Aromatherapy is a method of treating one’s body and mind, using completely natural materials, derived from plants and herbs. Predominantly, essential oils are used in Aromatheapy. These essential oils are extracted from plants leaves, stems, barks, roots, pods, and flowers. There is a wide range of plants and herbs, containing different essential oils, varying in chemical structures, physical properties, aroma, and frangrance. Invariably, essential oils are liquids, and they are volatile in nature.
Essential oils are not water-soluble and they require some kind of a vehicle or solvent to be blended with. The essential oil content, in plants, is small in quantity, varying from 0.5% up to 5% by weight. These essential oils are extracted from the plants, using various techniques, such as solvent extraction, supercritical extraction, and steam distillation. The methods of extraction, depends on the type of essential oil contained in a particular plant. Some essential oils are steaming volatile. The barks of some trees with steam volatile components are stem distilled and then the essential oils are separated due to immiscible nature of essential oil with water.
Many essential oils are extracted from flowers using solvent extraction method. For example, Jasmine oil is extracted from Jasmine flowers, using a solvent such as Hexane. The extracted Jasmine oils along with the solvent are subject to simple distillation, whereby, the solvent is distilled and recovered back for further use. The remaining product is ‘Jasmine concrete’, a waxy compound, with strong Jasmine fragrance. They are washed with absolute alcohol and sold as ‘jasmine absolute’. They are highly priced and are used in preparing different perfumes and Aromatherapy products such as soaps, shapoos, and hair conditioners. Lavender oil is extracted similarly from Lavender flower by steam distillation.
Many commercial Aromatherapy products are available in the market and in Aromatherapy clinics. They can be classified, broadly based on their applications and end results. They are available in the form of oils, suitably formulated for ‘massaging’. Since essential oils are highly concentrated, and more expensive, they are used in smaller quantities along with solvents, such as cold pressed oils, such as Almond oil.
Aromatherapy products are available as liquids, ready to be blended in bathing tubs and steam Spa. Some of the essential oils such as Sandal wood oils are blended with beeswax to make special type of ‘perfumed candles’.
Sandalwood paste is used to produce ‘Incense sticks’. Aromatherapy soaps are formulated using vegetable oils soaps with various fragrant such as Jasmine, Lavender and Rosmery.These Aromatherapy products are formulated based on seasonal variations; such as Spring, Autumn and Summer They take advantage of the availability of seasonal flowers and plants and also the climatic conditions such as temperature and humidity. Smell, is one of the five senses of human beings, and they can bring back pleasant memories of the past, depending upon the fragrance they inhale, and their association with that fragrance. Aromatherapy products are formulated based on the market demands and trends. They are sold in smaller bottles, as formulated products, depending upon the application and the type of ambience to be created
Aromatherapy Rose Oil
Original, Rose oil is one the unique, and most expensive essential oils, that is rarely used in Aromatherapy. This is due to a very small content of Rose oil in Rose flowers, which is only less than 0.02 percent by weight.
Aromatherapy Almond Oil
The Almond oils is a mixture of saturated and polysaturated oils and is rich in Vitamin E and D. Almond oil, used in Aromatherapy preparations, is made by cold expression of almond seeds.
Aromatherapy Candles
Aromatherapy candles are the kind of candles, which are made out of natural materials such as bees wax, blended with essential oils. The term Aromatherapy encompasses a wide range of products, made out of naturally occurring plant materials, which have both fragrance and therapeutic values.
Aromatherapy Lavender Oil
Aromatherapy Lavender oil belongs to Terpene group of essential oils, which have been used for decades, as therapeutic agent, to alleviate many ailments. Lavender flower, which grows at foot of the Himalayas, is slightly different from the European variety.
Essential Oil
Essential oil, is an aromatic oil, which is extracted from naturally occurring plants. They are classified based on their notes, just like musical notes. Essential oils with light notes will fade away within a short period of time.
