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Essential oils and their use

Essential oils are highly potent compounds. You have most likely come across them in many different contexts. They are aromatic and powerful plant extract concentrates that capture the properties of the plant in their purest form. Essential oils are produced by steam distillation, cold pressing, or tapping resin. A small bottle of essential oil typically requires several kilograms of fresh raw material. It is telling that 4-5 tons of rose petals are needed to produce one liter of rose essential oil.

All parts of a plant can contain essential oil: the flower, leaf, wood, root, bark, or fruit. In fact, several different essential oils can be extracted from the same plant.

Likewise, depending on the cultivation method (organic or otherwise), climatic conditions, origin, or time of year, the same plant may synthesize essences with different compositions and therefore different effects.

Uses of essential oils

Essential oils are most commonly used in 3 different ways: aromatically, topically, and internally. We will now tell you more about these ways of using essential oils.

Aromatic use of essential oils

Aromatic use is probably the most familiar and common method. It means smelling and inhaling oils by adding drops to, for example, a diffuser, warm water, or laundry vinegar. It is easy to become captivated by essential oils through their scents, as fragrances are one of the easiest ways to find the desired mood and state of being. The sense of smell is the most direct route to the brain. Essential oils have many different aromatherapeutic effects on the mind and body.

Essential oils are often added to sachets that release fragrance into a room for a long time. Scent sticks have the same effect. The advantage of a diffuser is the moisture it adds to the room air in addition to its wonderful scent. This allows the scent molecules to spread evenly and quickly. The scent of essential oil mixed into laundry vinegar travels with you through your clean clothes all day. Citrus added to cleaning products, meanwhile, freshens the entire home.

Topical use of essential oils

Oils can also be used topically by adding a couple of drops to massage oil or combining them with moisturizer to enhance skincare. Oils are quickly absorbed through the skin, so their benefits appear rapidly. Through the skin, essential oils affect circulation, lymphatic flow, and the nervous system.

Like perfumes, essential oils should be applied to the body's pulse points. These include the wrists, neck, and feet. At pulse points, blood flows close to the surface of the skin, which enhances the effects of essential oils.

However, note that essential oils from citrus fruits (orange, bergamot, lemon, etc.) are photosensitizing. Do not expose yourself to the sun for 12 hours after application.

Oils can nevertheless be applied to many areas of the body (such as the abdomen, chest, temples, and neck…). However, avoid particularly sensitive areas such as the eyes, ears, nose, mucous membranes, and the surrounding skin. The safest place to begin topical use of essential oils is the feet. The skin on the soles of the feet is thick, and you can easily monitor the effects of essential oils by applying oil to the soles overnight. Remember to use them safely and add one drop of essential oil to your foot cream.

Try essential oils in bath water as well. Combined with, for example, softening and relaxing Epsom salt, the experience has a true spa-like atmosphere. However, do not add the oil directly to the bath water; first mix a couple of drops with Epsom salt, then dissolve the mixture in warm water.

Internal use of essential oils

For many people, using essential oils internally is still less familiar. Caution is warranted, as essential oils are extremely potent, and far from all essential oils are recommended for internal use. Essential oils intended for internal use must always be diluted properly and generously. Adding one drop to a sugar cube or a neutral tablet goes a long way.

Essential oils are generally not intended for internal use, but most Fleurance Nature products can also be used internally. We always recommend consulting your own doctor if you are unsure about using an essential oil internally or have no experience with their effects.

Essential oils can also be used in the sauna. Read more:
The relaxing magic of the sauna - essential oils as part of your sauna session

How do essential oils work?

Pure essential oils do not dissolve in water. They can be mixed with other oils, and combining different essential oils allows you to create your own interesting blends. You can also combine the effects of different essential oils. There are many of them. Their small usage quantity can be misleading, as essential oils contain vast amounts of active compounds in concentrated form. For example, lavender essential oil contains nearly 300 of them.

Essential oils have characteristic effects based on the raw material used. For example, lavender is relaxing and citrus oils are invigorating. Many woody scents are suitable for purifying indoor air. In essential oils, cinnamon has an antioxidant and stimulating effect.

When you have a cold and breathing is difficult, you can try adding a couple of drops of eucalyptus or peppermint to a diffuser at night. It effectively opens the airways and makes breathing easier during the night. Peppermint is also known to aid digestion.

During stressful periods, a drop of lavender on the corner of your pillow can help you sleep more peacefully and with less stress. Bergamot, meanwhile, strengthens the immune system. Clove is especially suitable for the cold season. It has a calming and warming effect. Sweet orange creates a sunny, peaceful, and relaxed atmosphere around it.

Shelf life of essential oil

If you protect the bottle from light, keep it away from heat, and store it in a dry place, pure essential oil will last for 5 years even after opening. Citrus and resinous essential oils, which are more fragile, can only be stored for one year after opening because they oxidize very quickly.

3 tips for identifying expired oil

  • the original scent has changed
  • the appearance has become darker
  • the viscosity, or consistency, has changed

Did you know?

Essential oils are sensitive to the sun's ultraviolet radiation and to evaporation. That is why they are supplied in colored, tightly sealed glass bottles.

How to dispose of expired essential oil?

You can take essential oils to a pharmacy, where they will be disposed of appropriately. However, we recommend recycling them. Expired oil is no longer suitable for use on the skin, but it can be recycled by adding a few drops to, for example, potpourri to revive its scent. You can also try putting drops on a tissue, piece of fabric, or cotton wool and placing it in your wardrobe. Lavender essential oil is a natural moth repellent.

You can also remove bad odors from, for example, a garbage bin or garbage cupboard by adding citrus essential oils to the bottom of the bin or a corner of the cupboard. Citrus neutralizes odors. Citrus oils are also excellent for cleaning, so you can add them to vinegar to freshen floors or bathrooms.

Consider family members

Remember that essential oils are not recommended for pregnant people, children, or animals in general. However, a school-age child may already benefit from steam inhalation during cold season and from the beneficial effects of essential oil gently diffused into the room air.

Read more about essential oils:

The relaxing effect of the sauna - essential oils as part of your sauna session

How to identify genuine essential oil and distinguish it from counterfeits

Phototoxicity - essential oils, the sun, and safety

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E.O.B.B.D. -standardization behind pure essential oils

E.O.B.B.D. Pure oil compliant with the standard has undergone a rigorous 14-step testing process, confirming that all properties, molecular fingerprint, and botanical definition are correctly established.

Standard-compliant essential oils can be traced back to the producing country, specific location, plant species, and applicable chemotype. Production is sustainable and quality impeccable.

E.O.B.B.D Pure was first introduced in France in the 1970s and has since become the standard for evaluating pure essential oils. It is a guarantee for you of high-quality essential oils.

You can read more about the steps of the standard at the bottom of the page.

Essential oils

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E.O.B.B.D Pure - standardized process

  • 1. PLANT DATA

    Each plant family and species is given Latin names that have very precise meanings. If a company producing essential oils cannot collect the correct species with the correct botanical name, they will not produce the correct compounds for therapeutic effect. E.O.B.B.D evaluates all botanical species to accurately identify the chemical compounds present in the product.

  • 2. DETERMINATION OF COMPOUNDS AND CONCENTRATION

    It is important to know where essential oils are produced and stored in the plant.
    For example, the oils in cinnamon leaves and cinnamon bark have different chemical compositions and compound percentages, even though they have similar aromas. You don't want to bake with bitter cinnamon leaf oil, nor do you want to bathe in cinnamon bark oil coated with paprika. It is important to know which part of the plant is harvested for the oil so that you can identify its proper use.

  • 3. PHYSICAL HEALTH OF THE PLANT

    The EOBBD inspection of the plant producing essential oils and the harvest is extensive. In addition to the health of the harvested plant, it also includes an assessment of nearby plants that may affect the compounds contained in the final oil yield.

  • 4. DIFFERENT EXTRACTION PROCESSES

    The process by which oil is extracted from plant material affects the final quality of essential oils and, when done correctly, preserves their longevity.

    There are several extraction methods, varying according to the desired essential oil. Steam distillation at minimal pressure is the preferred process for 90% of essential oils. However, cold pressing is ideal for citrus oils. For delicate, flower-based essential oils, such as rose and ylang-ylang, hydrodistillation in a water bath is best.

  • 5. TESTING OF COMPOUNDS

    The physical comprehensive analysis of EOBBD examines the compounds of the essential oil. Smaller compounds are often necessary to activate the main compounds, which determines whether the oils are effective in therapeutic use.

  • 6. REFRACTION ANGLE OF LIGHT RAY

    EOBBD evaluators reflect light through the liquid oil and measure the angle of refraction of the light beam.

    Essential oils that are sealed and created with the correct parameters refract light well at a certain coefficient. If the oils are diluted, this angle of refraction changes. The refractive index is a very reliable measurement of whether the
    essential oil is pure and unadulterated.

  • 7. COLOR

    Color is an important factor in the evaluation of essential oils. For example, coriander seeds have a slight color that is distinctly different from the crystal-clear coriander leaf oil.
    The color of cinnamon bark oil is completely different from that of cinnamon leaf oil.
    The color of an essential oil identifies its source and thus reveals the oil's
    properties.

  • 8. DENSITY

    This is a highly technical measurement of atomic mass units and
    chemical analysis of molecular bonds. The physical density of oils is indexed. This test reveals whether the essential oil is counterfeit at the atomic level.

  • 9. SCENT

    The scent of the essential oil must correspond to the species listed on the label. Oils and synthetic chemicals with similar components may have a similar smell, but the subtle elements and notes of the aroma reveal the true species. In particular, low-quality citrus oils are often derived from chemicals that mimic part of the recognizable citrus fruit scent.

  • 10. VALON LIIKE

    This measurement evaluation detects the way light passing through the oil rotates when the oil is in motion. Counterfeit oil scatters light outside the prism, whereas pure essential oil draws light towards the center.

  • 11. EVALUATION OF THE UUTON

    A trained essential oils expert understands all the ingredients of any oil and recognizes its visual characteristics. The oil's viscosity, color, clarity, and other visible properties indicate purity. The appearance of inappropriate cloudiness, particles, or discolorations can reveal that the oil has been extracted incorrectly.

  • 12. IMPORTANT CLIMATE

    Changing the country of origin for plant material producing essential oils can result in such a unique product that it may behave quite differently from oil extracted from plants growing just a few hundred miles away. Altitude, water, insects, and soil quality are just a few parameters that affect the quality of the oil and the percentages of compounds it contains.

    When exposed to different environmental factors, the same plant species can contain significantly altered concentrations of key compounds.

  • 13. TRACEABILITY

    EOBBD requires that the producer of essential oils trace the batch from the field to the finished product and document every stop along the way.
    If the oil is traced to a clearinghouse, its origin may be unknown,
    so quality cannot be documented. It is important that the entire traceability chain
    is documented to ensure that the oil has not been adulterated at any stage.

  • 14. SUBSOIL ANALYSIS

    The importance of soil microbiology is vital for the plant and the final harvest. EOBBD assesses the soil where oil plants are grown to ensure that the growing conditions are truly organic or natural. If microbes are not measured at a certain ratio, this may indicate that the cultivation processes are not organic and the final crop may contain traces of unwanted chemicals, pesticides, and herbicides that can destroy the effectiveness and purity of essential oils.