 Essential
oil is very light in terms of oil and generally non-greasy
to the touch. Essential oil is a concentrated volatile “liquid”
fragrance extracted from plants. It is extracted from one or
a number of areas of the plant including flowers, leaves, stems,
bark, roots, seeds, fruit or other parts of the plant. There
are approximately 400 essential oils extracted from plants worldwide.
Essential oils should not be confused with fragrance oils
which are man-made and do not have the natural benefits associated
with essential oils.
Essential oils are extracted form plants by steam distillation,
solvent extraction and cold-pressed methods.
The most common method is steam distillation of the raw plant
material. In this method, water is heated to create steam,
which vaporizes the oils. The vapor is then cooled to return
it back to a liquid state. The oil naturally separates from
the water and is then removed.
Solvent extraction is used primarily with flowers that contain
very little essential oil. In addition, these flowers are
very delicate and do not lend themselves well to steam distillation.
The process uses a solvent to dissolve the essential oil from
the flower which is then filtered. What is left is called
concrete (a mix of waxes and essential oil). The concrete
is then mixed with pure alcohol to extract the essential oil.
After the alcohol is removed, the essential oil left is known
as an “absolute.”
Cold-pressed methods utilize mechanical means to express the
essential oil. This is the method used to extract oils from
citrus peel. Prior to steam distillation, pressing was the
method used to extract essential oils.
Today, essential oils are commonly used in perfumes, medicines,
cosmetics, food, beverages and many other applications and
products. Essential oils are used in perfuming for their wonderful
scents and mood enhancing properties. In medicine, essential
oils are utilized for their antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic
and antiinflammatory properties to name a few. The cosmetic
industry benefits from essential oils with properties that
rejuvenate skin cells and enhance beauty. Also, as essential
additives to face creams, body lotions, shampoos and conditioners
and may other products. Essential oils are indispensable in
adding the natural flavor and scent to products of the food
and beverage industry.
Modern use of essential oil stems from its long history of
use dating back thousands of years to the ancient Egyptians,
Greeks, Middle East and Orient. In ancient times, there was
widespread use of oils for their fragrance and medicinal application.
Some oils were so sought after that they were worth their
weight in gold.
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