Essential Oil DistillationThe Key to Retaining the Healing Properties of Essential Oils Essential Oil distillation is the process by which you retain the healing properties of plants in liquid form. Essential oils are the life blood of plants. Just as we have blood flowing through our veins that carries nutrients and oxygen to our cells, plants also have fluids that carry nutrients and oxygen to the plants cells. Trapped within the plant material, these oils can be released using steam distillation. There are other methods of producing essential oils which involve pressing or solvent extraction, but these methods will not be discussed here.
With steam distillation the plant material is put inside a pressure cooker and, as the steam rises, the heavier plant material separates from the oil. Once the oil rises to the top of the water, it is skimmed off. Distillation should be done with pure, non-chlorinated water and never include solvents.The cooker must be made of stainless steel, or a material that will not interact or impart any of its characteristics into the oil. One of the most important factors in choosing an essential oil is to know and trust the grower, since distilling essential oils is not only a complex science, but the energy of the intention of the grower is imbued into the finished product. By using low pressure and low temperature with a long distillation time, the fragile healing properties of the plant will be retained. If high temperatures are used, new compounds not present in the original plant might be created, changing the chemical composition of the finished product and possibly losing some of the fragile constituents. These compounds, called artifacts, can change the way the essential oil integrates with the body. For example, if you purchase lavender that was distilled under high pressure very quickly, there could be a higher camphor content. If you were to buy this lavender for a skin issue, the camphor could make your skin issue worse. This is where people say “I tried essential oils but they don’t work”. Well, the truth is, they did try an essential oil, but they did not try a pure, therapeutic-grade essential oil. Controlled, consistent, and homogeneous, essential oil distillation is one of the most important factors in choosing an essential oil.
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