Making Essential Oils - A fun Aromatherapy Project for You and Your Family!

Aromatherapy requires the use of essential oils, and these oils need to be of high quality if they are to be of benefit. There are several ways of making essential oils, though most of the methods are very similar. The most important thing when making essential oils is that a very exact method is followed, to ensure the essential oils are of the highest quality.

The most common method used when making essential oils is distillation, with three different sub-methods; water, water and steam and direct steam. Making essential oils with this method requires the steam to pass through the plant material.

When the plant material has been dried, water distillation is the method used for making essential oils. For non-dried plant material, and less hardy dried material, water and steam distillation is used for making essential oils. The final method, direct steam, is used for fresh, hardy, material, such as roots, seeds and wood.

Another method for making essential oils is cold pressing. This is most often used for citrus oils. No heat is used in this method, as citrus oils tend to be more sensitive to heat than many other oils.

When making essential oils from flowers, the most common method is solvent extraction. Flower petals are submerged into a solvent until all the oil has been extracted from the petals. The mixture is then filtered before any remaining solvent is evaporated using vacuum pressure.

No matter which method is used, when making essential oils, the plant material used is as important as the method. Each plant has a peak harvest time, which means that they need to be harvested in a particular season or growth cycle. Something as small as the time of day the plant is harvested can play a part in the condition of the material.

Making essential oils requires knowledge, time and patience. For the highest quality oils to be produced, every step must be followed exactly for each different plant. If short cuts are taken, then the oil quality will suffer.

If you decide to begin making essential oils, then you need to be aware of the processes involved, and be willing to put the effort in to ensure that the processes are followed. The initial set up costs to being making essential oils can be quite expensive, but if you follow the processes correctly, you are assured of high quality, completely natural essential oils.

Robert Watson, noted hypnotist and webmaster of the free aromatherapy class website, offers a variety of reviews and information about the different methods of developing your skills as an aromatherapist and integrating the power of aromatherapy into your everyday life. Check out his website to learn more.
http://www.myaromatherapyclass.com