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The essence of a plant can be extracted and transformed into pure oil, using a chemical process that requires a considerable amount of plant material for its production. The result is a potent, botanical fragrance often referred to as an essential oil. Known for aromatherapy benefits, the scent of pure essential oils can have a... more »
An essential oil is a concentrated substance extracted from a plant by distillation. They are highly aromatic liquids, called "essential" because they convey the essential scent of their plant of origin. Essential oils have been used since ancient times for both aesthetic and medicinal purposes, and the rise of aromatherapy in the... more »
Essential oils have long been known for their therapeutic properties. In many cultures, healing with essential oils is a time-tested tradition that has resulted in elevated health and disease eradication. In other cultures, notably western civilizations, the healing concepts of essential oils are complementary practices to ... more »
Essential oils are distillations of plant materials primarily acquired through a steaming process of distillation that separates and purifies the oils. More than 3,000 plants have been distilled into essential oils. These oils are commonly used in the creation of fragrances, perfumes, soaps, candles, as food enhancers, in incense and... more »
Essential oils are created by distilling and pressing plant materials to produce a concentrated oil that retains the aroma and characteristics of the original plant. Essential oil extracts can be harvested from all parts of a plant and each plant produces the desired reduction based on its inherent properties. more »
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Essential oils are a volatile oil derived from flowers, stems, buds or bark of particular plants. The oil can be extracted through steam... more »
Essential oils are a great alternative medicine option. Essential oils use aromatherapy to treat stress conditions and health issues such as... more »
Essential oils are everywhere. They smell good, add flavor to our cooking and have much to offer in the way of therapeutic value. Essential oils... more »
Essential oils are derived from plants, and they have strong therapeutic powers. They can alleviate many different ailments, and the shower... more »
There are many pain relieving essential oils, many essential oils that are great for back problems. When choosing an essential oil for back... more »
An essential oil is a concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile or ethereal oils, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove. An oil is "essential" in the sense that it carries a distinctive scent, or essence, of the plant. Essential oils do not as a group need to have any specific chemical properties in common, beyond conveying characteristic fragrances. They are not to be confused with essential fatty acids.
Essential oils are generally extracted by distillation. Other processes include expression, or solvent extraction. They are used in perfumes, cosmetics, soap and other products, for flavoring food and drink, and for scenting incense and household cleaning products.
Various essential oils have been used medicinally at different periods in history. Medical application proposed by those who sell medicinal oils range from skin treatments to remedies for cancer, and are often based on historical use of these oils for these purposes. Such claims are now subject to regulation in most countries, and have grown more vague to stay within these regulations.
Interest in essential oils has revived in recent decades with the popularity of aromatherapy, a branch of alternative medicine which claims that the specific aromas carried by essential oils have curative effects. Oils are volatilized or diluted in a carrier oil and used in massage, diffused in the air by a nebulizer or by heating over a candle flame, or burned as incense, for example.
Production
Distillation
Today, most common essential oils, such as lavender, peppermint, and eucalyptus, are distilled. Raw plant material, consisting of the flowers, leaves, wood, bark, roots, seeds, or peel, is put into an alembic (distillation apparatus) over water. As the water is heated the steam passes through the plant material, vaporizing the volatile comp read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential+oil
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