What Are Essential Oils

Essential oils are very small amounts of oil found in tiny pockets or cells of natural plants. They are volatile, meaning they easily evaporate, infusing the air with their aroma. Essential or volatile oils can be contained in various parts of a plant including peel, bark, leaves, flowers, wood and seeds. Different plants contain different amounts of oil. An orange is noticeably plentiful in oil, which releases when you peel it. In contrast, a rose is far less plentiful in oil—it takes one ton of petals to produce about ten ounces of rose oil. Each type of oil has its own unique properties and therapeutic benefits.

How Essential Oils Are Produced

There are three primary methods for extracting essential oils from plants. They include:

• Steam Distillation: The most popular and widely used method for extracting essential oils. The plant material is placed into a container above water (similar to a double boiler) which is heated from below. As the steam from the water rises the plant releases its tiny pockets of oil which combine with the rising steam. The steam carries the oil upward and through a coil which cools the steam, which condenses to a liquid. Because oil and water do not mix, the oil floats to the top of the water, forming a thin film. The oil is then separated from the water as pure essential oil, ready for use.
• Cold Pressing / Expression: A simple method of extracting essential oils, frequently used to extract oil from fruit. The oil-containing portion of the plant, such as its peel, is put under pressure, releasing the tiny pockets of oil. The oil is then collected for use.
• Solvent Extraction: This method uses a solvent to draw out the desired oils from plants. A specific chemical solvent is mixed with the plant material and the solvent draws out the essential oil. The plant material is removed leaving a solution of the solvent and the essential oil. The essential oil is then separated from the solvent and the oil is collected.

How Essential Oils Work

Aromatherapy goes far beyond the benefits someone receives by smelling essential oils. Essential oils can interact with body chemistry through inhalation and absorption, resulting in wonderful therapeutic effects. Different essential oils are absorbed through the skin at various rates. For example, if you rub a clove of garlic on the bottoms of the feet, the oils will be taken in through the skin and transported in the blood, thus becoming present in odor on the breath.

Essential oils have three distinct interactions with the human body:

• Pharmacological: Chemical changes which take place when an essential oil enters the bloodstream and reacts with the hormones, enzymes and other natural elements of the body.
• Physiological: Effects on the human body's systems, such as stimulation or sedation.
• Psychological: Effects that happen when essential oils are inhaled and the human body responds to the odor. The olfactory nerve tracts run directly to the limbic system, the oldest part of the brain, which governs memory and emotion.

Carrier Oils

Essentiel Elements products use a natural carrier oil to dilute essential oils for safe use in direct application to the skin. This oil is a highly effective moisturiser and provides nutrients to keep skin soft, smooth and supple. Essentiel Elements products never use mineral oils, but rather rely on high oleic natural sunflower oil, which has the following properties:

• Developed from conventional plant breeding techniques and without genetic modifications, high oleic sunflower oil differs from ordinary sunflower oil. It contains high levels of monounsaturated fatty acid making it naturally stable and highly resistant to becoming rancid.
• Provides lightweight, long lasting moisture.
• Is high in vitamin E and absorbed easily into skin.
• Blends well with essential oils without interfering with the aromatic or therapeutic benefits of the essential oil.

The Vitamin E found in this high oleic natural sunflower oil provides these additional benefits:

• A powerful antioxidant that protects the skin from UV rays and combats visible signs of aging and loss of firmness of the skin.
• Heals and moisturises the skin.
• Lubricates and enriches the skin.
• Acts as a natural preservative.