What Are Essential Oils and How To Use Them

Curious about essential oils?

If you have little to no experience or you are wanting a refresher to what essential oils are, then this will be for you.

Let’s first answer the questions, what the heck are essential oils?

Essential oils are the natural aromatic compounds that are found in seeds, bark, rind and even the leaves and petals of a plant.

Technically they are called volatile aromatic compounds, volatile because they are easily able to change state from a liquid to a gas.

I actually think of essential oils as the essence of the plant.

Essential oils give the plant its fragrance, the ability to thrive (assists with pollination + healing benefits) as well as the ability to survive from hazardous environmental threats.

Where do the essential oils come from?

They come from all different parts of the plants:

Tree (Copaiba, Frankincense, Black Spruce), Flowers (Roman Chamomile, Neroli, Jasmine), Herbs (Basil, Rosemary, Thyme), Cirtus (Bergamot, Orange, Lime), Roots (Vetiver).

It is possible to get different essential oils from different parts of the same plant. Let’s look at the wild orange tree:

• Wild orange comes from the orange peel

• Petitgrain comes from the leaf

• Neroli comes from the flower

They are extremely powerful.

Essential oils are highly concentrated. A little bit of oil, goes a long way. Did you know that it takes 10,000 blossoms to make 1 5mL bottle of rose essential oil? It takes about 75 lemons to fill one 15mL bottle. Essential oils are actually 50-70 times more powerful than herbs. One pound of peppermint leaves produces a 15 mL bottle of essential oil. They are the concentrated essence of the plant.

How are essential oils harvested?

Most essential oils are harvested through steam distillation. The steam passes through the plant material, carrying the volatile aromatic compounds to a collection tube. Remember, volatile means they are able to change from liquid to a gas. From the collection tube, the steam is cooled into water and the essential oil is then separated.

Citrus oils are different. They are cold pressed. The essential oil is extracted from the rind of the fruit through pressure.

Why would you use essential oils?

Essential oils can be used to support every body system and function you have*. They can support whole body wellness: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Just like they support the plants in thriving, they can do the same for us.

Physical Body Systems Support*: Circulatory, Immune, Digestive, Skin, Endocrine, Nervous, Respiratory, Reproductive and Musculoskeletal.

Emotional Support: Calm anxious feelings, finding comfort, create calming and relaxing environments.

Mental Support: Support your memory, mental clarity, focus and shift beliefs.

Spiritual Support: Helps with meditation, connect to your spiritual self, use for inspiration and upliftment.

So, how do you use these essential oils? Click here to read on.

If you are ready to get started working with essential oils, Essentially Balanced may be exactly what you need.