Making your own capsules at home means knowing exactly what's gone into them, no fillers, no additives you didn't choose yourself, just the ingredient you picked and the capsule carrying it. It's a popular way to take a vegetable oil, a blend of active ingredients, or a small amount of essential oil in a precise, convenient dose, rather than measuring drops out every time.
What are empty capsules made of?
Our capsules are made from pullulan, a plant-derived polysaccharide produced by fermenting tapioca, not gelatin. That makes them suitable for vegan, vegetarian, halal and kosher diets, worth knowing if that's a consideration for you or whoever you're making them for.
Each capsule holds a small, specific volume, so it's worth checking the size you need against how much you're actually looking to take before buying.
How to choose capsule sizes
With capsule sizes, more zeros means bigger, so size 00 holds more than size 0. Size 0 holds around 0.68 ml, while size 00 holds closer to 0.9 ml, so the right one really comes down to how much you’re filling each capsule with, and how many you’re happy to take at once.
is often the more comfortable choice to swallow day to day, and is generally plenty for a single dose of a vegetable oil or a small amount of active ingredient.
is worth considering if you’re working with a larger volume, or would rather take fewer, bigger capsules than several smaller ones. Either way, it’s worth deciding on a size before you start filling, swapping between the two partway through a batch makes it harder to keep doses consistent.
How to fill them at home
Filling capsules by hand is straightforward, but a few basics make a real difference to how well it goes:
Keep everything dry
Water is the one thing pullulan capsules don't get on with, any contact with moisture can stop them filling or sealing properly, so work somewhere dry and let the capsule filler itself dry out fully before reusing it.
Work cleanly
Clean, dry hands or gloves and a clean workspace matter here just as they would for any homemade preparation, good general hygiene rather than anything specific to capsules.
Don't overfill, especially with essential oils
If you're using essential oil rather than a vegetable oil or powder, stick to a small amount per capsule, generally no more than one or two drops, essential oils are concentrated, and a capsule is a precise, easy way to take too much without realising it if you're not careful about quantity.
Store them properly once filled
A tightly sealed jar, kept away from light, heat and moisture, is usually fine for around two months, longer than that and it's worth making a fresh batch rather than relying on an old one.
Taking them
Capsules are generally swallowed with a full glass of water, same as you would with any other capsule or tablet.
If you're using them for an essential oil, it's worth being particularly careful about dose and about which oils are actually suitable to take this way at all, not every essential oil is.
Aroma-Zone's guide to essential oils is worth a read before starting if you're at all unsure. Moreover, a pharmacist is always a better source of guidance than guesswork, particularly if you're pregnant, breastfeeding, on medication or managing an existing health condition.
An alternative: compressed tablets
If capsules aren't quite what you're after, a compressed tablet is another way to carry an ingredient in a measured, convenient form, ours are made from organic acacia gum, sugar-free, and can be flavoured or used to carry a small amount of essential oil in the same way a capsule does.
A couple of things worth knowing
Stick to the quantities and storage advice above rather than guessing, and don't exceed what you'd take of any ingredient in its usual form just because it's now in a capsule, a capsule changes how convenient something is to take, not how much of it is actually safe to take.
If you're building a fuller routine around food supplements more generally, Aroma-Zone's food supplements selection and our recipes and tutorials are both worth a browse for further ideas.
