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What Are Essential Oils? Essential oils are highly concentrated liquids extracted from plant material— bark, berries, flowers, leaves, roots, seeds, or twigs—that are produced in several different ways. The most common is steam distillation, in which pressurized steam is passed through plant material, causing oils to evaporate out. The resulting mixture of oil and steam is condensed back into a liquid, and the oil is skimmed off. Plants that are too fragile for steam distillation, such as jasmine, orange blossom, and rose, can have their oils extracted using solvents. Essential oils created by this process are called absolutes and are generally used in perfumes or diffusers because the solvent residue makes most of them unsuitable for topical use. A third method is carbon dioxide extraction. While these oils are technically absolutes, the pressurized carbon dioxide used as a solvent leaves no harmful residue and also creates a thicker oil with a more rounded aroma. Finally, cold-pressed essential oils are those that have been extracted from fruit rind by grinding and pressing it. Most essential oils do not have an indefinite shelf life: citrus oils will lose their efficacy after about six months, while most floral oils will last a year or maybe two. A few—cedarwood, patchouli, sandalwood, and vetiver—become better with age. You can refrigerate oils that you do not use often. It is also a good idea to store them away from sunlight, in small bottles with less air space. Know What You're Getting The method of production is just one factor affecting the quality and price of essential oils. Others include the rarity of the plant, how and where it was grown, how many plants are needed to produce the oil, and the quality standards of the manufacturer. Genuine rose oil, for example, is extremely expensive. This is simply because it takes 200 Most essential pounds of roses (approximately 60,000 flowers) to make 1 ounce of rose oil. That equals 30 roses for a single drop! If you are paying less oils do not have than $80 for a 5-milliliter bottle of rose oil, it is either synthetic or it has been diluted with an indefinite shelf a carrier oil such as jojoba. Purchasing diluted oil is perfectly acceptable as long as you know life: citrus oils will what you are getting. Reputable suppliers will be up front about whether their products are sold lose their efficacy already diluted. Less reputable suppliers may be selling an adulterated blend (for example, a after about six small amount of rose oil mixed with cheaper rose geranium oil) and claiming it is 100 percent months, while rose oil. It's also important to know that different most floral oils varieties of the same plant can have different uses. For example, high-altitude French lavender will last a year or is most often used in skin care products, while Bulgarian or English lavender is used in bath maybe two. products, diffusers, or as a sleep aid. The variety called spike lavender is higher in camphor, which brings respiratory benefits. Lavandin is a hybrid of English lavender and spike lavender, and "40/42" is a blend of several varieties that is stretched with synthetic lavender oil and used by many soapmakers. Even the same plant can produce widely different oils. Many years ago, I purchased a brand of ginger oil which I found very disappointing. It didn't really smell like ginger. It wasn't until a few years later, when I had learned more about essential oils, that I realized I had purchased an oil made from dried ginger root instead of fresh. What a difference! Cut Through Marketing Hype I strongly recommend purchasing essential oils only from reputable distributors that specialize in aromatherapy supplies. Unfortunately, there are companies out there that rely more on outlandish claims than on the quality of their products and others that sell synthetic fragrance under the guise of essential oil. Here are a few red flags to watch for when choosing a product. SYNTHETIC SUBSTITUTION Although we use aromatherapy to mean the therapeutic use of essential oils, the word is not formally defined or regulated by the US government. As a result, it is legal to sell products labeled "aromatherapy" that do not contain essential oils, but only synthetic fragrance. Get connected to your peers @ www.skincareprofessionals.com SkinDeep_JA_2013.indd 19 19 5/17/13 2:20 PM