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Essential oils are not all the same. Each has its own fragrance, properties and peculiarities. Each behaves in its own characteristic way. Perhaps it boils at a particularly high temperature (Useful as a fixative), or has a high antiseptic value or perhaps it contains a rare therapeutic agent such as azulene (In chamomile). Whatever the reason for its uniqueness no essential oil is the same as any other and this includes essential oils distilled from plants of the same species in different places or at different times. For these reasons, anyone who wants to understand essential oils must understand the individual characteristics of all the oils he/she uses. However, there are some generalisations that can be made about essential oils, as follows:
Essential Oils - Definition
Essential oils are distilled or pressed from plant parts. The product so obtained may or may not be further refined depending on circumstances. Regardless of its origin an essential oils are volatile which means that it will evaporate into the air. Essential oils dissolve in alcohol and in fixed oils but not in water.
The word essential is misused in English to imply importance or necessity when, in fact, it is the adjective formed from the noun essence. Other languages are more specific. Arabic, for instance, uses the word ruh that means spirit or breath, implying that the fragrant oil is the very life of the plant from which it was obtained.
The most common misunderstanding about essential oils is that they are produced by steeping the plant parts in a fixed oil. It is possible to produce a mildly fragrant oil in this way but nothing so powerful, intense and persistent as an essential oil.
Expression
The simplest extraction process, expression is most suitable for fruits with oil, contained within the peel, is liberated when the tiny capsules that contain it are burst. When the fruit has been separated the peel is put into presses and the oil is squeezed out. With the oil come water and impurities that must be removed before the oil can be used. Fruit oils can also be distilled. In the case of bergamot essential oil and lemon essential oil, for example, the distilled product contains no furo-coumarins and this makes for a safer oil for both therapist and patient.
Distillation
The most common extraction process. In its simplest form distillation entails immersing plant parts in water, boiling the mass and collecting the liquid which accumulates from the vapor produced. Although this method may be considered crude it remains the most effective way of extracting delicate oils such as rose since the highest temperature that can be reached is 100c.
Using steam distillation quite high temperatures can be reached, especially under pressure. Superheated steam is passed through the plant parts and then condensed whereupon the oil separates from the water. High temperatures liberate aromatic substances that might otherwise be difficult to extract.
