Understanding the Composition and Breakdown of Essential Oils

• ​Some people like to take the product as a whole, rather than going through all the details of its manufacturing. However, there are some manufacturers that provide detailed information of the product as a marketing technique.

• For this, they use gas chromatography to break down the essential oils into their constituent parts. If you want to be certain about what you are using, then you might like to ask for these reports.

• These tests provide two major functions. The first is to ensure there is sufficient purity in the product. The second is about the potency of the essential oils. The guidelines for each oil are only headline figures.

• You need to drill down into the actual constituents of the bespoke product that has been designed for your body type and the specific health situation you are in. Some people are concerned about the use of exotic plants, because they disrupt the ecology of not only the origin, but also the destination country.

• That is why some companies that deal in essential oils have opted to develop distribution lines, so  they can import any ingredients not readily available within the home country. What should be of concern to you, the consumer, is whether the standards of production are not compromised by simply shifting the process to another country. You should expect excellent results, regardless of the location in which you use the essential oils.

• ​The certification that some of these essential oils have will act as a point of guidance, when you want to test their efficacy and quality. For example, before they can be described as being organic, they must meet a set of very stringent criteria.

• The USDA Organic Standards take the lead on this. An alternative is the BFA Organic Standards. Each country will have its own requirements, with a high degree of variability, depending on how seriously they take the potential challenges of using the wrong medications in the wrong way.

• There will be entry criteria, covering a number of areas, including the use of pesticides, the types of soils, and the growing conditions. If you are ever in doubt, then it is in your interest to actually do the investigation, so you can confirm whether the standards you may have set are being met. The aromatherapists you go to will, obviously, have a lot more information than you, but there are some, who are not particularly open about this information, if they feel it will reduce their commercial prospects.

• The idea is to ensure there are professional standards in the extraction, marketing, and use of essential oils. If those procedures are followed, then it may even be possible to get rid of the reputation the industry  has had for a long time, in terms of being dismissed as being pseudo-science. In all this, the user’s feedback is of utmost importance.

• The reaction you get from your body the first time you use an essential oil will tell you whether you should go ahead with it or stop the process completely. After all, we do not customarily like to be in discomfort, so if something does not feel right, then we will stop it at the earliest opportunity. The exceptions are vulnerable children, adults, and pets, who really rely on the decision-maker, as to whether to use or not to use the essential oils. Parents, guardians, and caregivers should exercise requisite discretion and caution when administering these oils. ​

• The development of the term “essential oil” gives us some instructive information about how we should go about using these products. This term stems from an Aristotelian conceptualization, which argued there are 4 principle elements that make up matter.

• The first is fire. The second is air. The third is earth, and the fourth is water. These first four are then complemented by a fifth element, known as “quintessence.” It is best understood as a life force that gives compulsion to the thing. Under this conceptualization, distilling would remove the spirit from that item.

• That is probably why we speak of spirits in the manufacturing of alcohol, which undergoes roughly the same distillation process as is seen when producing essential oils. Thus, when we speak of essence, we are talking about the life force of a plant.

• For example, mint will have all the elements described above, but then, it will also have its essence, which it can only share with human beings by way of an essential oil. Of course, these abstractions make little sense for people, who are brought up in a tactile tradition of seeing before believing.

• Nevertheless, there are compounds and chemicals within certain plants, which if turned into essential oil, can be used to alter the states of a human being. That much is not in dispute, and it is even seen practically in drugs, such as hallucinogens.

• The difference with essential oils is the fact they are invariably used for purposes of improving the human living condition, rather than intoxicating the person using them. In modern times, the use of essential oils has been dominated by the medicinal and therapeutic aspects.

• Nevertheless, there are also other uses, which are purely cosmetic. You will notice that most of the plants used in the production of essential oils can also be used to make perfumes.

• They are either top notes or bottom notes, and some companies actually do entire product ranges with that particular plant in mind. A case in point is Jasmine and Rose.