HOW ESSENTIAL OILS ARE MADE

 THE PROCESS

Essential oils are made by distilling large amounts of plant and flower material. The extracted oils are very fragrant and highly concentrated. Oils and hydrosols can be used for a variety of different uses, such as a pleasant air freshener, skin care products, perfume, ailment remedies and household cleaners. Essential oils most likely have become popular because they are shown to be effective and only a small amount is needed.  Hydrosols have similar properties to essential oils but are mostly distilled water with a lighter concentration of infused essential oils.

WHAT IT TAKES

A LOT of lavender flowers are needed to produce a small amount of lavender essential oil. In fact, after distillation of lavender flowers and tops, only about .5%-2% of the total yield results in essential oil.  The yield can vary depending on the type of lavender plants used and the health of the crop. Even more surprising, it takes about 60 whole rose buds to make one drop of rose essential oil, which is probably why pure rose essential oil is so expensive!

There are approximately 600 drops of essential oil in a 1 ounce bottle. The amount of essential oils in personal care products should only be about 2% of the total ingredients. Very little is needed and as most Certified Aromatherapists will tell you – do NOT ingest them. Essential oils are of too high a concentration to be taken internally unless under the care of a professional.

MAKE YOUR OWN ESSENTIAL OIL ROLLERS

Check out this POST on how to make your own essential oil rollers. It can be fun to play with different blends. Many oil rollers are used for skin care or aromatherapy. Calming essential oil rollers are very popular right now as we all tend to have stressful environments or situations that we have to deal with on a daily basis. Stressful situations also make sleep difficult. Thankfully, essential oil rollers can also be helpful for rest and relaxation. Lavender essential oil has been proven to relieve stress and promote relaxation, along with chamomile, citrus scents and a few others such as ylang ylang.

If you would like to try Calm or one of our other essential oil products, check out these pretty smelling blends! Choose from Calm, Mend or Joy.  As always, thank you for visiting our site! Please share with others and join our newsletter for recipes, tips and discounts.

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References:

www.ecowatch.com
www.essentialoil.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.doterra.com
www.mountainroseherbs.com
Reference Guide for Essential Oils, Connie and Alan Higley, 11th Edition
The New Age Herbalist, Richard Mabey