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Defining an Essential Oil
What Defines an Essential Oil?
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in their Vocabulary of Natural Materials (ISO/D1S9235.2) defines an essential oil as follows: “An essential oil is a product made by distillation with either water or steam or by mechanical processing of citrus rinds or by dry distillation of natural materials. Following the distillation, the essential oil is physically separated from the water phase.”
are natural organic substances which are produced in various glands and sacs within aromatic plants. Each essential oil is usually produced in one part of the plant, except in a few cases. Where a plant produces essential oils in more than one of its parts, differences of odour and hence differences in chemical composition occur. Essential oils have a long history of use as medicinal agents. In an article published in the 1930’s on the Antimicrobial activity of various essential oils, the point is made that too many individuals have difficulty in accepting that aromatic substances can be therapeutic as they are equated with perfumes rather than medicine. Essential oils have incredible activity and known efficacy against a variety of bacteria, fungi and viruses. They also happen to smell divine! Vital Nature is dedicated to supporting the proper therapeutic application of essential oils to empower and improve an individual’s health and well-being.
Dr. Brian Lawrence states "For an essential oil to be a true essential oil, it must be isolated by physical means only. The physical methods used are distillation (steam, steam/water and water) or expression (also known as cold pressing, a unique feature for citrus peel oils). There is one other method of oil isolation specific to a very limited number of essential oil plants. This is a maceration/distillation. In the process, the plant material is macerated in warm water to release the enzyme-bound essential oil. Examples of oils produced by maceration are onion, garlic, wintergreen, bitter almond, etc. What is NOT an Essential oil is a CO2 extract, a halohydrocarbon extract or an empyreumatic distillate."
How to smell an essential oil
Always approach essential oils with the awareness that they are very powerful. It is best to begin by holding the bottle or smell strip approx. 4-5 inches away from your nose and then move it upwards towards your nose depending on how much you can smell and how close you need it to be in order to enjoy its aroma.
As you hold the smell testing strip or the bottle of essential oil below your nose, gently move it back and forth from the left nostril to the right. This way you receive the full spectrum of aroma the oil has to give. The aroma should expand as you continue to smell, with several layers to the aroma.
Top 12 Most Popular Essential Oils
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