil that has absorbed the colour, scent, and character of the plant material. After infusing, the botanicals are strained out completely, and the finished oil is bottled.

Popular botanical-infused oils in this category:

• Calendula Infused Oil: Golden and aromatic, popular in body care and DIY recipes
• Rose Infused Oil: Romantic and fragrant, lovely in body oils and personal blends
• Yarrow Infused Oil: Earthy and herbaceous, with a long tradition in DIY body care
• Lavender Infused Oil: Soft and aromatic, a gentle base for personal scent blends (guide coming soon)
• Chamomile Infused Oil: Mild and pale, suited to gentle body care projects (guide coming soon)

How to Choose Between Plain and Infused Oils

Both types work in most DIY recipes, so the choice usually comes down to what you want the finished product to feel and smell like.

Choose a plain carrier oil when:

You want the essential oils in your blend to be the star and the base to stay completely neutral. Plain oils give you full control over scent and are the right choice for roll-on perfumes, carefully crafted essential oil blends, and any project where you don’t want additional aromatic character from the base.

Choose an infused oil when:

You want to add botanical depth and visual interest to a project. Infused oils bring their own color and subtle aroma, which makes them especially appealing in traditional-style body care, gift-worthy products, and recipes where the story of the ingredients matters as much as the final result.

Mix both

You’re not limited to one or the other. Blending an infused oil with a plain carrier oil is a practical way to balance botanical character with a neutral base. A blend of calendula-infused oil and grapeseed oil, for example, gives you the warmth and color of the calendula with the lightness and fast absorption of the grapeseed.

How Carrier and Infused Oils Are Used in DIY Projects

Carrier oils and infused oils appear in almost every DIY aromatherapy recipe. Here’s a quick overview of where they’re most commonly used, with links to specific recipes in the DIY Bath, Body, and Home guide.

Roll-Ons and Personal Blends

Small roller bottles filled with a carrier oil and a few drops of essential oil are one of the simplest DIY projects to start with.

Fractionated coconut and jojoba oils are particularly well-suited to roll-ons because of their light texture and stability.

Infused oils add an extra layer of botanical character for something more personal.

Body Oils

A simple body oil is one of the most satisfying DIY products to make. A carrier oil, a few essential oils, and a bottle are all you need.

Sweet almond and apricot kernel work beautifully here. Infused oils shine in body oil recipes where botanical depth is welcome.

Scrubs and Bath Recipes

Sugar scrubs, salt scrubs, and bath oils all use carrier oils to bind ingredients and add a smooth, pleasant texture. Plain oils keep the recipe simple and allow the essential oil blend to take center stage.

Balms and Salves

When combined with beeswax or plant-based wax, carrier oils and infused oils form the base of solid balms. These work well for lip care, hand balms, and cuticle treatments.

Infused oils are popular in traditional salve recipes where the botanical ingredient is part of the story.

Storage and Shelf Life

Both types of oil are natural products that need proper storage to stay fresh and perform well in recipes.

Carrier oils

Shelf life varies by oil type. Lighter oils like grapeseed last around six to twelve months. Stable oils like jojoba last significantly longer, often two years or more. Store in a cool, dark place away from heat and direct light, tightly sealed.

Infused oils

Because they contain botanical material, infused oils typically have a shorter shelf life than their plain counterparts. Most home-infused oils last six to twelve months, depending on the base oil and how thoroughly the plant material was strained. In warm climates, refrigerator storage extends shelf life noticeably.

Signs that an oil has turned

Both types can go rancid over time. Watch for a noticeably different or unpleasant smell, cloudiness or sediment, color changes, or unusual texture. When an oil smells different from when you first made or opened it, it’s time to replace it.

Storage tips for carrier oils and infused oils

• Store in dark glass bottles, amber or cobalt blue
• Keep in a cool, dark cupboard away from heat and light
• Keep lids tightly sealed between uses
• Label with the purchase or infusion date
• Buy or make in quantities you’ll use within six to twelve months

Recommended Carrier Oils

Plant Therapy is a reliable source for high-quality carrier oils. Their oils are clearly labelled, quality-tested, and available in practical sizes for home DIY use.

These three carrier oils are the most versatile starting points for an aromatherapy blending collection.

Sweet Almond Carrier Oil

Sweet almond is light and smooth, with a neutral scent. It works well in almost every DIY application from body oils and roll-ons to scrubs, bath recipes, and balms.

Sweet almond is a reliable all-purpose carrier oil and the most practical first choice for anyone starting out with DIY blending.

Golden Jojoba Carrier Oil

Jojoba is technically a liquid wax rather than an oil, which gives it a longer shelf life than most carrier oils. It is lightweight and non-greasy, with a clean absorption that makes it particularly well-suited to roll-on blends and facial products.

Jojoba is a practical second carrier oil that complements sweet almond well.

Fractionated Coconut Carrier Oil

Fractionated coconut oil is colourless and odourless. It stays liquid at room temperature and absorbs quickly without any greasy residue.

This carrier oil is produced from regular coconut oil through a specialized process that extends its shelf life.

Fractionated coconut oil is one of the most popular carriers for roll-on blends and everyday body oils.

Carrier and Infused Oils FAQs

Explore More on Aromatherapy Anywhere

Aromatherapy Basics: Foundational guides to essential oils, blending, safety, and quality.

Essential Oil Uses: Everyday ways to use essential oils at home.

DIY Bath, Body and Home: Recipes for bath salts, scrubs, balms, room sprays, and more.

Diffusers and Blends: Diffuser types, how-to guides, and blend recipes for every room and season.

Browse All Carrier and Infused Oil Guides

Carrier Oil Guides

Best Carrier Oils for Essential Oils: A Practical Guide
Why Essential Oils Need a Carrier Oil: And How They Work Together
Essential Oils vs Infused Oils: Key Differences and When to Use Each

Infused Oil Guides

How to Make Calendula Infused Oil: Two Methods
How to Make Rose Infused Oil with Dried or Fresh Petals
How to Make Dandelion Infused Oil and Ways to Use It
How to Make Coffee Infused Oil and Ways to Use It
DIY Yarrow Infused Oil: How to Make It and Ways to Use It

Carrier oils are unglamorous in the best possible way. They don’t demand attention. They just make everything else work better.

Once you have a couple of good carrier oils in your collection and a sense of what each brings to a recipe, they become second nature.