Yesterday while watching advertisements in between a TV program, I came across ads of several cosmetics, pain balm, and anti-ageing products boasting about the presence of essential oil. Essential oil has now become an important part of our daily lives. However, not many people know what an essential oil is? In this article, I have tried to throw some light on what are essential oil and its importance in our lives.
Essential oils are derived from different parts of plants and they offer many life-enhancing benefits. They are derived using several methods of distillation, steam distillation being the method to obtain the purest form. Although termed as oil, essential oils do not have any oily feel to them. While most of them are clear, some oils are diluted with carrier oils like apricot, sweet almond or grape seed.
Organic Versus Non-Organic Essential Oil
Organic essential oils are extracted from plants that are grown using organic mean without usage of any artificial elements like pesticides, herbicides or any other method of unnatural treatment. Non-organic essential oils are extracted from plants that are grown with the usage of pesticides, herbicides and other elements helpful in the easy growth of plant. Non-organic essential oil may contain toxic or unnatural substances which may cause harmful reaction on your body and skin. Organic essential oil is costlier than non-organic oil as the cost of harvesting a plant with completely organic means is higher.
Essential Oil for Aromatherapy
The most important use of pure essential oils is in Aromatherapy . Aromatherapy is a process of improving one’s physical and mental well-being by diffusion of pure essential oils, which is absorbed by body through the skin as well as through inflation. Aromatherapy takes into account the profound effect that smell has on our physical, emotional and mental surroundings. Thus in aromatherapy it is believed that essential oil can also have positive effects on our physical and emotional well-being. The inhaling of essential oils can trigger the release of brain chemicals, such as serotonin.
Different types of organic essential have different ways of applying. While some essential oils can be used in electric or candle type diffuser as a spray some other essential oils can be blended into carrier oil for using in skin. Essential oils can also be used for making of soaps, lotions, cosmetics, and other beauty and body care products.
How Long Does the Oil Stay?
After application of essential oil on skin or its absorption through inhalation, it efficiently leaves the body within four hours either through perspiration or exhaling or both. Therefore, there are no informed side effects or residual built up of using essential oils in aromatherapy .
For better aromatherapy results, it is important that the essential oil you use is organic and is free from all sorts of impurities.
Abhinav Solanki is an expert on essential oils, having many years of experience in the health sector. I am a distiller of essential oil , absolutes yellow camphor oil and attars. I have several years experience on distillation, essential oil extraction etc. I am specialized in rare handmade Indian Attars.