Essential Oils – The Essence of Nature The world of essential oils is the world of fragrance - the smells of the plant world in tiny bottles. Essential oils are not really oils – like mustard oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, etc. Essential oils are plant extracts that appear more like water than oil. Essential oil is generally distilled from plant parts such as flower, leaf, bark or roots. It is the very essence of the plant, the life force. Most plants have volatile, aromatic, cosmetic and medicinal qualities. These qualities are retained in a concentrated from in the essential oil of the plant.
From Ancient Times From the commonly known sandalwood oil, eucalyptus oil and lemongrass oil to the exquisitely fragrant lavender and jasmine oils, the list of essential oils is quite long. Essential oils have been in use since 2000 BC. The Egyptians used them for embalming dead bodies as well as a cosmetic. The Egyptians and Greeks also used aromatic essential oils in beauty care, additive to food and for religious ceremonies. Aromatherapy was in practice among the Romans of the ancient days. The ancient medical system of Ayurveda in India, which uses herbs for treatments, has a large repertoire of essential oils in its texts. Extraction of essential oils was prevalent in medieval Europe for making perfumes and as medicine.
A field of Lavender
Oil Extraction The selected plant material is subjected to steam distillation process. This liberates the essential oil into the steam. On cooling the mixture the water and the oil separate. The distillation process has to highly precise in terms of its temperature and pressure to ensure the quality of the extracted oil. The plant material too has to carefully chosen for its season of harvest because the oil content could differ according to the season. The quantity of the raw material of the plant required is substantial when compared to the quantity of oil. For example, to yield 5 ml of high grade Rose oil you need about 12,000 blossoms of rose blossoms. Though Steam distillation is the most common extraction method, oils of citrus fruits such as lemon are extracted through compression of the fruit. Another few essential oils are extracted by adding binding solvents to it at first and later removing the solvents from the final product.
Uses The uses of essential uses can be mainly classified into three: cosmetic, perfumery and medical. In addition, some essential oils are used as insect repellants. The oil of Sandalwood is a popular essential oil used in India. It forms the fixative of some of the best perfumes available in the world. It is said to be antiseptic and anti-inflammatory. Basil
(Tulsi) extract is highly medicinal and is used in many cosmetics. Similarly, Margosa (Neem) and Mint are also commonly used in the manufacture of soaps, skin conditioners, shampoos etc. Products made with essential oil bases are used as air purifiers and surface cleaners also. Lemon grass oil is widely used as a medicine for rheumatism, headache and fever and also as a flavoring agent. Oil from Tea tree is used for scalp conditioning and dandruff. The extract from Agarwood is used in incense sticks (Agar bathis) in India and elsewhere. One has to remember that all fragrant oils are not necessarily essential oils. Fragrant oils are often a mixture of essential oils and synthetic oils. Essential oils are purely natural. Aromatherapy Aromatherapy, a system of alternative medicine followed by many is based on the principle that human body can respond to specific olfactory stimuli. Oil of Lemon is said to be a mood-lifter. According to its practitioners, certain essential oils can stimulate and also calm down mental state. They also used compounds of certain essential oils for minor maladies. However, use of pure and undiluted essential oil, either internally or externally is totally unadvisable. Essential oils are contra-indicative for pregnant women and other susceptible people. Pure oils should be used only under medical advice, since sometimes it can cause skin and respiratory problems among others.