Essential Oils - the Beauty and Practicality

25 Mar

Written By Carey-Lou Jones

Collage of essential oils in various home locations

Welcome to this short article on essential oils - the beauty and practicality.

Our modern world is so fast and I sometimes wonder if we haven’t become a bit disconnected from nature.

Nature has an endless bounty. She keeps giving, so there is plenty for everyone.

Which is why I love things like essential oils and natural remedies.

These ways are often slower and gentler. It takes time to see the results. But our bodies are more in sync with them.

I also wonder if maybe because the actions of natural therapies are slower, this is a reminder to us to do just that - slow down, do less, let our bodies recover in their own time frame.

I hope you find this information interesting and can include some of the suggestions in your own home first aid kit.

So let’s have a look back through history at essential oils, shall we ?

History

Well, I’m sure it’s not surprise that aromatics can be traced through many ages and civilisations.

Here’s a few interesting facts from across the millennia:

In 4500 BC a Chinese Emperor recorded what he believed to be the medicinal properties of rhubarb, opium and pomegranate. These observations are respected for their perceptiveness to this day.

The Egyptian civilisation of around 3000 BC was particularly familiar with the art of aromatics. When the tomb of Tutankhamen was opened in 1922, many of the aromatic preparations discovered were still fragrant.

The Crusades to the middle east and the invasion of Spain by the Moors expanded the knowledge of aromatics in Europe where, in the Middle Ages, essences were even used to ward off the scourge of the Black Plague. One popular protection was to smear the body with “four thieves vinegar” - a concoction of absinth, rosemary, lavender, sage, mint, cinnamon, nutmeg, garlic and camphor, macerated in vinegar.

Distillation techniques were developed in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia for extracting aromatic substances from plants. These produced hydrosols which were valued for their gentle therapeutic properties and were often used in skincare, perfumery, and rituals.

Somewhere along the way, it was discovered that the volatile plant compounds also produced while distilling plant waters, had powerful therapeutic value of their own. Hence the discovery of what is now known as essential oils.

No surprises but much of modern day aromatherapy has been developed in France. A chemist named Rene-Maurice Gattefosse, after badly burning his hand, plunged it into the nearest liquid - a vat of lavender oil. He was so astounded at the healing that he became completely absorbed in what he came to name aromatherapy. He wrote many significant books explaining the properties of these essential oils - their anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and antibacterial properties.

What is an Essential Oil ?

Essential oils are volatile compounds extracted from plants. The aroma from these extracts is at least 70 times more concentrated than the herb or plant from which it is extracted.

Not all plants contain essential oils and only a small number are of therapeutic quality.

Essential oils are not fragrances or perfumed oils that are constructed in a laboratory. They are derived from many different plant parts - leaves, grass, roots, bark, gums, flowers, fruit and berries.

Essential oils are volatile which means they evaporate when exposed to direct light, heat, air and moisture. Because of this, it’s important to store them somewhere cool, dry and away from direct light. This is why they are nearly always packaged in amber glass. And keep your essential oils well away from children !

Essential oils work in conjunction with the body and encourage the natural healing process.

Essential oils are gifts from nature.

What Happens When You Inhale Essential Oils

When essential oils are inhaled, their aromas are first processed in the olfactory bulb, in the nose. The olfactory bulb is connected to the limbic system in the brain which influences memory and emotions. Aromas activate the amygdala which alters mood and emotions, good or bad.

Ever caught a whiff of something that takes you immediately back to a time and place ? And the feelings associated with that memory ? That’s the power of smell.

The sense of smell is very well developed in humans and is said to be 10,000 times more sensitive than taste. Experiments have shown that even 1/400,000,000 of a milligram per litre of air of a strong odorant can be detected !

It has been suggested that essential oils remain in the body for a minimum of four hours. They are then expelled through breathing, sweat and urine.

Mortar & pestle with leaves, herbs and oils — **Blends and Synergy**

When oils blend harmoniously the combination is called a synergy - the whole becoming greater than the sum of the parts. An example of synergy is the marked improvement in the anti-inflammatory qualities of chamomile when mixed with lavender.
Essential oils can be classified into three evaporation rates - top notes, middle notes and base notes.
**Top notes** are the lightest and quickest to evaporate. Maybe just a few hours - eucalyptus, for example.
**Middle notes** can last about a day - lavender, geranium, peppermint.
**Base notes** are slowest to evaporate and can even last a few days. Examples would be patchouli and sandalwood.
When creating your own blend, be sure to incorporate oils from each of these ranges.

Top Note Oils:

Cinnamon, clary sage, eucalyptus, grapefruit, lavender, lemon, orange, tea tree

Middle Note Oils:

Black pepper, chamomile, cinnamon, geranium, lavender, rosemary, ylang ylang

Base Note Oils:

Balsam Peru, cassia, cedarwood, frankincense, ginger, patchouli

I have some DIY recipes for my favourite essential oils in the links below.

How Are Essential Oils Extracted

Steam distillation

The main method of extracting essential oils is steam distillation. Large vats are filled with the selected part of the plant and sealed. The vats are either filled with water (distillation) or water is heated beneath them (steam distillation). This allows the steam to rupture the plant material, releasing the essence in the form of a vapour. The vapour cools as it passes through condensing tubes causing it to return to liquid form. This substance consists of two very distinct liquids - essential oil and the floral water. After separation the essential oil is collected. The floral water of some plants, such as lavender and rose, is collected and bottled too. Floral waters, or hydrosols, are known for their superb hydrating qualities.

Expression

Only oils from citrus fruits are extracted by the expression process. The oil glands lie very close to the fruit rind and are easily ruptured by squeezing or grating.

Why Essential Oils and Aromatherapy are so Good for Indulging

Aromatherapy is sensual. It affects the way we think and feel. Our sense of smell is significant when it comes to our feelings and relationships. The people we love and care about smell good to us. Everyone’s aroma is different - like a fingerprint - so we will be more attracted to some people than others.

Essential oils and aromatherapy help bring balance to the body, mind and soul. It is a holistic modality that helps alleviate stress, ward off illness and speed recovery after an illness. It can help with aches and pains. It can lift our mood.

How to Choose Essential Oils

First, source your oils from a reputable retailer or supplier. Look for the botanical name and/or the Latin name listed on the label. This will also help identify the specific oil you are purchasing as there are many different varieties within plant families. Information on purity or other ingredients added should also be listed as well as the country in which the plant was grown.

Modern science has learned how to copy the major and minor constituents of many plants and consequently synthetic oils are produced at a much lower cost. This is very clever, however, these copies - while they may smell like the real thing - do not possess the therapeutic qualities of pure essential oils.

Essential oils can have anywhere between 20-200 constituents. Their farming, extraction and transportation costs affect the price.

Rose essential oil, as an example, is extracted via steam distillation. It takes about 40 roses to make one drop of oil (about 1ml). Or approximately 4000kg of flowers to yield one litre of rose oil ! Hence the high price tag. If the rose essential oil you are considering buying is affordable, it is most likely not the real thing ! Or read the label - it may be pure but it may be diluted in a carrier oil, which can be the case with these more expensive oils.

What is a Carrier Oil

Carrier oils, otherwise known as fixed oils, base oils or vegetable oils, get their name from their ability to ‘carry’ essential oils for massage.

When you apply a carrier oil to the skin, it penetrates only the outermost 2-3 layers of the stratum corneum. The oil creates an occlusive layer on the outside of the skin and traps water beneath it.

This makes your skin feel temporarily softer and smoother.

Many plant-derived oils contain anti-ageing compounds such as flavonoids or tocopherols which can provide additional benefits to the skin.

Plant-derived oils are similar in make up to the natural oils on the skin, which means they are metabolised by the skin. It’s also why they feel so nice on our skin.

Examples of carrier oils are sweet almond, apricot kernel, jojoba, macadamia, coconut and evening primrose oil.

Cautions

Essential oils are not always mild. While they have amazing therapeutic properties, they can also be irritants and even toxic if ingested.

Most are best used in a carrier oil or a diffuser. There are a few essential oils that are safe to use neat on the skin. Always check the precautions before using. Keep your essential oils well away from children.

I hope this helps open the door for aromatherapy in your home and an exciting journey of discovery to understanding the beauty and practicality of these gifts from nature.

My Top Four Picks

These are my top four go-to’s:

Lavender Essential oil

Peppermint Essential Oil

Tea Tree Essential Oil

Eucalyptus Essential Oil

Check out the links in my other blogs to find out more about my four faves.

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Dennis Considen and John White, surgeons on the First Fleet (Australia), distilled eucalyptus oil from Eucalyptus piperita found growing on the shores of Port Jackson in 1788 to treat convicts and marines. Subsequently many of the early colonists extracted eucalyptus oil although it was not commercially available for some time afterwards.

Eucalyptus oil became an important industry during the post gold-rush era of the 1870s. The oil was often described as Australia's natural wonder and was exported internationally, largely for medicinal purposes. Eucalyptus oil was in particularly high demand during the global influenza pandemic of 1918-19.

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