How Essential Oils Are Extracted From Flowers, Bark & Leaves.

ALL OUR ESSENTIAL OILS ARE EITHER
 COLD-PRESSED OR STEAM-DISTILLED TO
MAINTAIN THERAPEUTIC GRADE AND
ORGANIC STATUS

I'm fascinated by how amazing it is that a flower, stem or leaves of a plant can be reduced to it pure essence (essential oils) and enjoyed as a raw concentrate. The time, effort and sheer amount of plant material required to do this has led me to compile some of the more time-tested methods of essential oil extraction methods. This may lead you to understand that essential oil quality DOES matter. 

Cold-Pressed

Cold-pressed oils are oils made by first grinding nuts, seeds, fruits or vegetables (depending on the oil being made) into a paste. Then an oil stone or other tool is used to press the paste which forces the oil to separate out.

Effleurage

Effleurage is an archaic method of extracting essential oils. It is rarely used nowadays because it’s a costly and time-consuming method of extraction. It involves placing the flower petals onto a layer of glass that is has been layered with fat called “chassis”. The oil from the petals diffuses into the fat. The fat is then collected and the oil is extracted from the fat using alcohol. Once the alcohol evaporates what is left behind is pure essence.

Expression

When oils are taken from the rind of fruits they are called “expressed oils”. This method is cold and does not involve any solvents or heat. Most of the citrus oils are extracted in this manner including mandarin, lime, orange and lemon essential oils.

Since citrus fruits are constantly sprayed with pesticides and cold methods do not adulterate the essence, pesticides can be present in high quantities in the oils. For this reason, our mandarin oil is organic, pesticide and chemical free.

Steam Distilling

Steam distillation has been used for hundreds of years and today remains one of the most common methods of extracting essential oils.

There are three different steam processes but in all of the methods, steam is used to rupture the oil membranes in the plant and release the essential oil. The steam lifts the essential oil into a condenser and as it re-liquefies the lighter essential oil floats to the top. The water is more commonly known as floral water and the oil is known as essential oil.

The distilling equipment including the distillation temperature and pressure will all have an impact on the quality of the oil. Essential oil distillers must have the knowledge and expertise to know how to produce therapeutic grade essential oils

Solvent Extraction

Solvent extraction is a method dominated by the perfume industry. Technically it does not produce therapeutic grade oils because chemicals such as hexane, acetone, di-methylene-chloride and others are used in the process. Plant material is immersed into the solvents to become a thick substance called ‘concrete’.

The oil particles are released when the ‘concrete’ is mixed with alcohol. When the alcohol and the ‘concrete’ are separated the chemicals still remain in the oil. These are perfume or aromatherapy grade oils. As they have chemicals in the oils, they are unsafe for direct application onto skin or hair.

Solvent extraction is faster and cheaper because the oil is cut with solvents and can increase production volume significantly. This grade of oil is often used in bath oils and gels, candles, shampoos, toothpaste, fly spray, and air fresheners.

Perfume or aromatherapy grade oils make up 98% of the oils sold in health food stores, retail outlets and aromatherapy suppliers. What you get at The Little Essentials is even rarer than the remaining 2% because, our products are also certified organic. You get nothing but premium,therapeutic grade oils here.

Percolation and Fractional Distillation

Fractional distillation separates the volatile oil in different portions at various boiling points. This method is used in oil refineries for distillation of petroleum products and is not suited for therapeutic grade essential oils.

Percolation is one of the newer methods of extraction essential oils. It is similar to normal distillation but the equipment is literally upside down! It has been used successfully in France; however sometimes an emulsion is produced that can’t be separated out, so until it can be further developed you will not see it in large scales.

Super Critical Fluid Extraction or Carbon Dioxide Extraction

Super critical fluid extraction or carbon dioxide extraction is also a fairly new solvent extraction process that uses carbon dioxide at very high pressures. The carbon dioxide is injected into the tank where the plant material is contained and acts as a solvent to extract the oil.

Carbon dioxide is colourless and odourless and can be completely removed. However, there is no research at this point to verify if there are any toxic effects of using this procedure. Additionally, the distilling equipment is extremely expensive. Until more is known about this process, it is advised using steam distilled and expressed oils is still safer.

Phytonic Process

The phytonic process is a one of the newest methods of extracting essential oils using non-CFCs (non-chlorofluorocarbons). It is also called florasol extraction and the oils are referred to as phytols. The oils are very natural. However, it does use fluoro-hydrocarbons which can be harmful to the environment!