What are Essential Oils?

Essential oils are highly aromatic, highly volatile compounds obtained by the process of steam distillation or cold pressing of flowers, leaves, seeds, bark and other parts of plants.

Producing an essential oil is both time and labor intensive, and in many cases takes an enormous amount of plant material. The price of an individual essential oil is reflective of just how much time, labor and material were needed for that particular essential oil.

For example, it takes approximately sixty thousand hand picked rose blossoms to produce just one ounce of rose essential oil, and around eight million hand-picked jasmine flowers to produce two pounds of jasmine essential oil. In addition, jasmine flowers must be picked on the first day they open, at night or during the very early hours of the morning before the sun rises.

Essential oils are made up of a complex cocktail of various naturally occurring chemical components, such as: Ketones (camphone, menthone), alcohols (bisabolol, farnesol, linalool, nerol), esters (benzyl acetate, geranyl acetate), terpenes (limonene, pinene), oxides (1,8 cineole), phenols (eugenol, thymol) and aldehydes (citral, cintronellal, geranial).

The presence and combination of these various chemical constituents gives an essential oil its therapeutic value/s. Its effects may include being: analgesic, antiseptic, antibacterial, decongestant, relaxant, sedative, stimulant, tonic and vasoconstrictive.

Generally, the actions of a specific essential oil will not vary greatly, although it is believed that its aromatherapy potency may be affected by the manner in which the plant is grown (that is, organic or chemical cultivation) and the method used for its extraction.

Although the purpose of essential oils, in terms of their usefulness to the plant, is not yet fully understood, we do know that they form an important part of the plant's immune system, helping to repel insects and other pests. Sometimes essential oils are referred to as the "blood" of the plant.

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