Essential oil ⎯ Essential oils
The English word essential oils describes what is better, an essential oil is actually the essence of a plant. That is, the aroma substance itself that creates the taste or smell of that particular plant. The essential oils are often called natural perfume oils and are extracted directly from different parts of a plant. You can extract essential oil from both the bark of a tree, or flowers, seeds, roots, tubers and yes, everything possible.
In nature, these essences exist to help the plant in different ways. It may be to attract important insights for pollination or to attract other beneficial insects. Studies also show that the essential substances can also provide protection against pests , fungal attacks, species-specific diseases and bacteria.
What characterizes an essential oil?
Essential oil, just like all other oils, is different depending on the plant or part of the plant from which it is extracted. They are usually more viscous than, for example, vegetable oils found in the trade, but this is usually a sign that they are natural.
The oils are concentrates, so they often have an intense scent and in their purest form, almost all essential oils are dangerous. The concentrates are therefore clearly marked and it is extremely important to follow the advice and recommendations found on the packaging of an essential oil. Did you know that several of the essential oils are fatal to aquatic organisms or that most are fatal if you drink or swallow the oil? Therefore, essential oils should almost never be used in their raw form, but diluted before using them.
There is essential oil and then there is real essential oil
It's just like with anything else, variation in quality can occur between the same type of oil. Partly it may depend on the producer. The quality can also vary depending on how the oil is extracted. But then there are factors such as plant conditions, climate and the way the plant is harvested that also play a role.
Choosing an oil that is organic is our number one tip and choosing oil from a well-known producer is tip number two. Essential oils are expensive, so heed the warning bells if you find oils really cheap.
How to prepare an essential oil?
The most common method is distillation or cold pressing. However, both methods produce different types of essential oil, one can be even more concentrated than the other and you can extract different chemical compositions depending on the method.
Production of essential oil by steam distillation
- The harvested plant material is placed in a still over boiling water.
- When heated, the oils rise with the steam and are transported further.
- The steam moves through a tube surrounded by cold water which causes the steam to condense and turn back into water.
- The oil is separated from the collected water.
Production of essential oil by cold pressing
- Most often, cold pressing is used for fruit and the first step is cleaning.
- The fruit is placed in a container where it is processed with nails, graters or other methods to extract the oils from the fruit.
- Water is added and mixed with the botanical material. The oil released rises.
- The essential oil is collected and carefully separated from the water.
Why should you use essential oil in particular?
Unlike vegetable oils, essential oils have a different structure, which helps them evaporate more easily. They are volatile in nature and spread easily with the wind. These properties are taken advantage of when using essential oil in, for example, aromatherapy. An example is our candles in the Balance series, which all contain higher levels of essential oils.
It is precisely with aromatherapy that the essential oil is most associated. The chemical composition of an essential oil often comes with good physical properties. Lavender oil is known to have a relaxing effect, orange to give energy or like green tea to be cleansing. A scent with lavender is, among other things , Soothing Spa or our mosquito candle Lavender Blossom & Cedarwood .
Today there is an abundance of essential oils and home remedies how to best use them. For us, they do well in our fragrance oils that we use for our products.
