Essential Oils | Powerful Healing With These Volatile Oils

Applications of Essential Oils

The most commonly known application of Essential oils is aromatherapy. EOs contain aromatic compounds that alternative medicine therapists use for healing the body as well as relaxing the body. Aromatherapy utilizes the aromatic compounds of the oils for therapeutic purposes through topical application, massage, inhalation, and water immersion. Other applications of EOs include food and drink flavoring, perfumery, cosmetics, soaps, cleaning products as well as incense and diffusing.

Methods of Extraction of Essential Oils

Essential oils are extracted through: distillation, cold pressing or expression, solvent extraction, absolute oil extraction, enfleurage, sfumatura, resin tapping, and wax embedding.  In this section, we examine some of the processes of extraction.

Distillation

Distillation is the process of separating the plant source components or substances from a liquid mix using boiling and condensation.  The process of essential oils distillation may result in complete or partial separation.  Complete separation leads to higher purity, while partial separation can lead to a selection of various elements in the final product.  The most widely used method to extract EOs from plants is steam distillation.

Cold Pressing or Expression

Cold Pressing or Expression is the use of a mechanical device to press the essential oil plant. In most cases expression is used to extract essential oils from fruits e.g. citrus oils or even seeds. The process crushes and breaks the oil glands in the plant to release the oils.

Solvent Extraction

In the case of fragile plants such as jasmine, narcissus, and tuberose a process of using solvents is preferred over distillation to avoid damaging the plant due to the heat produced by the steam.  Solvent extraction uses organic compounds solvents such as benzene, tetrachloroethylene, and turpentine to extract the essential oils from the source. Solvent extraction leads to heavier oil molecules. While steam distillation produces volatile oils made up of smaller molecules which may dissipate quickly when exposed to air. Absolutes are therefore highly aromatic and more concentrated than other EOs.

Enfleurage

Another traditional process of extracting, absolutes is the more traditional enfleurage. Whereas essential oils are produced by distillation, boiling, or pressing, absolutes are produced through solvent extraction, or more traditionally, through enfleurage.  The enfleurage process uses odorless fats. The fats should be solid at room temperature to be able to capture the fragrant compounds removed by the plants. The process can be either a cold or hot enfleurage and was started in the south of France. Once the fat is saturated with fragrance, it is referred to as enfleurage pomade.

Classification of Essential Oils

While essential oils are numerous, very few and only the most popular are widely known. In order to use them effectively it is important to understand there classification which broadly falls into 3 classes: By Scent Notes, By Category Family and By Effects as well as Properties.

Classification By Scent Notes

Essential Oils can be classified by scent notes.  Scent notes fall into 3 distinct classes. Professional perfumers use scent notes, to help them understand the behavior of a specific essential oil based on its note.  The 3 classes of the scent notes are: top, middle, and base.  In addition, the notes are distinguished by the weight of the molecules i.e. the lighter the scent the faster it evaporates and therefore dissipates the heavier the scent the longer it takes to dissipate.

Most perfumes combine EOs from all three scent note classes top, middle, and base. This explains why once you apply perfume the initial wafting scent and the final scent that lingers… once the perfume settles are usually different.  The first fragrance that hits you when you apply perfume for example is the top note and normally lasts for an hour or two. The middle scent or heart note comes to the fore once the top note dissipates the heart note probably has the most effect on how the final scent from the top note will be once it settles. The result of the scent is based on the base note and lasts the longest it is also the heaviest and richest of the scents and can last an entire day or even two days.

Classification By Category Family

An important rule of thumb when mixing EOs is to first understand which scents blend well together. To do so, it is important to first understand the categories of essential oils. The core categories of essential oils are 7 in all including Citrus, Earthy, Floral, Herbal, Minty, Spicy, Woodsy. This is the reason why you will often hear a perfume described as Earthy or even Woodsy. Let’s take a look at examples of the oils based on the scent category: –

Citrus             –   Bergamot, Citronella, Guava Leaf, Kaffir Lime, Lemon, Melissa, Neroli, Orange, Verbena, Yuzu. This is a category of essential oils with a fresh, tangy scent derived from fruits like lemons and oranges, known for their uplifting and energizing properties.

Earthy            –   Amber, Angelica Root, Cedar, Cardamom, Leather, Oakmoss, Patchouli, Tobacco, Valerian, Vetiver is a Essential oils with a rich, deep scent reminiscent of the earth, often derived from roots or resins, valued for their grounding and calming effects.

Floral              –   Geranium, Jasmine, Lavender, Neroli, Palmarosa, Roman Chamomile, Rose Vanilla, Wisteria, Ylang Ylang. This are oils with a sweet, fragrant scent from flowers, used for their soothing and romantic qualities such as Lavender and Rose.

Herbal            –   Basil, Black Cumin, Cloves, Marjoram, Oregano, Pine, Rosemary, Sage, Tea Tree, Thyme. They are herbal essential oils with a fresh, green, or spicy scent from herbs and plants, known for their therapeutic and rejuvenating properties.

Minty             –   Bergamot, Birch, Cornmint, Dill, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Spearmint, Wintergreen. Oils with a cool, refreshing scent from mint plants, such as Peppermint, known for their invigorating and soothing effects.

Spicy               –   Aniseed, Ajowan, Black Pepper, Cinnamon Bark, Ginger Grass, Juniper, Nutmeg, Pimento Berry, Pink Pepper, Turmeric

Woodsy          –   Amyris, Black Pine, Carrot Seed, Cypress, Douglas Fir, Frankincense, Juniper, Myrrh, Rosewood, White Sage

Musky          –   Musky oils add depth and warmth to blends, enhancing their overall complexity, such as:

• Patchouli: Known for its rich, earthy, and slightly sweet aroma.
• Vetiver: Offers a deep, woody, and musky scent with grounding properties.
• Sandalwood: Provides a warm, creamy, and musky fragrance, often used in meditation and relaxation blends.
• Oud (Agarwood): Features a strong, complex, and musky scent, prized in high-end perfumery.
• Frankincense: Has a rich, resinous, and slightly musky aroma used for spiritual and calming purposes.

Classification By Effects & Properties

The application of essential oils is not just a factor of the scent or even by category blend. The most important consideration is the effect that the user wants to achieve. The effects or result of EOs is classified into 5 (five) broad effects i.e. Calming, Detoxifying, Energising, Immunity and Sleep. It is possible to blend several EOs using their classification to amplify the end result.  Examples of the oils based on effects and properties classification are:

Calming         –   Lavender, Melissa, Patchouli, Mandarin

Detoxifying    –   Juniper, Peppermint, Grapefruit, Lemongrass

Energy            –   Rosemary, Tea Tree, Bergamot, Spearmint

Immunity       –   Lemon, Niaouli, Cinnamon Bark, Clove

Sleep              –   Frankincense, Geranium, Rose, Chamomile

Health Benefits of Essential Oils

Essential oils, improves mood, creates an ambiance, perfumes a room, and is a form of healing therapy. Some key benefits of essential oils are:

-1- Stress & Anxiety

The power of scent is a centuries old secret. The use of essential oils through inhalation reduces stress and anxiety.  Once inhaled, essential oils send a signal to the brain to release emotions that make a person feel optimistic. This action reduces feels of stress and anxiety.  This explains why, massage using essential oils eliminates stress and induces a state of calm. Great examples of stress-relieving oils includes: Lavender, Melissa, Patchouli, Mandarin.

-2- Sleep Problems

Essential oils are a natural way to aid restful sleep. This is because some essential oils have calming effects that promote better deeper sleep to deal with insomnia. At the same time, essential oils are powerful enough to help clear airways to avoid and reduce snoring and sleep apnea both of which disrupt sleep. The most popular oil for addressing sleep problems is Lavender essential oil.

-3- Tension Headaches

Essential oils such as peppermint and even rosemary reduce headaches. The oils have anti-inflammatory and analgesic pain-relieving properties that lead to headache relief.Great examples are Peppermint oil that treats headaches and migraines as it contains menthol that can reduce pain and relax the muscles. Rosemary oil relaxes muscles, is anti-inflammatory and has analgesic pain-relieving properties. Chamomile oil is renown for relaxing the body and soothing muscles. This results in reduction of tension headaches as well as treatment of anxiety-inducing headaches.

-4- Sinus Issues

Some essential oils have properties that help to open nasal passages to allow better flow of air and clearing of sinuses.  Clogged sinuses cause tension headaches so the net result of using essential oils has double benefits. A great example of oils that help to sort out sinus issues includes: Eucalyptus oil opens up nasal passages and relieves sinuses with a net effect of healing sinus headaches.

-5- Healthy Hair

Some of the most common problems experienced by people in trying to deal with hair and scalp issues include dry hair, greasy hair, falling hair among many other everyday issues.  Essential oils effectively deal with these problems by increasing blood flow to the scalp and due to their antimicrobial and antibacterial properties and conditioning properties.

Great examples of the healing properties of essential oils are: Lavender oil that can speed up hair growth due to its cell growth and stress-reducing properties; Peppermint oil that caused increased circulation thus increasing hair follicles and promoting hair growth; Rosemary Oil improves hair thickness and growth by improving cellular generation; Cedarwood oil reduces hair loss by balancing the production of oil by the produced by the glands in the scalp it also has antifungal and antibacterial properties thus eliminating dandruff.

-6- Skin Nourishment

The skin is the largest organ of the body. Thankfully a key benefit of essential oils is skin nourishment and healing. Using essential oils is a natural approach of treating and even healing, some skin conditions such as irritation, inflammation, acne, eczema, insect bites, and even skin aging.

Try using such great oils such as French Cypress Oil to re-energize, revitalize and tighten the skin;  Lemongrass oil as a refreshing skin astringent to remove buildup, impurities after skin cleansing in order due to its antiseptic, antimicrobial, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial properties; Cinnamon oil can be a useful remedy to allow for better skin moisturization it also enhances blood flow by removing dead skin cells, therefore, improving the skin.

-7- Depression

Anecdotal evidence points to essential oils as an often under-utilized way of reducing anxiety by increasing relaxation to relieve depression.  Essential oils may not cure depression as there may exist other underlying triggers.  However, some great oils are Wild Ginger Oil influence behavioral responses when used to prevent depression; Bergamot oil when inhaled reduces anxiety and have a positive effect on depression.

-8- Colds and congestion

Essential oils ease the symptoms of cold and flu through decongestion, especially when administered through steam inhalation.  In many cases, this offers symptomatic relief.  Eucalyptus oil is a great oil for dealing with colds and congestion is which is an active ingredient in vapor rubs, due to a compound it contains called cineole.