Description Of Essential Oils

According to the National Association of Holistic Aromatherapy, essential oils are "highly concentrated aromatic extracts which are distilled from a variety of aromatic plant material." Essential oils are used neat, or undiluted, as well as diluted with carrier oils and utilized for their intense fragrance as well as their therapeutic properties in products ranging from candles to cleaning aids.

Origins

Essential oils are extracted from various plants from all over the world. From cinnamon essential oil from Ceylon to bergamot essential oil from Italy, the precious fluids from plants, trees, fruits and flowers are a prized product. Oils are extracted from almost every part of plants including the leaves, flowers, needles, twigs, fruit, wood, resins and roots.

Essential oils have a long history. According to Julia Lawless, author of the "Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils," ancient civilizations, such as the Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians, utilized the aromatic oils in practices ranging from beauty treatment to burial rituals.

Properties

Essential oils are classified as botanicals and are given scientific names such as Anthemis nobilis for chamomile and Citrus aurantium for sweet orange oil. They are made up of chemical constituents such as ketones, alcohols, terpenes and esters. These chemicals are considered therapeutic by some and are believed to have a number of beneficial properties, such as the ability to kill germs, reduce inflammation, promote skin repair and ease stress, among others.

Aromatic Descriptions

Essential oils are often described by the type of aroma they produce as well as the part of the plant they are extracted from. Citrus oils, such as orange, lime, grapefruit and bergamot, are considered citrusy or fruity. Oils extracted from flowers such as rose, jasmine and geranium are called floral, while oils extracted from wood products, such as bark and resin, are considered woody, earthy or balsamic.

Other terms used for the fragrances are fresh, sweet, sharp, herbaceous, camphorous, minty, spicy and medicinal.

Consistency

Because essential oils are extracted from a variety of plant parts, their consistency ranges from very thin and watery, such as eucalyptus oil, which is extracted from dried leaves and twigs, to extremely thick and hard to work with, like benzoin, which is extracted from resin of the Styrax Benzoin tree. Most oils are thin and very few are actually oily.

FDA Classification

The Food and Drug Administration deals with essential oils as either food additives, cosmetics or drugs. Oils purported to improve attractiveness, such as rose essential oil, are classified as cosmetics. Others, like peppermint, which claim to treat or prevent disease or illness, are considered drugs. Many essential oils can be used as food additives and are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FDA. These include allspice, chamomile, geranium, hyssop, lavender, peppermint, rose, spearmint and ylang-ylang.